Trove token's FDV is less than $1 million after launch, and ICO investors face losses of over 90%

In early January 2026, the digital collectibles contract platform Trove launched an ICO with a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $20 million, raising $2.5 million.

Subsequently, a series of controversial actions by the team led to a severe price crash after listing on Gate, with the FDV dropping below $1 million.

01 Project Narrative

Trove initially painted an attractive picture. It positioned itself as a perpetual contract decentralized exchange targeting collectibles and real-world assets.

Its core narrative was to transform illiquid “cultural assets” such as Pokémon cards, CS:GO skins, and luxury watches into tradable financial assets, providing hedging tools for collectors.

To build this narrative, Trove took frequent actions at the end of 2025. It announced collaborations with prediction market platform Kalshi and collectibles data provider CARDS, and received official endorsement from the latter.

02 ICO Controversy and Rules Doubts

On January 6, 2026, Trove officially announced an ICO with a $20 million FDV, planning to raise $2.5 million.

The project set specific participation rules: offering priority allocation to Trove points holders, with users holding between 250,000 and 10 million points receiving 10% to 20% more quota than non-holders.

The ICO quickly oversubscribed, ultimately raising $11.5 million, 4.6 times the target. Less than two hours before the scheduled end, the team suddenly announced a 5-day extension, citing “to ensure fair distribution.”

On-chain data showed that certain wallets had placed precise bets on the prediction market Polymarket before the extension announcement and quickly exited when prices surged after the announcement.

03 Trust Collapse and Urgent “Chain Swap”

As community members questioned the extension rules, the Trove team suddenly announced the withdrawal of the extension and ended the ICO as originally planned. This unpredictable move further shook investor confidence.

The real blow came on January 17. Trove suddenly announced abandoning its long-promoted Hyperliquid ecosystem and switching to issuing tokens on Solana.

For a project that had been touting itself as a Hyperliquid ecosystem project and fundraising under that banner, this was akin to pulling the rug out from under investors, completely diverging from its initial promises and narrative foundation.

04 Listing Crash and Investor Losses

On January 20, 2026, the TROVE token was listed on trading platforms like Gate. In stark contrast to the previous $20 million FDV and the hype of oversubscription, the token price opened with a severe crash.

Market data showed that after listing, TROVE’s FDV rapidly fell below $100,000, a decline of over 95% from the ICO valuation. This meant that investors participating in the public raise faced significant paper losses.

The table below compares Trove’s ICO expectations with actual post-listing performance:

05 Core Controversies and Industry Warnings

The controversy surrounding Trove goes far beyond the price crash. On-chain detective ZachXBT revealed that the Trove team paid a key influencer up to $45,000 in marketing fees, with the funds directly transferred to the influencer’s gambling website recharge address.

Another KOL exposed that the team privately offered some individuals an ICO valuation as low as $8.5 million, with discounts up to 60%, plus large airdrops. This starkly contrasts with the publicly stated $20 million FDV and raises suspicions of unfair distribution.

Even more questionable is the team’s background. Screenshots of chats suggest that key members may be from Iran. The project claimed to comply with EU MiCA regulations but is now facing accusations of false advertising and potential fraud, giving investors grounds for legal action.

This incident serves as a warning to the crypto industry, especially investors eager to participate in early-stage projects. It exposes how, in the absence of strict audits and transparent team information, even attractive narratives and short-term data can conceal significant risks.

Future Outlook

As of press time on January 20, TROVE’s trading price on Gate has deeply fallen below the ICO cost. Prediction markets on Polymarket once indicated a 90% chance of TROVE’s price crashing, and the actual situation is far more severe than the forecast.

The project’s original blueprint was to become a transformative platform for the financialization of collectibles. Now, only discussions about rights protection and litigation remain in community forums.

From acquiring HYPE tokens to integrate the ecosystem, to testing network trading volumes exceeding $1 million, and finally abandoning the original ecosystem to sell assets at low prices, the series of actions by the team has become one of the most thought-provoking cases in the early crypto market this year.