This Week on Crypto Twitter: Going All-In for Trump—Or Going Too Far?

By Sander Lutz

Illustration by Mitchell Preffer for Decrypt

An unprecedented presidential election continued to reverberate throughout the crypto industry this week, as leaders and influencers alike embraced Donald Trump’s campaign in the aftermath of the recent attempt on his life—some with more extreme rhetoric than others. 

With the Republican National Convention dominating the airwaves this week—and Trump announcing his pick for vice president, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance—crypto users appeared more whipped up than ever before in their enthusiasm for the former president, who has recently tacked to a firmly pro-crypto stance.

With Trump’s odds of victory looking better than ever following last weekend’s events and President Joe Biden’s enduring crisis of legitimacy within his own party, crypto users were giddy over the prospect of Trump recapturing the White House, and potentially sending crypto prices soaring in the process.

One by one, prominent crypto executives and influencers began vocally expressing their support for Trump on Twitter this week, following earlier pronouncements by Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and sizeable donations from familiar names.

But perhaps the highest profile saga on Crypto Twitter this week came when Messari founder and CEO Ryan Selkis—a prominent Trump backer—posted a flurry of hundreds of incendiary tweets, including several mentioning political violence and others that promoted conspiracy theories related to the attempt on Trump’s life.

Citing the Second Amendment, Selkis suggested responding to violence with violence against left-leaning Americans. In another tweet, he replied to a U.S. immigrant crypto user, saying the man should be deported from the country for harboring leftist views.

Selkis later said he apologized to the user for his comment, saying that he had confused the man with “another Marxist.”

Even as the crypto community warms to Trump, many saw Selkis’ posts as crossing a line. On Thursday, Selkis said he attended a “tough love” meeting with Messari’s leadership, in which he acknowledged that he “ran too hot” this week.

But by Friday, the situation appeared untenable. That morning, Selkis stepped down as the company’s CEO—although he will remain onboard as a senior advisor, he said.

Even so, Selkis reiterated the same day that he stood by the sentiment behind his statements.  

“If I were a Cultural Marxist hellbent on destroying the country, I would have weathered the storm,” Selkis posted, invoking a loaded term for political enemies. “But I told the truth too many times, and lost my temper after they tried to kill the president last Saturday.”

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.

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