Ripple CTO Flags Possible Breach on Pro-Crypto Lawyer John Deaton’s X Account

A suspicious post from John Deaton’s X account has raised concerns of a possible hack. This prompted Ripple Labs’ Chief Technology Officer to issue a public warning, advising followers to refrain from engaging with the account. He placed the embargo until John Deaton could confirm that the account was compromised.

Suspected Post from John Deaton

In a recent development, well-respected crypto lawyer John Deaton, taking to the X platform shared a message promoting Arch Public, a cryptocurrency-related platform. 

As detailed, the post also tagged notable names like crypto exchange Gemini, making it appear like an endorsement. However, long-time followers of Deaton found it strange.

As his previous social media post shows, John Deaton is widely known for defending XRP holders and supporting regulatory clarity in crypto. He recently advocated for releasing Hinman documents in a crypto case for more clarity 

His usual posts focus on legal battles, industry policy, and crypto rights. However, the Arch Public post stood out. Some market participants mentioned that it lacked any background, explanation, or context that normally comes with his advocacy updates. 

The Ripple CTO Flag and Community Reaction

It is worth noting that the gap in tone and content is what made Ripple CTO David Schwartz step in. Commenting on the post, he warned John Deaton’s followers and the community not to trust the message until Deaton confirmed it was real. 

According to the CTO, the post looked wrong in many ways, and he urged the lawyer’s 354,000 followers to remain cautious.

His concern sparked reactions from other users. Many began questioning whether Deaton’s account had been taken over, especially with the unusually long silence. Others shared screenshots of the post, highlighting the red flags in its writing. 

Meanwhile, in his recent X post, Deaton appreciated the community’s concern but pointed out some misinformation. He promised to go live on X at 3 PM EST on April 16, 2025, to address any questions.

Crypto Hacks Soar in the Industry

This incident comes amid a wave of recent hacks in the crypto space. According to reports earlier this week, KiloEx, a decentralized exchange, lost $7.5 million.

According to the update, hackers exploited weaknesses in the platform’s pricing mechanism. This hack ultimately led to a sharp drop of nearly 32% in the value of its native token, KILO.  

The attack targeted BNB Smart Chain, Base, and Taiko, three core blockchains supporting KiloEx’s multi-chain operations. 

As reported by CoinGape, on April 15, zkSync suffered a breach as well. Hackers got into an airdrop admin account and minted 111 million ZK tokens, which caused the price of the token to drop by 12%.