Trove to keep $9.4M after pivot to Solana as investors demand refunds

Trove Markets said it will retain $9,397,403 of funds raised to build a perpetual derivatives exchange on Solana, prompting uproar among investors after the project announced a pivot away from an expected integration with Hyperliquid days before its token generation event. Trove had raised over $11.5 million for a token sale tied to the Hyperliquid integration.

One of Trove’s builders, identified as "Unwise," blamed the change on a liquidity partner withdrawing 500,000 Hyperliquid (HYPE) tokens needed for the Hyperliquid integration, and dozens of investors have demanded refunds. Trove said it had refunded over $2.44 million to investors "as part of cleaning up participation and protecting distribution integrity," and will refund another $100,000 to participants in the initial coin offering.

The project said some of the retained funds have been or will be spent on a developer team for frontend and backend infrastructure, a chief technology officer, an advisory team, and marketing and operating expenses. Trove wrote that keeping $9,397,403 was the "only path that keeps Trove alive as a real product" and added, "We can’t reverse every cost already incurred, but we can keep building, and deliver the perp DEX for collectibles." Frustrations intensified after the newly launched TROVE token fell more than 95% to $0.0008 within ten minutes of launching, cutting its market cap from about $20 million to below $1 million, according to DEXScreener.

Key Topics

Crypto, Trove Markets, Solana, Hyperliquid, Trove Token, Perpetual Dex