Just days after raising more than $11.5 million, Trove Markets unexpectedly changed the launch of its planned perpetuals exchange from Hyperliquid to Solana drawing harsh criticism from investors. The decision led to refund requests, allegations of a bait-and-switch, and more scrutiny of the project’s initial coin offering.
Pivot from Hyperliquid to Solana
Trove Markets originally sold its TROVE token on the premise of building a decentralized perpetuals exchange for collectibles such as Pokémon cards and in-game skins on Hyperliquid, a derivatives-focused infrastructure that requires builders to stake 500,000 HYPE tokens. According to project communications, a key liquidity partner withdrew that 500,000 HYPE position, removing the stake needed to deploy on Hyperliquid and forcing the team to select a different base environment.
Developer Unwise announced that Trove will now rebuild its exchange on Solana, citing the network’s performance profile and broader ecosystem as better suited to the project’s future roadmap. The team has said the TROVE token generation event will still proceed on schedule, while technical migration and any refund or compensation mechanics will follow over a longer timeline.
Investor Backlash and Trust Concerns
Backers argue that Trove marketed the raise as a Hyperliquid-specific integration and that fundamentally changing the launch venue after closing the sale violates expectations set in the original documentation. Many early supporters on social media have called the move a “bait-and-switch,” insisting that funds earmarked for a Hyperliquid deployment should not automatically roll into a Solana rebuild without explicit consent or new terms.
The backlash builds on anger from Trove’s January token sale, where the team briefly modified the ICO smart contract to extend the sale window with only minutes remaining before reversing the change, a sequence that caused heavy volatility and a reported 73,000 dollar loss for one Polymarket trader. On-chain analysts, including ZachXBT, have also flagged unusual HYPE and ICO fund movements, adding questions about treasury management and disclosure as regulators and market observers watch the situation.
What’s Next for Trove Markets
Analysts are now focused on whether Trove can rebuild credibility while attempting to ship a functioning Solana-based perpetuals platform that supports collectibles, real-world assets and prediction markets as previously advertised. The project must clarify its refund policies, governance processes and updated technical roadmap to address concerns from investors who feel misled by the sudden chain pivot.
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