Trump Ally Messari CEO Ryan Selkis Steps Down Amid Backlash

Ryan Selkis, the outspoken founder of crypto intelligence firm Messari, announced Friday that he is stepping down as CEO following controversial tweets this week, including several that advocated political violence and others that promoted conspiracy theories related to the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump.

"A leader's first responsibility is to his team," Selkis tweeted. "This week was the first week in 6.5 years that my politics and rhetoric put the team in harms way. As such, I have decided to step aside as CEO."

Eric Turner, previously the firm's Chief Revenue Officer, will take over the CEO position at Messari on an interim basis. Selkis said that he will transition into the role of a senior advisor.

In the immediate aftermath of Trump’s near-assassination on Saturday, Selkis—an avid supporter of the former president—posted a dizzying flurry of hundreds of tweets, some of which labeled the shooting a “government coordinated assassination attempt” plausibly coordinated by President Joe Biden’s Director of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.

No evidence supports such claims. Further, the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, may not have been ideologically motivated: The FBI discovered this week that Crooks, a registered Republican who once donated $15 to Democrats, researched dates and appearances for both Trump and Biden in the days approaching the assassination attempt. 

Regardless, the shooting appeared to radicalize Selkis’ conviction that America is existentially threatened by “Bolsheviks.” 

Bolshevism, an archaic term referring to the political faction that instigated Russia’s 1917 communist revolution, was once used in the 20th century as derogatory shorthand for communism. That connotation was most prominently popularized by the Nazis, who routinely invoked the threat of Bolshevism and “Judeo-Bolshevism” in state propaganda.

“Bolshevism cannot be cured with votes,” Selkis posted on Sunday in a tweet. “We must excise the metastatic cancer and evil of the left, by force if necessary.” 

“Do not initiate violence, but if it’s brought to your door, finish with violence,” he continued. 

Even the evening prior to the Trump shooting, Selkis appeared consumed with the prospect of facing down his perceived political enemies on his doorstep.

“I promised my wife I would have laid all traps and countermeasures for the Bolshevik scum by midnight,” he posted on Friday evening. “And here I am. Following through.”

Selkis declined comment to Decrypt, also tweeting that he's "not available for comment outside of my public statement."

The crypto industry has long tolerated proximity to far-right political figures, many of whom have made recent overtures to advocates of Bitcoin and other digital assets. Last year, for example, Selkis and several other crypto industry figures celebrated the victory of Argentinian president Javier Milei, with little consequence. 

Milei, who courted crypto advocates but then abandoned plans to instigate pro-industry reforms, has repeatedly attempted to rehabilitate his country’s former pro-Nazi dictatorship; during his campaign, he laid out plans to mandate forced labor in Argentine prisons, and even proposed legalizing the sale of human children via a "free market for babies."

But something appeared to crack this week amidst Selkis’ escalating and increasingly violent rhetoric.

On Thursday, the crypto executive said he attended a “tough love” meeting with Messari’s leadership, in which he acknowledged that he “ran too hot” this week. 

He also reportedly privately apologized to a non-American Crypto Twitter user who he said this week should be deported from the country for harboring leftist views. Selkis later clarified that he confused the man with “another Marxist.”

Friday’s resignation appears to constitute a rare concession by Selkis that his political beliefs, if not troublesome, may negatively impact Messari’s business. 

This morning, though, the executive clarified his position on his own rhetoric—stopping short of apologizing for recent comments.

“If I were a Cultural Marxist hellbent on destroying the country, I would have weathered the storm,” Selkis said this morning, invoking another loaded term for political enemies that came into vogue during the Nazi era. “But I told the truth too many times, and lost my temper after they tried to kill the President last Saturday.”

Messari has nonetheless stood by its founder as it simultaneously distances itself from him. 

“Ryan recently let us know of his decision to step back from an operational role as the CEO of Messari so that he can focus his time fully on crypto policy and national issues of importance to him,” the company said in a statement on Friday.  “Messari would not be the company it is today, or what it will be in the future, without Ryan’s clear vision and devoted leadership.”

Editor's note: This story was updated after publication with additional details.

Edited by Andrew Hayward