Crypto Journalist
Amin Ayan
Crypto Journalist
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Trove Markets is facing mounting criticism after announcing a sudden pivot to Solana, weeks after raising more than $11.5 million tied to a token sale marketed around an integration with Hyperliquid.
Key Takeaways:
- Trove’s sudden pivot to Solana after an $11.5M raise has triggered backlash and refund demands.
- The team says a withdrawn HYPE liquidity commitment forced the move away from Hyperliquid.
- Flagged token transfers have intensified scrutiny around the project’s handling of funds.
The move has triggered calls for refunds from backers who say the project’s roadmap has materially changed.
Trove Says Liquidity Partner Withdrawal Forced Solana Pivot
Trove revealed the shift in a post on X on Friday, describing the decision as a response to changes in its operating constraints.
One of the project’s builders, known as “Unwise,” later said the pivot was prompted by a liquidity partner withdrawing 500,000 Hyperliquid (HYPE) tokens that were required to support the planned integration.
“This changes our constraints: we’re no longer building on Hyperliquid rails, so we’re rebuilding the perp DEX on Solana from the ground up,” Unwise wrote.
The TROVE token sale ran from Jan. 8 to Jan. 11, with the token generation event now scheduled for Monday at 4:00 pm UTC.
Trove said the Solana transition, combined with refund requests, has delayed its timeline. “Due to the move to Solana and the refund processing, we need more time to execute this correctly,” the team said.
The controversy is amplified by earlier funding decisions. In November, Trove raised a separate $20 million to acquire 500,000 HYPE tokens required for Hyperliquid’s mandatory HIP-3 stake, a slashable bond designed to secure new perpetual markets.
Critics argue that abandoning Hyperliquid after making that commitment undermines trust with early supporters.
Several users on X have demanded immediate refunds, arguing that contributors backed a Hyperliquid-based product, not a Solana-native one.
“People did not invest in your ICO for you to launch on Solana,” one user wrote, while others urged Trove to return funds and relaunch under revised terms.
Trove plans to build a perpetual trading platform focused on collectibles such as Pokémon cards and Counter-Strike 2 skins, a niche Bitwise estimated in September could grow into a $21.4 billion market.
The team says Solana’s infrastructure is better suited to that vision.
Meanwhile, blockchain investigator ZachXBT has flagged several Trove-linked transfers into casino deposit addresses involving HYPE tokens.
Trove Token Sale Turmoil Sparks Governance Questions
As reported, the public token sale for Trove Markets descended into controversy after late-stage changes and mixed messages disrupted what had initially been a smooth fundraising process.
Conflicting announcements around whether the ICO would be extended created confusion among participants and raised concerns about decision-making and transparency.
Trove first said the sale had surpassed $11.5 million and would include pro-rata refunds ahead of the token generation event, before announcing an extension to improve distribution.
Hours later, the team reversed course, calling the extension a mistake and confirming the original end date, acknowledging that feedback from early supporters and large allocators had influenced the brief change.
