The public token sale for Trove Markets, a decentralized perpetuals exchange, took a sharp turn into controversy last week, leaving some traders with major losses and raising questions about governance and transparency in crypto fundraising.
The sale, which had been progressing smoothly, became entangled in confusion after late-stage contract adjustments and conflicting announcements.
The situation was compounded by activity on a related Polymarket prediction market, where traders wagered on the total commitments of the ICO, resulting in a reported loss of approximately $73,000 for a single participant.
ICO Confusion Hits Trove Markets After Extension Announcement
Trove Markets initially announced on January 11 that the ICO had crossed $11.5 million in raised funds, showing strong interest well above the original $2.5 million target.
The team confirmed that all participants would receive pro-rata refunds and $TROVE tokens ahead of the token generation event scheduled for January 20.
In a follow-up post the same day, Trove Markets clarified that the ICO would be extended by five days to January 16, citing a desire to ensure fair distribution to real users and long-term community members.
This announcement, however, quickly created confusion, with traders unsure whether the sale would end as initially planned or be extended.
Within hours, the team issued a correction, stating that the extension was a mistake. The ICO would end as originally scheduled, and the raised amount of $11.5 million would stand.
In their announcement, Trove acknowledged that the initial extension decision was influenced by feedback from early supporters and large allocators who wanted more participants onboarded.
The team admitted this approach had inadvertently sidelined the broader community and disrupted the commitments already made, emphasizing that the focus would now shift to product delivery and mainnet launch.
Timing of Polymarket Trades Fuels Dispute Over Trove Sale Extension
Around the same time, unusually large buy orders appeared in the Polymarket event “Trove public sale total commitments?” which allowed traders to bet on the total amount raised.
Reports and screenshots shared on social media indicated that orders ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 shares were placed near the bottom of the order book, with some alleging these came from wallets linked to Trove Markets.
A user reportedly rushed to place a bet worth $89,000 just before the sale closed, hoping to capitalize on the perceived extension. Instead, the position incurred roughly $73,000 in losses when the team reversed the extension decision.
In response, a pseudonymous team member, “Unwise,” explained that the extension decision had been made under pressure with around 25 minutes remaining in the ICO.
The team identified a cluster of potentially coordinated wallets and faced the choice of ending the round or extending it to allow additional participants, aiming to protect token distribution.
The team committed to an independent third-party review of the raise and distribution to restore transparency.
Trove Markets Prepares for Mainnet After Strong ICO and Testnet Demand
Trove Markets operates an overflow ICO model, where excess contributions above the $2.5 million target are refunded on a pro-rata basis.
This ensures fair allocation while maintaining a fully diluted valuation of $20 million.
Only 12.5% of the total $TROVE token supply was offered in this public sale, and tokens will be distributed automatically at the token generation event.
Source: Trove Market
Trove Markets has also demonstrated notable early adoption. On its testnet, the perpetual DEX recorded $81.38 million in trading volume.
Source: Trove Market
Post-ICO, Trove plans to focus on onboarding traders, expanding live markets, and enhancing execution and risk systems, with a mainnet launch set for February 10 and a mobile beta app already in testing.
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