Crypto CEO steps down after posts endorsing political violence and deportations

Ryan Selkis, the cofounder and CEO of the crypto research platform Messari, is stepping down from his position in the aftermath of a social media tirade following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Selkis, an outspoken Trump supporter who attended David Sacks’ sold-out fundraiser for him in June, said on X that Trump’s detractors should “die in a fire,” claimed the shooting was a deep state plot orchestrated by Democrats, and called for the deportation of a US green card holder who disagreed with his posts. “I hope we send you back,” he said in an exchange captured by CoinDesk. “You are protected by constitutional rights, but you are not entitled to citizenship. I hope it stays that way.”

“We must excise the metastatic cancer and evil of the left, by force if necessary,” he said in another post on X. “This is why the second amendment was and is so important. Do not initiate with violence, but if it’s brought to your door, finish with violence.”

Trump has received significant financial support from venture capitalists, tech founders, and cryptocurrency boosters in recent months, but Selkis has emerged as one of the most vocal about his support of the Republican nominee. (An analysis of Selkis’ recent X posts by DL News reporter Ben Weiss found that Selkis posts 117 times a day on average, often between 3AM and 5AM local time.)

In hundreds of posts in the days following the shooting, Selkis repeatedly claimed the assassination attempt was an inside job. One post showed pictures of a bloodied Trump pumping his fist while surrounded by Secret Service agents alongside a photo of former President Barack Obama, then-Vice President Joe Biden, and other administration officials in a conference room as SEAL Team Six killed Osama bin Laden. 

“We must assume this was planned,” Selkis wrote in a July 18th post. “They need to prove it wasn’t.”

In a post directed at Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) — a frequent critic of cryptocurrency — Selkis implied the senator had been involved in the attempt on Trump’s life. He noted that Warren and the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, have similar “physiognomy,” referring to the discredited science of judging a person’s character based on their facial characteristics. 

Selkis will now take on a senior adviser role at Messari; current chief revenue officer Eric Turner will step in as CEO. In a note posted to X announcing the change, Selkis says he is “disgusted” at the media and Biden administration’s “failure to tamp down divisive rhetoric that contributed to the attack in the first place.” In a follow-up post, Selkis said he was “absolutely crushing IPAs” while monitoring “the tone and balance of all articles” about his ouster.

When asked for comment via text, Selkis told The Verge, “you can write your hit piece for your worthless publication. Cheers.”