Betrayal or Business? Trove Exits Hyperliquid for Solana

Trove Markets surprised investors by abruptly abandoning its Hyperliquid-based perpetuals exchange for Solana just hours before its token launch on January 18, 2026. The sudden decision followed a liquidity partner’s decision to close a 500,000 position in HYPE tokens. The development raised concerns about a potential dump of over $10 million in tokens.

In response, the pseudonymous founder, known as “unwise,” announced on X that they would need to rebuild the project on Solana due to Hyperliquid’s loss of support. This announcement came alongside earlier issues, such as a disputed $45,000 transfer highlighted by investigator ZachXBT and undisclosed payments to influencers.

Rationale Behind the Exit

Trove Markets is a new decentralized exchange (DEX) operating on the Hyperliquid network, specializing in trading illiquid assets such as Pokémon cards, luxury watches, CS2 skins, and stocks with leverage of up to 10x. During its testing phase, the DEX achieved impressive results, processing over $1 billion in trades and attracting 24,000 users within a month.

Investors participated in its $11.5 million Initial Coin Offering (ICO) from January 8 to 11, with a fully diluted valuation of $20 million, expecting full support from Hyperliquid and requiring 500,000 HYPE tokens to access the market. However, when the liquidity partner withdrew their support due to negative sentiments, the team was compelled to sell some of its HYPE holdings using a time-weighted average price (TWAP) method.

According to Unwise, Hyperliquid’s sudden shift significantly alters the exchange’s original plan, as Solana offers different infrastructure benefits that do not align with the specific needs of the early investors.

Exit Decision Suffers Intense Backlash

Trove Markets’ recent decision, however, has triggered a strong negative reaction from its community, with many comments on X expressing dissatisfaction. Users are calling the shift a “bait-and-switch” and demanding refunds. They emphasize that the funds they contributed were meant for a Hyperliquid product, not for a rebuild on Solana that lacks a clear timeline.

Prominent users have criticized the team for being deceptive. On-chain data and past issues, such as unexpected changes to the ICO deadline that led to $73,000 in losses on Polymarket, have further eroded trust. While some believe that Solana’s expanding DeFi ecosystem could provide long-term benefits, most people feel it undermines the project’s credibility.

Meanwhile, the team has promised to share contract details and distribution information upon launch, but accusations of fund misuse still linger. Enthusiasts have made strong calls for greater accountability in decentralized fundraising efforts.

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