Key Takeaways:
Nic Carter, a prominent crypto venture capitalist, said he declined to invest in or advise World Liberty Financial after concluding the Trump-linked crypto project had no real product, according to an account published July 27.
"Steve Witkoff didn't know what crypto or DeFi was. He didn't know what the pitch was," Carter, a general partner at Castle Island Ventures, said in an interview. "I'm like, Oh, okay, so there's no product. They're just doing a token."
Carter met Steve Witkoff, then listed as a World Liberty co-founder alongside his sons Zach and Alex, at a Pura Vida cafe in Miami's Sunset Harbour in mid-2024. During the meeting, Witkoff explained that Donald Trump had become interested in the crypto project because his youngest son Barron "was getting active with meme coins" — pronouncing it "me-me" coins, Carter recalled. When Carter declined the adviser role, Witkoff's tone shifted. "You don't want to be on the big guy's bad side," Carter said Witkoff told him. A World Liberty spokesperson called the characterization "inaccurate" and said the company "never formally offered Mr. Carter any such role."
World Liberty launched in September 2024 with a "Gold Paper" promising to "democratize finance" and help "safeguard the US Dollar's future as the global reserve currency." The project initially set a $289 million fundraising target but slashed it by 90% to $30 million by late October after struggling to attract investors. It wasn't until crypto billionaire Justin Sun invested $30 million in November 2024 — followed by another $15 million — that the project gained traction, eventually closing its initial sale at $300 million in January 2025.
The project has since raised more than $550 million, with Trump's financial disclosures showing World Liberty contributed some $800 million to the president's ventures in 2025. But the decentralized finance products it promised have largely not materialized, and the $WLFI governance token has crashed 80% from its debut price. Sun filed a fraud lawsuit against World Liberty in April 2026, alleging the company froze his tokens and effectively seized his holdings. World Liberty countersued Sun for defamation in May. Both cases remain in preliminary stages.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
