$MOVE Token Under Fire As Co-Founder Controversy

The Movement Network Foundation, a prominent blockchain entity, is grappling with a controversy involving “market maker abnormalities” tied to its token, $MOVE. The situation has drawn attention to co-founder Rushi Manche, with conflicting reports about his status at Movement Labs. The situation has led to market uncertainty, impacting MOVE’s price and raising questions about the project’s governance and transparency.

Movement Market Maker Irregularities

In March 2025, Binance identified a market maker dumping 66 million MOVE tokens at Movement Labs shortly after their listing, triggering a sharp price drop. This incident contradicted the market maker’s role of ensuring liquidity and price stability through balanced trading. 

Learn more: What is Movement?

Binance accused the market maker of market manipulation, placing small buy orders while selling large token volumes, causing price volatility. The exchange froze $38 million from these activities to compensate affected users. 

Movement Labs, a blockchain project leveraging the Move language, confirmed it was unaware of the irregularities until notified by Binance. This incident drew significant attention in the crypto community, raising questions about market maker transparency.

Conflicting Reports Surround Movement Co-Founder

These problems have thrust Rushi Manche, a key figure at Movement Labs, into the spotlight. Many articles stated that Manche was on a temporary leave, with his company Slack account briefly deactivated, fueling speculation about his involvement in the irregularities. 

Manche quickly denied these claims on X, asserting he remains fully engaged with the project. His active social media presence, including sharing a photo of himself speaking as a co-founder of Movement Labs at the Web3Festival conference, supports his stance. He even called the Blockworks report “Weird reporting”.

However, the conflicting narratives have created uncertainty, with investors questioning the stability of the project’s leadership. Manche’s ability to maintain visibility and address concerns will be crucial as the investigation unfolds.

Market Reaction and Current Status

The news triggered a 5-10% drop in MOVE, reflecting market unease. Investors are wary of potential governance issues and the investigation’s outcome. Despite the price decline, Manche’s ongoing engagement and the foundation’s commitment to transparency may mitigate further losses. The investigation’s findings will be pivotal: a clear resolution could stabilize MOVE’s price, while prolonged uncertainty might deepen volatility. The crypto community awaits updates as Movement navigates this turbulent phase.