Messari CEO steps down amidst controversial political tweets
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Ryan Selkis, then-CEO at Messari, speaking in Paris, March 2023. Photo: Benjamin Girette/Getty
Ryan Selkis is stepping down from CEO to a senior adviser role at the crypto data firm he co-founded, Messari, after a series of increasingly controversial political tweets became too much for colleagues at the venture-backed company.
Why it matters: Selkis has become a fierce proponent for everyone in the blockchain industry getting behind the candidacy of former president Donald Trump.
Between the lines: Selkis has been drawing controversy for weeks as he promoted Trump for president and castigated his opponent Joe Biden, a public campaign that turned to fury at anyone who disagreed with him this week after the attempted assassination of the former president.
- Selkis was there the moment that Trump first expressed support for the crypto world publicly, at an event the GOP nominee had organized for people who bought his commemorative NFTs.
- Since then he's become a hot-tempered proponent of his candidacy.
This week, however, Selkis got especially combative following the attempted assassination.
- A CoinDesk story details many of his most controversial recent posts, including calling the presidential election "literal war" and telling a permanent resident of the U.S. that he hopes "we send you back."
- Thursday night, Selkis tweeted that he had spoken with his board who helped "rein" him in. "I ran too hot this week," he wrote.
- He also posted an apology for his anger immediately following Saturday's attack.
The move for him to step down was made "just to make sure all the political stuff doesn't distract from the work of the team," Selkis told Axios Friday.
- He expressed confidence in Chief Revenue Officer Eric Turner, who is taking over leadership in an interim capacity.
- Selkis said he would continue to be a full-time employee of the firm. He first announced the news this morning on the social media site X.
"This is something that makes sense for him, makes sense for the company," Turner told Axios.
- He said Selkis's passion has proven to be on the policy side.
Messari has raised over $50 million across its series A and B rounds, with participation by firms such as Brevan Howard, Point72 Ventures, Samsung Next and Coinbase Ventures.
The bottom line: "As always, Ryan's Twitter and public persona is not representative of Messari," Turner said. "For us internally at the company, we are operating business as usual."
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to note that Point 72 Ventures invested in Messari, (not Point 72, the hedge fund).
