The Solana Foundation decided to pull an advertisement that received backlash for being anti-queer on Monday night, after using culture wars to attract attendees to a conference.
The deleted ad depicted “America” in therapy, with the nation wanting to focus on tech, crypto, and space travel but being told by the therapist to concentrate on pronouns and new genders.
The use of right-wing rhetoric by the Solana Foundation to promote their conference in the U.S. caused controversy, with some calling it pandering and others finding it offensive.
This move is a departure from the organization’s previous emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion as core values, with their past event in Singapore enforcing a strict code of conduct regarding gender identity and expression.
It remains to be seen if this ad signals a shift in the Solana Foundation’s values, as their upcoming event’s code of conduct was not immediately available for review.
The potential injection of partisan politics into the crypto industry through this ad has raised concerns among industry members about maintaining bipartisan support.
The industry’s previous alignment with President Trump was based on his promises to support crypto, but a shift towards more polarizing messaging could jeopardize this fragile alliance and lead to a more divided industry.
