Trove once had a perfect narrative.
As a Perp DEX targeting collectibles and RWA, Trove claimed to transform illiquid "cultural assets," such as Pokémon cards, CSGO skins, and luxury watches, into tradable financial assets, providing collectors with a hedging venue.
However, within just ten days, the Trove team staged a farce through a series of shocking operations, simultaneously emptying the pockets of onlookers.
Bait
At the end of October last year, Trove founder @unwisecap boasted in several articles that "everything can be Perp," announcing that Trove would be built on HIP-3, tantalizing the community.
In the following month, Trove announced collaborations with Kalshi and CARDS (Collector_Crypt), receiving endorsements from the official Twitter accounts of these well-known projects (P.S. As of the time of writing, Kalshi had already completed a "cut-off," deleting its reply under Trove's official Twitter).
In mid-December, Trove announced it had spent over $20 million to acquire 500,000 HYPE tokens to meet the integration requirements of HIP-3. Shortly after, the testnet points program was launched, and the platform's trading volume surpassed $1 million within two weeks, everything seemed to be progressing as expected. Until…
Textbook Insider Trading
On January 6, Trove suddenly announced it would conduct an ICO with a $20 million FDV, using an "over-raising" model for the public sale, which would provide priority allocation rights to point holders. Accompanied by a concentrated promotion from KOLs sporting Trove badges, Trove successfully raised $11.5 million, exceeding the target by 4.6 times.
At this point, there were less than two hours left until the ICO deadline, and the probability of the prediction market on Polymarket regarding "Trove ICO total fundraising exceeding $20 million" was approaching zero.
The show then began. The team suddenly broke the rules, announcing an extension of the ICO by 5 days to ensure fair distribution. The "YES" option on Polymarket instantly surged from the bottom to nearly 60%. Insider funds were clearly ahead of the game, as on-chain data showed that specific wallets placed precise bets before the announcement and quickly exited after the price skyrocketed.
Perhaps believing that the liquidity of the prediction market was insufficient to satisfy their appetite, amidst community skepticism, the Trove team backtracked, staging a "fire drama among feudal lords": announcing the withdrawal of the extension decision and ending the ICO as originally planned.
Accompanying this announcement, the corresponding market immediately went to zero and settled. Polymarket data showed that related wallets had placed precise bets before the news was announced and continued to profit from the subsequent reversal.
The Great Retreat
On January 17, Trove suddenly announced it would abandon Hyperliquid and instead issue tokens on Solana. For a project that had been fundraising under the banner of the Hyperliquid ecosystem, this was akin to pulling the rug out from under it.
At the same time, on-chain detective MLM captured the Trove team attempting to sell half of their HYPE tokens using a timed sell function within 40 minutes.
Choosing to sell $10 million worth of tokens during the least liquid weekend in just 40 minutes, the Trove team was clearly in a hurry.
In response to the skepticism, the Trove team's explanation seemed weak: "Investors felt nervous and decided to exit." However, on-chain transaction records showed that these sell-offs occurred while the team publicly denied "we are selling tokens."
This inconsistency completely shattered the community's trust. As trust collapsed, more dark secrets were revealed.
Notable on-chain detective ZachXBT disclosed that the Trove team paid up to $45,000 in marketing fees to @TJRTrades, directly depositing into the KOL's gambling site recharge address.
KOL @hrithikk stated that the Trove team not only provided generous marketing fees to KOLs but also privately offered ICO allocations valued as low as $8.5 million, with discounts of up to 60%, along with substantial airdrop rewards. Currently, Trove is still selling shares at low prices and has asked him more than five times whether he could invest in Trove.
Trove will have its TGE at 1 AM Beijing time on January 20, and Polymarket's market data indicates that, based on pre-sale valuations, there is a 90% probability that the TROVE token will break below its initial price.
The good news is that this farce may not end with a simple "Soft Rug." Trove claimed on its official website to comply with EU MiCA regulations. Now, facing false advertising and potential fraud allegations, angry investors have every reason to initiate civil lawsuits based on MiCA provisions.
The bad news is that chat screenshots disclosed by KOLs indicate that team members seem to be from Iran.
The Hyperliquid ecosystem is known for its strong community cohesion, but the atmosphere of rampant distrust also provides fertile ground for scoundrels to thrive.
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