Some Bitcoin backers and cypherpunks are distancing themselves from President Donald Trump after a fatal shooting in Minneapolis and the White House’s response to the incident.
The backlash followed the killing of US citizen and legal observer Alex Pretti by Border Patrol officers during protests over immigration roundups, with critics angered by claims from senior White House officials that Pretti was a “would-be assassin”.
Bruce Fenton, a long-time Bitcoiner and chief executive of Chainstone Labs, accused the administration of undermining civil liberties and constitutional rights in its handling of the incident.
“I barely even want to associate with Republicans now,”
Fenton said, adding:
“Your rights are your rights.”
The reaction highlights tensions within crypto’s libertarian roots, with figures such as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin warning that expanding enforcement powers risk broader abuse of state authority.
“Once the police state apparatus exists to this extent, it will keep finding new targets,”
Buterin wrote on X, referring to the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Pro-XRP lawyer and US Senate candidate John Deaton described the crypto sector’s backing of Trump as a “marriage of convenience”, despite his approval rating on crypto-linked prediction markets rising to nearly 56%.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $89,287.74.