Trove Markets, a Pokémon and CSGO collectible cryptocurrency project that aimed to become a decentralized perpetual exchange, crashed spectacularly, leading to an outcry from investors.
The project aimed to launch a PERP Exchange and token on Hyperliquid, allowing users to make leveraged bets on physical collectibles.
The company raised $11.4 million through an initial coin offering (ICO) earlier this month, but was plagued by last-minute changes.
A few days before the launch of the project’s token, an anonymous liquidity partner announced that it would release it on Solana rather than Hyperliquid in response to the token unwind. $500,000 $hype position.
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This amount will reportedly allow it to build on Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 infrastructure and create a permanent futures market.
After the ICO, Trove said it would keep nearly $9.4 million “to continue building the PERP DEX on Solana” and would only refund $2.5 million to users. At this point the user had already asked for a full refund, but it was not successful.
The token finally went public yesterday and crashed over 90% within minutes. According to CoinGecko, the fully diluted value of the token was worth $20 million before launch, but has plummeted to less than $600,000.
Despite everything that’s happened, Trobe still insists the company is “not going anywhere” and is not “taking money and running it.”
He also said he was maintaining the funding allocation “for one reason.” That’s the only way to keep Trove as a genuine product.
He added, “We can’t undo all the costs we’ve already incurred, but we can continue to build and provide the best DEX for collectibles.”
Investors are now calling Trove Markets a ‘scam’
In response, users across the cryptocurrency industry criticized the project, calling it a “rug-pulling,” “eight-fig scam,” and “blatant fraud.”
One user claimed that after investing $10,000 in Trove, he only got back $3,000, the value before the token went public. After the plunge, he claims he had $285 left in his pocket.
Another said he invested $20,000 in the project but only got back $600 after the launch was a disaster. They said:It’s time for a class action lawsuit against (Trove)”
Even the law firm Berwick Law offered victims the opportunity to discuss potential compensation.
Screenshots show Trove founder Unwise downplaying refunds in a text exchange with crypto influencer CBB, while also claiming that people’s funds were tied up with market makers and that he was trying to deal with them.
Trove founder may have been identified
Cryptocurrency detective ZachXBT last year shared a photo of a person he claimed to be Unwise in the Token2049 offshoot. The suspect previously criticized Trove Markets for suspicious transactions made on casino deposits earlier this month.
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Another self-styled detective known as ‘Ai’ claims that Trove Markets is controlled by PerpsCollectibles Ltd, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
They had previously speculated that the company was run by Iranians based on activity associated with Telegram IDs.
The entire incident also led to criticism of crypto influencer ‘Wale Mocha’, who received $8,000 from Trove but did not disclose the payment.
He was “slashed” by another cryptocurrency influencer, “Didi”, on the cryptocurrency credibility website “Ethos”. Didi accused Moka of paying him an undisclosed sum of one shilling in a fraudulent project.
Mocha admitted that he did receive compensation from Trove, but not for promoting the ICO. He did not say why he received the payment, but apologized regardless for not disclosing the payment in the first place.
