Ryan Selkis, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency data and research platform Messari, resigned on Friday. Selkis attributed his resignation to political comments he made online.
“This week marks the first time in 6.5 years that my politics and rhetoric have put the team at risk,” Selkis wrote on the social media platform X. “Therefore, I have decided to step down as CEO.”
Selkis added in a statement that Eric Turn, Mesari’s chief revenue officer, will take over as the company’s CEO.
Selkis said he spoke with the Messari team about his public comments before announcing his resignation.
“I just had a ‘tough love’ session with Messari leadership and I cannot tell you how grateful I am for those who have reached out to me in good faith and have stopped me because they know where my vision and heart are. I have been running wild this week and will be addressing this in more detail soon,” Selkis wrote on Thursday.
Selkis’s comment
Selkis has made numerous statements since the assassination attempt on former US President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Selkis deleted his comments and made his X account private, but they were republished online by Molly White, a writer and software engineer who runs the crypto-criticism publication Web3 is Going Just Great.
“At this point, anyone who votes against Trump can be fucking shot,” Selkis wrote in a now-deleted X post, adding, “This is literal war.”
In response to White reposting her past comments, Selkis wrote, “I’m sorry I got so upset last weekend. I’ve seen enough of President Trump to love the man and his sacrifices. After seeing the results of 10 years of hate that nearly cost him his life, I took it too far. We will win with character, strength, and nonviolence. No rancor, Molly.”
Trump survived a shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
The block has been contacted by Messari for comment and was awaiting a response at the time of publication.
Note: Block Pro Research is a competitor to Messari.
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