Ryan Carson Faces Backlash For ‘Flux’ Web3 Fund. What Went Wrong?

The Alpha

• On February 3, 2023, Ryan Carson, a prominent Web3 builder and Proof Collective’s former COO, announced a new Web3 fund called Flux. In a now-deleted tweet announcing the fund, Carson stated that he intended to raise $10 million through 100 investors and that 21 spots were already gone. NFT community members, including those listed as investors, quickly noticed irregularities in Carson’s announcement.

• In short, Flux’s official website stated that all investors had to contribute $160,000 at minimum. If 100 individuals invested that much, it would equal a total raise of $16 million — $6 million more than what Carson said he was raising. Members of the community alleged that those 21 investors likely contributed far less than the $160,000 minimum, yet would receive the same equity share as those who contributed far more.
  
• Multiple investors that Carson mentioned in the tweet took to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with how Carson communicated their involvement, saying that they had not committed the minimum investment amount. The miscommunication has caused figures like Gmoney to announce their withdrawal from investing in Flux. 

• This is not the first time Carson has been accused of unethical dealings in the Web3 space over the years, leading some to speculate on the motivations behind the announcement and Carson’s overall intentions for the space.

Why it matters:

It’s an unfortunate fact that Web3 has a reputation for shady dealings, scams, rug pulls, and widespread fraud, and the circumstances surrounding the way in which Carson announced Flux has raised eyebrows in the NFT space.

In a several-hour-long AMA on Twitter on February 4, Carson addressed questions from the community regarding the whole debacle, saying that verbal commitments from investors are commonplace when fundraising while acknowledging that he should have communicated things more clearly.

“I assumed some things that I shouldn’t have,” Carson said in the AMA. “This is a common practice. People commit verbally or over text. I guess I could’ve slowed down the process and waited until all the term sheets were signed [to announce the investors]. I have nothing to hide. That is just the way it is.”

Responses from the community have ranged from critical to supportive. Gmoney took to Twitter to explain his involvement in Flux, saying he committed $10,000 to the fund but took issue with how Carson made the announcement before the fundraising was complete, and, consequently, is pulling out of the deal. Zeneca, who has been named one of Flux’s founding advisors, also tweeted on the matter, saying he hadn’t disclosed his involvement in the fund due to the limited scope of his involvement and that he hadn’t added Flux to his Zeneca Transparency page due to its “recency.”

A troubled history

This isn’t the first time Carson has been accused of acting unethically, both in Web2 and Web3.

In late August 2021, Carson, CEO and co-founder of the online coding school Treehouse, announced that its planned acquisition by tech company Skillsoft had fallen through and that significant cutbacks were likely in the future. Hours later, Treehouse laid off the vast majority of its staff without benefits or severance pay. Several Treehouse employees claimed that the cuts and layoffs were poorly communicated, and in some instances, not communicated at all, citing an erratic management style that often resulted in major strategic changes on a whim.

Carson also has a controversial history in the Web3 space due to the way in which he exited from the Moonbirds team and Proof Collective in April 2022. Carson left the collective to found 121G, an NFT venture fund, less than two weeks after Moonbirds’ launch. Web3 enthusiasts were quick to call out the circumstances of Carson’s sudden exit, noting that he had collected more than 200 ETH of Moonbirds before doing so, leading some to speculate on the possibility of insider trading and even a forced exit from the team.

What’s next?

During the AMA, Carson emphasized that he will be putting his head down to work on Flux and continue doing his best to create value for the NFT space. The future of the fund and its investors remains to be seen, but the controversy has stirred a wider conversation in the NFT ecosystem on transparency, fundraising, trust, and ethics that is likely to continue to reverberate through the community.

But wait! There’s more:

• A Complete Guide to Proof Collective’s Web3 World

• Kevin Rose Announces New NFT Collection and $50 Million Proof Raise

• ‘All White Males’: Proof Opens Up on Moving Beyond Stereotypes

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