Virtual asset exchange Bitstamp has apologized for sharing a cryptocurrency market report that it claims doesn’t reflect the firm’s “views or values.”
Within an official tweet from Bitstamp revealed today, the exchange issued an apology for posting research firm Messari’s “Crypto Theses for 2021” report from founder & CEO Ryan Selkis. The report refers to Ripple [XRP] as “toxic waste,” with Selkis calling Bitcoin [BTC] forks, Stellar Lumens [XLM], and Litecoin [LTC] “piles of s—.” The report added:
“These are toxic assets propped up by regulatory capture, & they go against everything that got me into crypto assets.”
Bitstamp has removed the first tweet it posted following the report’s publication recently on 8th Dec. and mentioned parts of the “language and content” within the report as inconsistent with the firm’s values. The firm added that it believed some aspects were disrespectful towards “part of the community.”
Additionally, the Messari CEO added on Twitter he was going for a humorous tone to stay readers engaged – the report is 134 pages long. However, he doubled his own on his Ripple [XRP] views, pertaining to the token as “snake oil” and adding it had been unlikely he would change his opinion in the mere future.
The members of the XRP army were generally supportive of Bitstamp’s statement, calling it a “quick and thoughtful reaction.” The exchange may are responding to Selkis’ views on XRP, or the seemingly unprofessional language peppered throughout the report – the Messari CEO used “f—” 5x times, and “s—” 9x times.
“Bitstamp may have expected a more cerebral ‘Pro’ piece from our analysts vs. the yearly [company] hot takes,” added Selkis. “I don’t blame them for being caught off guard.”
Within the earlier last year’s “Crypto Theses for 2020,” Selkis added that he hated Ripple [XRP] but didn’t label the token as toxic. In fact, he said at the time that XRP had “tremendous and surprising endurance.”
At least one crypto figure stepped in to defend the Messari CEO. Samson Mow, the chief strategy officer at Blockstream, who is a renowned Bitcoin maximalist & opponent of “shitcoins,” argued Selkis “did nothing wrong.”
But Bitstamp’s decision to cancel Selkis was supported by other Twitter users.
“Impressed to ascertain you acknowledge customers’ opinions on these matters Bitstamp,” added Shane Schofield. “Would hope, as a sponsor of Messari, you’ll remind them that everybody has biases.”
This is not the primary time the Messari CEO has been on the receiving end of attacks by the Ripple [XRP] army. Last January, he allegedly received threatening phone calls after the firm published a critical appraisal of XRP.
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