The Solana Foundation found itself in hot water after posting—and then swiftly deleting—an advertisement that many deemed politically divisive and “tone deaf” regarding gender identity issues.

Posted on March 17 on Solana’s official X (formerly Twitter) account, the more than two-minute-long ad was meant to promote the upcoming Solana Accelerate conference. However, it instead sparked a firestorm of controversy by making light of gender identity discussions in a satirical therapy session.

In the now-deleted video, a character named “America” discusses his renewed interest in innovation and crypto with a therapist, who sarcastically suggests he focus on "coming up with a new gender" or "working on pronouns" instead. The conversation builds up to a monologue where the man proclaims he wants to “build onchain and reclaim my place as the beacon of innovation” and “invent technologies, not genders,” taking a clear shot at progressive values.

Massive Backlash Forces Solana to Backtrack

Before being taken down, the ad garnered over 1.2 million views, more than 1,300 comments, and 1,400 reposts, with a majority of responses condemning its messaging.

Critics accused Solana of alienating parts of its community by injecting itself into culture wars. Venture capitalist Adam Cochran stated that the ad’s removal was purely business-driven:

“They rolled it back because it hurt their business, not because they thought it was wrong.”

Blocknative’s Sean O’Connor didn’t hold back, calling the ad “so f***ing tone deaf.” He highlighted how, at a time when trans rights are under attack—including new policies from President Donald Trump that revoke gender-inclusive protections—Solana’s ad was particularly ill-timed.

Other industry figures also weighed in. David McIntyre, COO at DoubleZero, slammed Solana for using controversial cultural issues for engagement, saying:

Meanwhile, Tushar Jain, co-founder of Multicoin Capital, initially praised the ad, calling it “bold and risky,” but later retracted his support. In a follow-up post, he suggested that if Solana wanted to take a stance on societal issues, it should have addressed deeper economic and political topics rather than “surface-level culture wars like pronouns.”

Solana Stays Silent Amid Controversy

Despite the backlash, Solana has not publicly explained why it deleted the ad, and the Solana Foundation has yet to respond to media inquiries.

This controversy raises a bigger question for the crypto industry: should blockchain companies engage in political messaging at all? While some firms embrace cultural discourse, others fear alienating users in an already polarized market.

With Solana’s Accelerate conference still upcoming, the project will need to navigate the fallout carefully. Whether this incident damages its reputation or simply fuels further engagement remains to be seen.

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