Nic Carter nearly joined the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), but decided against it after cofounder Steve Witkoff mispronounced “memecoin” as “me-me” coins during a 2024 Miami meeting. Carter, an investor with Castle Island Ventures and a Trump supporter, was approached to be an advisor but left when Witkoff failed to explain the DeFi business clearly.
According to Carter's account in New York magazine, Witkoff couldn’t describe the product or the decentralized finance concept. The only goal seemed to be launching the token before the election while Trump was still a private citizen. Carter declined the role, warning that the project risked harming Trump’s support, which apparently changed Witkoff’s demeanor.
World Liberty Financial disputes Carter’s version, claiming they never offered him a position. Their own White Paper reveals the token’s sole purpose is governance, with no entitlement to dividends or returns for holders.
Token Performance and Legal Troubles
WLFI’s price started at $0.3313 on September 1, 2025, but dropped 40% that day and now trades near $0.055. Only 20% of tokens were released initially; 31.8% of the supply is currently circulating. The remaining tokens are locked until 2028, with holders who oppose unlocking remaining frozen. A contract update that allows freezing wallets was added just days before trading began.
Early backer Justin Sun sued WLFI for fraud in California, while the company filed a defamation counterclaim in Miami. Both lawsuits are ongoing.
Despite the token’s decline, the venture has been financially profitable for the Trump family, with most ordinary holders seeing little benefit. Carter viewed WLFI as a token lacking any real business foundation, a perspective underscored by the majority of the supply still being locked years later, extending beyond Trump’s term.
