The Movement Labs team announced the firing of co-founder Rushi Manche amid a scandal arising from a deal with a market maker involving 66 million MOVE tokens. The developers confirmed that they will continue their operations under new leadership and emphasized the importance of changes to restore trust within the community.
This is reported by Finway
At the same time, Movement Labs announced the creation of a new company called Move Industries. As company representatives noted, the new structure will provide a “fresh start.” Move Industries plans to focus on technology and community while avoiding “hype,” and also promises stricter oversight of its operations.
“Why create a new firm? In light of recent events, we needed a clean break. The movement started with the community and our builders. We are going back to our roots.”
The scandal that led to Manche’s firing arose from a deal that allowed the market maker to sell a large batch of tokens, causing a sharp decline in the MOVE price. The community accused Manche of entering into the agreement without proper disclosure, which sparked outrage in the market.
Following an internal investigation, Movement Labs decided to suspend Manche on May 2, 2025. At the same time, the Binance exchange blacklisted the market maker involved in the deal, and Coinbase suspended trading of the MOVE token starting May 15. These actions further intensified the asset’s price drop, increasing pressure on investors.
According to TradingView, the token’s price has fallen by more than 32% over the past week, and at the time of writing, the MOVE price stands at $0.162. The token’s market capitalization reaches $404 million.
It is worth noting that recently, Movement Labs and two venture firms announced the establishment of a $20 million fund to develop the Ethereum ecosystem.