Ryan Selkis, co-founder and CEO of crypto analytics firm Messari, has immediately resigned following a series of controversial posts on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
Messari’s Ryan Selkis Under Fire
The controversy surrounding Selkis began when he made statements such as “I hate leftists with the fire of 100 suns. I’m not a Republican. I’m built differently. War” and expressed frustration after an incident involving an attempted assassination of the president.
Additionally, in a since-deleted post, Ryan Selkis said, “Anyone who votes against Trump at this point can die in a fucking fire. A literal war.” These remarks sparked concern and criticism from various individuals and communities, including community members like Adriano Feria.
Adriano Feria interrogates the nature of Selkis’ remarks, calling them incitement and “self-destructive behavior” that U.S. adversaries would welcome.
Selkis responded to Feria, a writer on Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies, expressing hope that Feria would be “fired” after he asked if he was a U.S. citizen or just a green card holder.
As a result, Ryan Selkis has found himself at the center of public opinion within the crypto community, and industry practitioners have expressed their intention to sever ties with Messari in the future.
Change of direction
In response to growing concerns, Selkis initially said he would address these issues soon. However, they later said his political beliefs and rhetoric had compromised the safety of the Messari team.
As a result, Ryan Selkis has decided to step down as CEO, with Eric Turner, Messari’s chief revenue officer and founding member of the team, assuming the role of interim CEO. Messari confirmed Selkis’ resignation in declarant:
Ryan recently shared with us his decision to step down from his operational role as CEO of Messari so that he can focus on crypto policy and national issues that are close to his heart. Messari would not be the company it is today, or what it will be in the future, without Ryan’s clear vision and dedicated leadership.
Featured image from Fortune, chart from TradingView.com
