Movement Labs Suspends Co-Founder Over Token Dump Turmoil
Movement Labs, the blockchain development firm behind the Movement Network Layer 2 project, has officially suspended its co-founder, Rushi Manche, following mounting controversy surrounding the projects token market activity and governance practices.
Governance Review Triggers Action
The decision to suspend Manche was made public on May 2 through a statement on X.com. The company stated,
We confirm that Rushi Manche has been suspended from Movement Labs. This decision was made in light of ongoing events and as the third-party review is still being conducted by Groom Lake regarding organizational governance and recent incidents involving a market maker.
This development comes as Movement Labs faces heightened scrutiny after reports surfaced of serious market manipulation tied to its MOVE token. A third-party governance review remains underway as the company works to address concerns about internal oversight and operational integrity.
Market Manipulation Allegations Surface
The controversy centers on the actions of a market maker that reportedly liquidated a significant portion of the MOVE tokens supply shortly after its debut. Following the launch of Movement Networks mainnet beta and native MOVE token in December 2024, the unnamed entity allegedly offloaded 66 million MOVE tokens (over 5% of total supply) the day after its listing, according to findings later disclosed by Binance. The rapid selloff triggered a steep price drop, generating a reported $38 million USDT profit for the market maker before being expelled from Binance in March 2025.
Binance stated that it had notified Movement Labs and the Movement Network Foundation about the irregularities and had frozen the proceeds from the unauthorized sales. The market maker has since been permanently banned from the platform.
Coinbase Delisting and Further Investigations
In a further blow to the project, Coinbase removed MOVEs trading pairs and shifted its order books to limit-only mode. Although the exchange refrained from citing specifics, it said the decision followed a regular review of its listing standards. The move coincided with a CoinDesk investigation revealing that Movement Labs had entered a market-making agreement with Rentech, a company initially presented as a subsidiary of Web3Port but later discovered to have no verifiable digital footprint.
Leaked contract documents reportedly showed that Rentech controlled approximately 5% of the MOVE supply and was incentivized to engineer a token price surge targeting a $5 billion valuation before liquidating holdings for joint profit, raising serious questions about self-dealing within the Movement Network ecosystem.
Manches Public Acknowledgement and Fallout
Rushi Manche addressed the situation in an X post dated April 30, conceding to errors in leadership judgment.
He wrote,
We trusted the wrong advisors and made mistakes during a difficult bear market.
This admission followed Binances internal investigation that uncovered the misconduct and led to the removal of the implicated market maker.
Meanwhile, the Movement Network Foundation maintains it was unaware of the scheme until March 11, 2025. The foundation has since terminated its relationship with the market maker, alerted other exchanges to the issue, and pledged full cooperation with ongoing inquiries.
As Movement Labs continues its governance review and damage control efforts, the future of the MOVE token and the Movement Networks credibility hangs in the balance.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
Read more: https://cryptodaily.co.uk/2025/05/movement-labs-suspends-co-founder-over-token-dump-turmoil
Text source: Crypto Daily™
