Trove Markets is facing growing criticism after announcing a sudden shift to Solana, weeks after raising more than $11.5 million tied to a token sale marketed around an integration with Hyperliquide.
Key points to remember:
- Trove’s sudden pivot to Solana after an $11.5 million raise sparked backlash and demands for refunds.
- The team claims that a withdrawal of the HYPE liquidity commitment forced the abandonment of Hyperliquid.
- The reported token transfers have intensified scrutiny over the project’s fund management.
The move has sparked calls for repayment from backers who say the project’s roadmap has changed significantly.
Trove Says Liquidity Partner Withdrawal Forced Solana Pivot
Trove revealed the change in an article on X on Friday, describing the decision as a response to changes in its operational constraints.
One of the project’s builders, known as “Unwise,” later said the pivot was prompted by a liquidity partner’s withdrawal of 500,000 Hyperliquid (HYPE) tokens needed to support the planned integration.
“This changes our constraints: we are no longer building on Hyperliquid rails, so we are rebuilding the perp DEX on Solana from scratch,” Unwise wrote.
The TROVE token sale ran from January 8-11, with the token generation event now scheduled for Monday at 4:00 p.m. UTC.
Trove said the Solana transition, combined with reimbursement demands, has delayed its timeline. “Due to the move to Solana and processing refunds, we need more time to execute this properly,” the team said.
The controversy is amplified by previous funding decisions. In November, Trove raised a separate $20 million to acquire 500,000 HYPE tokens required for mandatory participation in Hyperliquid HIP-3, a reducible bond designed to secure new perpetual markets.
Critics say abandoning Hyperliquid after making this commitment undermines the confidence of early supporters.
Several X users demanded immediate refunds, arguing that contributors were supporting a hyperliquid product and not a native Solana product.
“People didn’t invest in your ICO for you to launch on Solana,” one user wrote, while others urged Trove to return the funds and relaunch under revised terms.
Trove plans to create a perpetual trading platform focused on collectibles such as Pokémon cards and Counter-Strike 2 skins, a niche estimated by Bitwise in September that could become a $21.4 billion market.
The team says Solana’s infrastructure is better suited to this vision.
Meanwhile, blockchain investigator ZachXBT reported several Trove-related transfers to casino deposit addresses involving HYPE tokens.
Turmoil over Trove token sale raises governance questions
As reported, the public token sale for Trove Markets resulted in controversy after late changes and mixed messaging disrupted what had initially been a smooth fundraising process.
Conflicting announcements regarding the extension of the ICO created confusion among participants and raised concerns about decision-making and transparency.
Trove initially said the sale had exceeded $11.5 million and would include prorated 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 top spreaders influenced the brief change.
The article Backers Demand Refunds as Trove Abandons Hyperliquid Integration for Solana appeared first on Cryptonews.
