Ryan Selkis, co-founder of the crypto data and research firm Messari, has stepped down as CEO following a series of inflammatory political tweets. Selkis announced his resignation on Friday via X, the social media platform where he had recently posted numerous contentious messages.

“This week was the first week in 6.5 years that my politics and rhetoric put the team in [harm’s] way,” Selkis wrote on X. “As such, I have decided to step aside as CEO.”

Selkis has a history of provocative statements on X, but his comments escalated following an assassination attempt on Donald Trump last weekend. In one of his tweets, he wrote, “Anyone that votes against Trump at this point can die in a f*cking fire. Literal war.” He also directed a tweet at an immigrant, stating, “I hope we send you back. … You are not entitled to citizenship. I hope it stays that way.”

On the day of his resignation, Selkis expressed his frustration with the media and the administration’s handling of the aftermath of the assassination attempt. He criticized their failure to press for answers and to quell the divisive rhetoric that he believes contributed to the attack.

Selkis’s departure marks a significant moment for Messari, a company he helped build. He also played a crucial role in political fundraising for the crypto industry in the U.S. this year and is a former CEO of CoinDesk. A decade ago, as an independent blogger, Selkis gained attention for publishing documents revealing the insolvency of Mt. Gox, the crypto exchange that later went bankrupt.

Messari announced that Chief Revenue Officer Eric Turner will serve as interim CEO. The company posted on X: “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.”

Selkis resumed tweeting about “national issues of importance to him” shortly after announcing his resignation, with one of his tweets stating, “I beat @JoeBiden. Again.”

Marc Hochstein contributed to this story.