Warning to Ryan Selkis for His Anti-Immigration, Civil War-Themed Tweets

Ryan Selkis, founder and CEO of crypto data platform Messari, rarely holds back on social media, regularly hurling insults at Gary Gensler’s Securities and Exchange Commission and more via X (formerly Twitter).

But his tirades this week in the wake of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump are too much even for Selkis. His colleagues at Messari, which has received financial backing from big-name firms such as Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital and hedge fund giant Brevan Howard and was once valued at a reported $300 million, are advising him to calm down.

Selkis, who made his account private yesterday, can currently only see his 354,000 followers. The CEO includes the following statements in his latest posts:

“I had a tough meeting with the leaders of Messari. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the goodwill of those who tried to restrain me because they knew my vision and my beliefs. I went overboard this week, I’ll tell you in detail what happened.”

“We’ve come to the point where I wish everyone who won’t vote for Trump would die in a fire from now on. This is literally a war. A civil war has begun in this country, and if you’re against Trump, you’re against men who are willing to fight. Good luck.”

“Bolshevism cannot be fixed by votes. We must stop the spreading cancer and evil of the left, by force if necessary. That is why the amendment is so important. Do not resort to violence, but if you must, finish the job by force.”

“Unfortunately, sometimes unity can only be achieved after victory is certain. This is one of those times. The others were in 1776, 1860 and 1942. I pray for peace. The war is beginning.”

Echoing the anti-immigrant rhetoric of the MAGA movement, Selkis asked a Twitter user, “Are you a citizen or a green card holder?” The person, who said he was a green card holder who was about to apply for citizenship, received the following response: “I hope we send you back. You have no citizenship and I hope it stays that way.”

Selkis, who continued to share photos of Trump after he was shot, also published a photo of Barack Obama and Joe Biden taken when Osama bin Laden was killed by Seal Team 6.

Washington’s leading crypto critic sent Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) photos of Warren and Trump’s would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks side by side, writing: “Are you glad Trump is alive? Or are you disappointed that you missed your chance to overthrow a ‘dictator who would destroy democracy’? Physiognomy doesn’t lie…”

The SEC Chairman responded to Gensler’s tweet by saying, “We are so close to your inevitable prison sentence…”

Selkis declined to provide CoinDesk with any further details about his posts from last week.

While this type of behavior is not normally seen in a CEO, especially one with serious venture capital backing, it is not uncommon among crypto users on social media.

Messari, a platform that allows users to track and review data on digital assets, plays a major role in crypto. Selkis has been a key part of the industry’s attempt to regain its audience in Washington after Sam Bankman-Fried lost his outsized influence there.

Selkis, who also spoke at Trump’s NFT gala at Mar-a-Lago a few months ago, continued his tweets:

“I’ve tweeted from the rooftops aggressively screaming about self-defense and taking the current political situation more seriously than the media. I warned you all. I wish my haters would put the same effort into protecting children, preventing war, and defending American values.”

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched. I got knocked down by a punch I didn’t see coming. So be it. I’ll tweet less. I’ll post more directed anger, but I agree: ATTACK.”