Headline: Crypto Community Fractures Over Minneapolis Shooting as Libertarian Support for Trump Shows Limits
The recent fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis has prompted an unusual rift within the crypto community, with some high-profile libertarian-leaning voices publicly distancing themselves from the Trump administration despite its pro-crypto stance.
What happened
Over the weekend, two Border Patrol officers shot and killed U.S. citizen and legal observer Alex Pretti amid clashes surrounding immigration roundups in the Twin Cities. The incident escalated further after a White House official characterized Pretti — an ICU nurse who was present at the protests — as a “would-be assassin,” drawing sharp backlash from civil-liberties-minded members of the crypto world.
Crypto voices push back
Bruce Fenton, a long-time Bitcoin proponent, self-described cypherpunk and CEO of tokenization firm Chainstone Labs, posted a video to X criticizing the administration’s reaction. Fenton accused the White House of trampling constitutional rights and warned that partisan tribalism was leading people to abandon core principles. He also publicly criticized U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (note: the original article referenced Scott Bessent, though he served as a Treasury official in 2023) for questioning why Pretti had been armed during a TV appearance, and said he felt alienated from the Republican Party over the episode: “I barely even want to associate with Republicans now,” he said. Decrypt attempted to reach Fenton for comment.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin weighed in as well, posting on X that the behavior of ICE and other enforcement agencies could have far-reaching consequences: “Once the police state apparatus exists to this extent, it will keep finding new targets,” he wrote, adding that violence was expanding from undocumented immigrants to apparent defenders of immigrants.
Other industry leaders expressed dismay at the shooting even while noting they did not know the protesters’ intent. David Marcus, CEO of crypto payments platform Superstate, said people could still be “totally appalled by citizens being shot dead on our streets.”
Libertarian limits: support for Trump tested
The tensions highlight a broader fault line: many in crypto rallied behind President Trump for rolling back regulatory pressure — notably easing the industry’s fight with the SEC after years under former chair Gary Gensler — and for symbolic moves such as pardoning Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht last year. But that political alignment has always been pragmatic, several industry figures say.
John Deaton, a prominent pro-XRP attorney and frequent Crypto Twitter commentator who mounted a Senate run in Massachusetts, said the shooting has revealed where some libertarians’ support for the administration runs thin. “I've seen a lot of Bitcoiners struggling,” he said, noting that hardcore libertarians are particularly challenged when Second Amendment rights are questioned. Deaton also pointed to First Amendment worries after the Department of Homeland Security warned that repeated comparisons of ICE to the Gestapo could have “consequences.”
Fourth Amendment concerns
Legal worries extend beyond speech and arms. An internal ICE memo reported by the Associated Press earlier this month — which reportedly authorized officers to enter homes without a judicial warrant in certain circumstances — has raised alarms about potential Fourth Amendment violations, Deaton added.
Political context and industry calculus
Deaton, who notably fell short against Elizabeth Warren in his 2024 Senate bid but gained prominence as a crypto defender, described support for Trump among many in the space as a “marriage of convenience”: the administration was, in many ways, a relief compared to perceived regulatory hostility from the prior SEC leadership. Still, recent events show that civil-liberties concerns can force uncomfortable reckonings for libertarian-aligned crypto advocates.
Market signal
Despite some public distancing by crypto insiders, prediction markets have reflected a recent uptick in support for Trump: on Myriad — a prediction market run by Decrypt’s parent company, Dastan — the president’s approval probability rose to nearly 56% after being underwater for much of November and December.
The Minneapolis shooting has laid bare the limits of crypto’s political coalition: while regulatory reprieve from the White House remains important to many firms, protections for civil liberties remain a core principle for a vocal segment of the community — and the latest events are testing how far political loyalty will stretch.
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