Kyle Samani stepped down from Multicoin Capital on February 5, 2026, after almost a decade as co-founder. In the present day, he’s publicly criticizing Hyperliquid (HYPE)as on-chain knowledge exhibits Multicoin bought over $40 million in HYPE tokens.
The shut timing has fueled hypothesis that inside conflicts over funding technique prompted the departure of one of the notable Solana advocates within the crypto business.
Samani’s departure announcement on February 5 marked a big shift for Multicoin Capital, a number one drive in institutional crypto funding.
Regardless of his departure, Samani acknowledged he would stay engaged in cryptocurrency, particularly throughout the Solana ecosystem.
The announcement got here solely days after MLM analysts flagged wallets believed to be linked to Multicoin accumulating massive quantities of Hyperliquid’s HYPE token in late January.
They highlighted purchases totalling tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}. Extra evaluation means that substantial ETH flows have been rotated into HYPE over a number of days through middleman wallets.
Notably, no official affirmation has linked the trades on to Multicoin’s inside technique selections.
In the present day, February 8, simply three days after his formal exit, Samani is criticizing Hyperliquid on social media, making his place unmistakably clear.
“Hyperliquid is, in most respects, all the things flawed with crypto. The founder actually fled his residence nation to construct Overtly, which facilitates crime and terror. Closed supply Permissioned,” wrote Samani in a publish.
This sturdy criticism stands in direct distinction to Multicoin’s high-profile funding in HYPE tokens. Consequently, observers puzzled if Samani’s views clashed with the agency’s latest selections, serving to drive his exit.
Multicoin Capital earned its repute as a vocal backer of Solana. In September 2025, the agency led a $1.65 billion personal funding into Ahead Industries, working with Bounce Crypto and Galaxy Digital to create what they referred to as “the world’s main Solana treasury firm.”
Samani was named Chairman of Ahead Industries’ Board, underlining his significance to Multicoin’s Solana focus.
The Solana funding technique centered on clear yields via staking, DeFi protocols, and capital effectivity. Multicoin highlighted Solana’s infrastructure as providing higher economics than Bitcoin treasury fashions, citing native yields of 8.05% as of September 2025.
The agency additionally launched analysis on Solana initiatives like Jito, which by March 2025 powered over 94% of all Solana stake through customized block manufacturing expertise.
Hyperliquid, in the meantime, represents a contrasting strategy. The platform is a decentralized perpetual futures trade with its personal blockchain.
It’s well-liked for prime leverage and low charges, however faces criticism for its centralized validator system, closed-source code, and regulatory dangers. These options seem to oppose the rules Samani promoted at Multicoin.
Tensions between methods grew to become extra evident as analysts speculated about inside dynamics.
“Does this imply that they could not purchase HYPE so long as Kyle was working the fund, which is why his leaving coincides with Multicoin shopping for numerous HYPE?” wrote one person.
Kyle Samani didn’t instantly reply to BeInCrypto’s request for remark.
Some traders and merchants pushed again strongly towards Samani’s criticism. They argue that Hyperliquid represents a return to crypto’s unique rules moderately than a departure from them.
Hyperliquid’s resolution to direct income towards token buybacks and neighborhood incentives displays a mannequin designed to extra carefully align customers and infrastructure than many venture-backed initiatives.
The divide highlights a deeper ideological cut up rising inside crypto markets. On one aspect are traders who prioritize transparency, decentralization, and neighborhood possession as defining rules.
Then again, there are those that champion efficiency, liquidity depth, and institutional-grade infrastructure, even when these methods require trade-offs in governance or structure.
Samani’s departure itself has not been formally tied to any particular funding resolution. Neither Multicoin nor Samani has publicly acknowledged that Hyperliquid or portfolio positioning performed any position within the transition.
Generally, management adjustments at enterprise companies usually stem from long-term strategic shifts, private selections, or fund-structure concerns that is probably not seen externally.
Nonetheless, the timing has confirmed troublesome for markets to disregard. In crypto, an business the place narratives journey rapidly, the mixture of on-chain transparency and social media hypothesis usually fills gaps left by restricted official disclosures.
Hyperliquid (HYPE) Value Efficiency. Supply: TradingView
In the meantime, the HYPE token is nurturing a restoration, with the next low on the 4-hour timeframe, suggesting a development reversal if purchaser momentum sustains.
Bitwise advisor Jeff Park attributed the February 5 crypto selloff to multi-asset portfolio deleveraging slightly than crypto-specific elements. Abstract February...
