Proof Collective’s Ex-COO Ryan Carson Accused of Unethical Dealings with Flux Fund Announcement

Proof Collective’s Ex-COO, Ryan Carson has found himself in muddy waters after his Web3 fund, ‘Flux’ was met with criticism. In a tweet (now deleted) on February 3, Carson said that he planned to raise $10 million with the help of 100 investors. However, NFT Twitter, as well as the fund’s investors, were quick to notice many discrepancies. 

Here’s all you need to know about Ryan Carson’s Flux Web3 fund:

What is the Flux Web3 fund by Ryan Carson?

On February 3, Ryan Carson announced a new Web3 investment fund, called Flux. Notably, he named some of the who’s who of the industry as investors. The list included Pudgy Penguins CEO, Luca; Gary Vaynerchuk, Avastars NFT founder, j1mmy.eth, and NFT influencer, Andrew Wang; to name a few. 

He also shared a link to the official website, which has now gone private. Nonetheless, NFT community members like wale.swoosh analysed the website before it went private. Apparently, the website claimed that the fund had “79 spots remaining” for potential investors. But, here’s the catch—to be eligible, investors had to invest a minimum of $160,000. 

Besides, the website prominently displayed images of Flux’s current investors. Naturally, one would assume that each individual has already invested $160,000. With 100 investors, the final amount would total $16 million, which is much higher than the amount Carson said he was raising. Moreover, as the existing 21 investors likely invested less than the minimum amount, the NFT community alleged that they would receive the same shares as those who invested a higher amount.  

Flux Web3 fund investors withdraw investments

Amid the backlash against Ryan Carson’s Flux Web3 fund, several of the 21 investors have come forward to express their displeasure. Luca, for instance, said he has neither signed anything nor funded anything.

“I thought I was just helping people in the space and being friendly,” he tweeted. “I don’t know much about the details, but I’ve made it clear to Ryan that I don’t want to be apart of this.”

Similarly, Gmoney wrote, “I don’t feel comfortable with how this announcement was made before fundraising was complete, and the tactics for fundraising, and thus am no longer committing to the deal.” He added that he invested only $10,000 in the project. 

Ryan Carson releases statement

On February 4, Ryan Carson hosted an AMA on Twitter to answer any questions the community members may have about Flux. Furthermore, in a Twitter thread, he noted that the current Flux investors have committed $10,000 – $160,000 each.

“It’s standard practice when raising money to secure a handful of early investors at a smaller check size and then, once you’ve built momentum, require a larger minimum check size,” he added. “I offered a handful of friends the opportunity to invest at $10k to get things started.”

To be sure, this is not the first time that Carson has found himself in the middle of a controversy. For instance, amid allegations of insider trading, Carson left Proof Collective early last year. Soon, he launched 121G, an NFT venture fund.