A prominent cryptocurrency CEO turned outspoken supporter of Donald Trump is resigning from the company he helped build after posting incendiary remarks on X in the wake of Saturday’s assassination attempt on the Republican presidential nominee.
Ryan Selkis, who posts on X as “twobitidiot,” said Friday he was stepping down as CEO of Messari, a crypto data company, after his “politics and rhetoric put the team in harms way,” he said.
Following the attempt on Trump’s life in Pennsylvania, Selkis took to X and seemed to call for violence against non-Trump supporters.
“Anyone that votes against Trump at this point can die in a f—–g fire,” he said on X in a since-deleted post Saturday following the attempt. “Literal war,” Selkis added.
In a follow-up post, he said: “The Civil War for the country started today, and if you are anti-Trump you are against the men who are willing to fight. Good luck.”
Selkis later wrote: “If I were a Cultural Marxist hellbent on destroying the country, I would have weathered the storm. But I told the truth too many times, and lost my temper after they tried to kill the President last Saturday.”
In his resignation statement Friday, Selkis said he was “disgusted at the media and administration’s abject failures at pressing for answers in the attack’s aftermath, as well as their failure to tamp down the divisive rhetoric that contributed to the attack in the first place.”
“I will be channeling all of my energies into addressing the underlying issues that have led to these systemic problems in our institutions,” Selkis said, without elaborating.
In response to a request for comment from NBC News, Selkis texted a link to another post on X Friday that said he was not available for comment outside his public statement and that he would be “monitoring the tone and balance of all articles though. Will dictate who I work with in the future.”
His successor, Eric Turner, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The development comes amid a clear turn within the crypto world toward Trump — as the Republican nominee reciprocates the interest. Under the heading “Championing Innovation,” Trump wrote crypto into his party’s new platform, stating: “Republicans will end Democrats’ unlawful and unAmerican Crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency. We will defend the right to mine Bitcoin, and ensure every American has the right to self-custody of their Digital Assets, and transact free from Government Surveillance and Control.”
Trump is also slated to speak at next week’s annual Bitcoin Conference in Nashville.
But Trump’s return to the Oval Office is no sure thing, and crypto leaders continue to press their case to current Biden administration officials for a more accommodating regulatory environment that will allow for greater access to crypto products.
Mainstream acceptance of crypto thus remains a key goal that Selkis’ remarks may have been seen as inhibiting.
Messari, which Selkis founded in 2018, has the backing of major financial institutions including Point72 Ventures, the private investment arm of Steve Cohen’s Point72 financial group; and hedge fund giant Brevan Howard.
A representative for Brevan Howard said the firm had no comment. A Point72 spokesperson did not respond to an emailed request for comment Friday.
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