What happened with Trove Markets?

Pokémon and CSGO collectible crypto project Trove Markets, which aspired to become a decentralized perpetual exchange, has crashed spectacularly, leading to intense outcry from investors.

The project was meant to launch a perp exchange and token on Hyperliquid and allow users to make leveraged bets on physical collectibles.

It raised $11.4 million by way of an initial coin offering (ICO) earlier this month, however, that was dogged by last-minute changes.

Days before the launch of the project’s token, it announced that it would release on Solana instead of Hyperliquid in response to an unnamed liquidity partner unwinding their $500,000 $HYPE position. 

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This sum would reportedly allow it to build on Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 infrastructure and create perpetual futures markets.

After the ICO, Trove said that it would keep almost $9.4 million “to continue building a perp DEX on Solana,” and refund only $2.5 million to users. Users had already, without success, begged for a full refund by this point. 

The token finally went live yesterday, and it crashed by more than 90% in minutes. According to CoinGecko, the token’s fully diluted value was worth $20 million before launch and plummeted to less than $600,000. 

Despite everything that happened, Trove still claims that the firm isn’t “going anywhere,” and that it isn’t “taking the money and running.”

It also said that it’s keeping an allocation of funds “for one reason.” Namely that “it’s the only path that keeps Trove alive as a real product.”

It added, “We can’t reverse every cost already incurred, but we can keep building, and deliver the perp DEX for collectibles.”

Investors now call Trove Markets a ‘scam’

In response, users across the crypto space decried the project as a “rug pull,” “an 8-fig scam,” and “blatant fraud.”

One user claimed that, after investing $10,000 into Trove, they only got back $3,000 that was valued before the token went live. After it plummeted, they claim to have been left with $285.

Another said they invested $20,000 into the project but after the disastrous launch, only received $600 back. They said, “It’s time for a class-action lawsuit against [Trove].”

Even legal firm Burwick Law offered victims the opportunity to discuss potential compensation. 

Screenshots have shown apparent Trove founder “Unwise” downplaying refunds in a text exchange with crypto influencer “CBB,” while also claiming that people’s money had been tied up in a market maker that he was trying to address.

Trove founder may have been doxxed

Crypto sleuth ZachXBT shared a photo of someone at an offshoot of Token2049 last year who reportedly claimed to be Unwise. The sleuth previously criticized Trove markets for suspicious transactions made to casino deposits earlier this month. 

Read more: Hyperliquid unlocks 12M HYPE tokens, dilutes holders by $330M

Another self-proclaimed sleuth known as “Eye” claims that Trove Markets is managed by the British Virgin Islands-registered company PerpsCollectibles Ltd.

They previously speculated that the firm is run by an Iranian, based on activity linked to their Telegram ID.  

The whole affair also led to criticism against crypto influencer “Wale Moca,” who had received $8,000 from Trove and failed to disclose the payment. 

He was “slashed” on the crypto credibility website Ethos by another crypto influencer, “Didi,” who accused Moca of shilling a scam project for an undisclosed sum

Moca admitted that he was in fact paid by Trove, but not to promote the ICO. He didn’t disclose why he was paid, but apologised regardless for not disclosing the payment in the first place. 

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