Solana Previously Upheld Gender Identity Protections Before Releasing Anti-LGBTQ Ad

The Solana Foundation removed a controversial advertisement late Monday, nearly nine hours after it appeared to invoke culture wars to increase conference attendance. The deleted ad depicted 'America' in therapy, where the nation's personification was hindered from focusing on technological advancements due to the therapist's emphasis on 'pronouns' and 'creating new genders.' The therapist stated, 'America, numbers are non-binary,' after criticizing the nation's 'rational thinking syndrome.' America eventually became frustrated and exclaimed, 'I want to invent technologies, not genders.' The Solana Foundation's use of right-wing talking points to promote its first US conference sparked immediate controversy, with some influential voices within the Solana community labeling it as 'pandering' and 'offensive.' This move is a reversal for an organization that previously emphasized diversity, equity, and inclusion as its 'core values' and required attendees to show respect to others regardless of gender. Just weeks before President Donald Trump's re-election, partly due to his anti-trans campaign, the foundation held a conference in Singapore with a code of conduct that prohibited 'deliberate verbal or physical intimidation' based on 'gender,' 'gender identity and expression,' or other traits associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion. The code of conduct threatened to eject and ban offenders from future events. The Solana Foundation's commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect was clearly stated in the code of conduct. However, it is unclear whether the foundation's ad strategy signals a shift in its 'core values.' The code of conduct for the upcoming event could not be located, and a representative for the Solana Foundation did not respond to a request for comment. Regardless, the ad threatened to draw crypto deeper into partisan politics, making many in the industry uncomfortable. The crypto industry's support for President Trump was previously based on a single-issue alignment, with Trump promising to support crypto and the industry's major players reciprocating. This arrangement allowed proponents to work with Democrats as well, and many have done so. However, this balance may begin to disintegrate if crypto loses its bipartisan appeal.