Kyle Samani resigned from Multicoin Capital on February 5, 2026, after serving as a co-founder for nearly a decade. On this day, he publicly criticized Hyperliquid (HYPE), while on-chain data showed that Multicoin purchased HYPE tokens worth over 40 million USD.
The close timing of these resignations has led to speculation that internal conflicts over investment strategies may have caused one of the most prominent Solana supporters in the crypto industry to step down.
Multicoin, Hyperliquid, and Kyle Samani: Coincidence or conflict?
Samani's resignation announcement on February 5 marks a significant turning point for Multicoin Capital, a key driver of crypto investment among institutional investors.
Even though he has stepped down, Samani stated that he still has a role in the crypto industry, particularly within the Solana ecosystem.
This announcement came just days after MLM analysts pointed to a wallet believed to be linked to Multicoin, which had accumulated a large amount of Hyperliquid's HYPE coins in late January.
They pointed to trades worth tens of millions of USD, and further analysis found that a large amount of ETH had been converted to HYPE through intermediary wallets during those days.
However, there has been no official confirmation that those trades were a direct internal decision of Multicoin.
Today, on February 8, just three days after the resignation, Samani clearly expressed critical views on Hyperliquid on social media, publicly announcing his stance.
Hyperliquid, from most perspectives, is everything wrong with crypto; the founders even fled their own country to create Openly, which is linked to crime and terrorism, being a closed system with controlled rights, as written by Samani in one post.
This harsh criticism clearly contradicts Multicoin's high-value investment in HYPE coins and raises doubts about whether Samani's attitude may not align with the company's recent decisions, possibly being one reason for his choice to leave the firm.
The investment concept in Solana with HYPE strategy.
Multicoin Capital has established itself as a major supporter of Solana; in September 2025, the firm led a private investment of $1.65 billion USD in Forward Industries alongside Jump Crypto and Galaxy Digital to create what they call the world's number one Solana treasury company.
Samani has also been appointed as the chairman of the board of directors of Forward Industries, reinforcing his important role in Multicoin's focus on Solana.
The investment strategy in Solana focuses on transparent returns through DeFi protocol staking and capital efficiency, with Multicoin emphasizing Solana's infrastructure that offers a better economic framework than Bitcoin treasury, referencing a baseline return rate of 8.05% in September 2025.
The company has also published research on Solana projects like Jito, which in March 2025 controlled over 94% of all Solana staking using custom block creation technology.
In contrast, Hyperliquid reflects a different perspective, as this platform is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange with its own blockchain.
This platform has gained popularity due to its high leverage and low fees, but it has been criticized for its central verification system with closed-source code, as well as regulatory risks, which seem to contradict the principles that Samani promotes at Multicoin.
The tension between these strategies has become more apparent as analysts began to notice internal behaviors.
"This means they cannot buy HYPE as long as Kyle is running the fund, which is why his departure coincides with Multicoin buying a lot of HYPE?" wrote one user.
Kyle Samani has not immediately responded to BeInCrypto's request for comment.
Supporters defend Hyperliquid as Samani's departure ignites ideological debates.
Some investors and traders have strongly opposed Samani's criticisms, viewing Hyperliquid as a return to the original principles of crypto rather than a deviation from them.
Hyperliquid's use of revenue to buy back tokens and provide incentives to the community reflects a model designed to align users and infrastructure more closely than many VC-backed projects.
This gap highlights a deeper ideological divide in the crypto market, with one side emphasizing transparency, decentralization, and community ownership as core principles.
Conversely, there are those who prioritize performance, liquidity, and institutional-grade infrastructure, even at the cost of some governance structures or architecture.
Samani's resignation has not yet been officially linked to any specific investment decision, as both Multicoin and Samani have never disclosed that Hyperliquid or the portfolio are involved in this transition.
Often, leadership changes in venture capital firms occur due to shifts in long-term strategies, personal matters, or fund structure, which may not be visible from the outside.
However, this period has become something the market cannot overlook. In the fast-spreading crypto industry, blockchain disclosures combined with speculation on social media often fill the gaps from the limited official announcements.
Meanwhile, the HYPE token is recovering, creating higher lows on the 4-hour chart, indicating a trend reversal if buying pressure can sustain.