Kyle Samani criticizes HyperLiquid within days of leaving Multicoin

Kyle Samani resigned from Multicoin Capital on February 5, 2026 after serving as co-founder for nearly a decade. Currently, he is publicly criticizing Hyperliquid ($HYPE) According to on-chain data, Multicoin has been purchased for over $40 million $HYPE token.

The close timing has fueled speculation that internal conflicts over investment strategy may have prompted the departure of one of the cryptocurrency industry’s most prominent supporters of Solana.

Multicoin, Hyperliquid, and Kyle Samani: Coincidence or collision?

Samani’s announcement of his departure on February 5 marked a major change for Multicoin Capital, a leader in institutional crypto investing.

Despite his retirement, Samani said he will continue to work with cryptocurrencies, particularly within the Solana ecosystem.

The announcement comes just days after MLM analysts issued a warning about wallets that appear to be linked to Multicoin accumulating large amounts of HyperLiquid funds. $HYPE Tokens in late January.

They highlighted purchases totaling tens of millions of dollars. According to additional analysis, $ETH The flow rotates $HYPE Over several days via an intermediary wallet.

Notably, there is no official confirmation that this transaction is directly related to Multicoin’s internal strategic decisions.

Today, February 8, just three days after officially stepping down, Samani criticized HyperLiquid on social media, making his position unmistakably clear.

“Hyperliquid is, in most ways, everything wrong with cryptocurrencies. The founders literally fled their home country to build an open-source platform that facilitates crime and terrorism. Closed source is allowed,” Samani wrote in the post.

This strong criticism stands in contrast to Multicoin’s high-profile investments. $HYPE token. As a result, observers wondered whether Samani’s views clashed with the company’s recent decisions, which led to his departure.

Solana investment philosophy and comparison $HYPE strategy

Multicoin Capital has earned a reputation as a vocal supporter of Solana. In September 2025, the company led a $1.65 billion private investment in Forward Industries, working with Jump Crypto and Galaxy Digital to create what they call “the world’s leading Solana treasury company.”

Samani was appointed Chairman of the Board of Forward Industries, underscoring his importance to Multicoin’s focus on Solana.

Solana’s investment strategy was centered around transparent yield through staking, DeFi protocols, and capital efficiency. Multicoin highlighted that Solana’s infrastructure offers better economics than Bitcoin’s financial model, citing a native yield of 8.05% as of September 2025.

The company also announced findings on Solana projects such as Jito, which will power more than 94% of all Solana shares by March 2025 through custom block production technology.

Hyperliquid, on the other hand, takes a contrasting approach. The platform is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange with its own blockchain.

Popular for its high leverage and low fees, it has faced criticism due to its centralized validator system, closed source code, and regulatory risks. These features seem to go against the principles that Samani promoted with Multicoin.

As analysts speculated about internal dynamics, tensions between strategies became more apparent.

“Does that mean you couldn’t buy it?” $HYPE As long as Kyle was running the fund, that’s why his departure coincided with the large purchase of Multicoin. $HYPE? ” one user wrote.

Kyle Samani did not immediately respond to BeInCrypto’s request for comment.

Supporters defend Hyperliquid as Samani’s departure sparks ideological controversy

Some investors and traders strongly objected to Samani’s criticism. They argue that Hyperliquid represents not a departure from cryptocurrencies’ original principles, but a return to them.

Hyperliquid’s decision to direct revenue toward token buybacks and community incentives reflects a model designed to align users and infrastructure more closely than many venture-backed projects.

This split highlights a deeper ideological divide within the crypto market. On the other hand, there are investors who prioritize transparency, decentralization, and community ownership as defining principles.

Others champion performance, liquidity depth, and institutional-level infrastructure, even if the system requires governance and architectural tradeoffs.

Samani’s resignation itself has not been formally linked to any specific investment decisions. Neither Multicoin nor Samani have publicly stated that HyperLiquid or portfolio positioning played any role in the transition.

Leadership changes in ventures often result from long-term strategic changes, personal decisions, or funding structure considerations that are invisible to the outside world.

Still, the timing has proven difficult for markets to ignore. In the crypto industry, where stories spread quickly, a combination of on-chain transparency and social media speculation often fills the gaps created by limited public disclosure.

on the other hand, $HYPE The token is fueling a recovery, hitting new 4-hour lows, suggesting a trend reversal if the buying momentum continues.

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