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Trove Markets, a new perpetual DEX project that launched its token on Solana, is facing serious accusations of a rug pull after its token (TROVE) collapsed almost immediately following its ICO.
On January 20, TROVE dropped by around 98% within minutes of launch. The crash wiped out nearly the entire post-sale valuation, with some trackers showing the token’s fully diluted valuation falling from roughly $20 million to just over $100,000 at the low.
A chart circulating on GeckoTerminal showed a near-vertical breakdown in TROVE/USD shortly after trading went live on Solana-based venues, with holders reporting they were unable to exit without taking massive slippage.
The token collapse followed a heavily criticised ICO process that began days earlier, when Trove Markets raised capital via Hyperliquid. The fundraising effort reportedly exceeded expectations significantly, with the team raising over $11.5 million after setting an initial target of $2.5 million.
That raise quickly became controversial after Trove announced it would not be returning most of the funds. Instead, the project stated it would retain around $9.3 million, saying it would be used to build infrastructure for the platform. The decision triggered backlash across Crypto Twitter, with many contributors calling the move a major red flag and arguing the raise had created an unfair risk profile for retail supporters.
Shortly after the token went live, on-chain observers claimed the team drained liquidity worth approximately $2.5 million. ICO participants reportedly received no refunds.
Crypto sleuth ZachXBT weighed in while users tried to identify individuals behind the project. ZachXBT reportedly shared a photo of a person who claimed to be a Trove Markets co-founder during Token2049 in October 2025.
For Trove victims here’s who was introducing themselves as its founder unwisecap during a side event at Token2049 in Oct 2025 pic.twitter.com/te2RzsSBtz
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) January 20, 2026
The Trove Markets blowup adds to a growing list of highly controversial token launches where fundraising hype was followed by immediate collapse and project silence. With token sales returning across multiple ecosystems, the incident is already being cited as yet another example of how quickly retail investors can be trapped when launches go live with weak liquidity protections and unclear accountability.