Derivatives platform Trove Markets suddenly announced a few days before the token launch that it would abandon Hyperliquid and switch to the Solana camp, while withholding approximately $9.4 million in fundraising funds, causing a stir among investors. Even more concerning, the TROVE token plummeted 95% within 10 minutes of listing, with a market cap evaporating over $19 million, and on-chain analysis revealing suspicious token distribution patterns.
(Background summary: Rug pull tactics analysis: Nearly 20,000 rug pull projects, scammers ultimately cash out in DeFi)
(Additional background: Hyperliquid analysis: Decentralized future pillar or another high-valuation bubble?)

Table of Contents

• Raised $11.5 million, team withholds 80% of funds
• Token crashes immediately after listing: 95% market cap wipeout in 10 minutes
• On-chain analysis reveals suspicious distribution patterns
• Team claims “won’t rug pull,” but trust is already hard to regain

Just days before the Token Generation Event (TGE), Trove Markets dropped a bombshell: the team will abandon the original Hyperliquid integration plan and instead build a perpetual contract decentralized exchange on Solana. This sudden change not only caught investors off guard but also sparked questions about potential “Rug Pull” scams.

Raised $11.5 million, team withholds 80% of funds

According to an official statement, Trove previously raised over $11.5 million through an ICO, originally promised to be used for deep integration within the Hyperliquid ecosystem. However, the team announced that, citing “liquidity partner’s sudden withdrawal of 500,000 HYPE tokens,” they would retain about $9.397 million (approximately 82% of the total raised) to continue development on the Solana version.

Developer “Unwise” described this decision as “the only feasible way forward,” but this explanation clearly failed to quell investor anger. Many participants immediately demanded refunds, questioning why the team couldn’t continue operating under the original framework or at least offer a higher refund ratio.

Funds allocation details raise further doubts

Trove team disclosed the use of funds as follows:

• Front-end and back-end infrastructure development
• Chief Technology Officer (CTO) position
• Advisory team
• Marketing and operational expenses

Notably, the team only refunded $2.44 million for “clearing participant lists and protecting distribution fairness,” and another $100,000 was returned to ICO participants—less than 22% of the total funds raised.

Token crashes immediately after listing: 95% market cap wipeout in 10 minutes

The market performance of TROVE tokens was even worse. According to DEXScreener data, the token plummeted 95% from its opening price within just 10 minutes of listing, hitting a low of $0.0008. Its market cap also dropped from about $20 million to less than $1 million, nearly “zeroing out.”

This flash crash pattern is similar to many past Rug Pull cases: project teams quickly sell off their tokens after fundraising, causing prices to collapse in a short period, leaving retail investors as the final bagholders.

On-chain analysis reveals suspicious distribution patterns

Blockchain analysis platform Bubblemaps’ investigation adds more doubt to this incident. The platform found that a single entity acquired up to 12% of the TROVE supply through 80 newly created wallet addresses. Even more concerning, these wallets’ funds all originated from non-custodial exchange ChangeHero.

Although Bubblemaps stated that they cannot currently confirm direct links between these wallets and the Trove team, such concentration of distribution and the “split transfer” method common in money laundering significantly heighten community concerns about the team’s integrity.

Team claims “won’t rug pull,” but trust is already hard to regain

In response to widespread criticism, Trove’s team issued a statement emphasizing: “We will not disappear; we are still building,” and promised to “regain trust through actual execution.”

According to their plan, the platform will focus on sustainable contract trading related to collectibles, including assets like Pokémon cards and game skins from “Counter-Strike 2” (CS2). Asset management firm Bitwise has estimated that this market could reach a scale of $21.4 billion.

However, with 80% of raised funds retained, token prices nearly zero, and on-chain data riddled with doubts, whether Trove can truly fulfill its promises and rebuild investor confidence remains a big question mark.

Investor cautionary advice

This incident highlights the high risks involved in participating in ICOs. Experts recommend that investors carefully evaluate the following before engaging in any token issuance:

• Whether the team’s background and past track record are transparent and verifiable
• Whether the fund utilization plan is specific and reasonable
• Whether the token distribution mechanism poses centralization risks
• Whether there are independent third-party audits or guarantee mechanisms