What happened with the Movement Labs market maker scandal?

In April 2025, CoinDesk revealed Movement Labs signed a market-making deal giving Rentech (opaque entity) control over 66 million MOVE tokens. Led to $38M token dump, co-founder Rushi Manche termination, Coinbase delisting, 98%+ price collapse.

What is the MOVE token used for?

MOVE is the native gas token (10B max supply) for Movement Network. Used for transaction fees, governance voting, staking, and partially covers Ethereum L1 settlement costs. Current price ~$0.018 (April 2026), down 98% from $1.21 ATH.

Is Movement Network safe to use after the scandal?

Protocol layer remains functional with $200M+ TVL. However, only ~1% of token holders in profit. Team rebranded to Move Industries and is rebuilding trust. Elevated caution warranted.

How does Movement compare to Aptos and Sui?

Unlike Aptos and Sui (standalone Move L1s), Movement is an Ethereum L2 — inherits Ethereum security while gaining Move's parallel execution. Supports both Move and Solidity via EVM compatibility.

Layer 2Advanced

Movement Network Guide 2026

Q: How fast is Movement Network?

Movement's M1 infrastructure delivers verified 10,000+ TPS through Move's parallelized execution model. Compared to ~30 TPS Ethereum mainnet and 100-2000 TPS for most optimistic rollups.

Move language Ethereum L2 with 10,000+ TPS, EVM compatibility, $200M TVL. Covers technology, MOVE token scandal, Move Industries rebrand, and 2026 outlook.

Updated: April 10, 2026Reading time: 16 min

DegenSensei·Content Lead

Apr 10, 2026

16 min read

What Is Movement Network?

Movement Network is the first blockchain built using the Move programming language that settles transaction proofs on Ethereum. Founded in 2022 by Rushi Manche and Cooper Scanlon, raised $38M from Polychain Capital, Binance Labs, and Hack VC.

💡Why This Matters

This is one of those topics where surface-level understanding is dangerous. We've seen traders lose significant capital from misconceptions covered in this guide.

Core thesis: Move is a safer, more expressive smart contract language than Solidity, but Ethereum has liquidity and network effects. Movement bridges this gap by running a Move Virtual Machine (MoveVM) as an Ethereum L2.

Key Fact: Movement launched mainnet beta in December 2024 via "Cornucopia" liquidity initiative, accumulating $223 million TVL on day one — one of the largest L2 mainnet launches in history.

Architecture: MoveVM + EVM

Execution Layer

MoveVM handles execution using Move's resource-oriented model. Digital assets treated as first-class resources that can't be accidentally duplicated or destroyed. Movement provides EVM compatibility through translation layer, so Solidity developers can deploy without learning Move.

Settlement & Data Availability

All transaction proofs settle on Ethereum mainnet. Portion of MOVE gas fees funds settlement costs. Movement uses Celestia for data availability (similar to Eclipse) and integrates Polygon's AggLayer to unify liquidity across MoveVM-based L2s.

Performance: M1 infrastructure delivers verified 10,000+ TPS through Move's parallelized execution. Compared to ~30 TPS Ethereum and 100-2000 TPS for most optimistic rollups.

The Market Maker Scandal (April 2025)

CoinDesk revealed Movement Labs signed a market-making agreement giving Rentech (opaque firm with no digital footprint) control over 66 million MOVE tokens. Rentech appeared on both sides of transaction — as subsidiary of market maker Web3Port and agent of Movement Foundation.

The Fallout

Arrangement led to $38 million token dump. Foundation officials had internally flagged deal as "possibly the worst agreement" but executed anyway. Binance banned Web3Port, Coinbase delisted MOVE entirely. Co-founder Rushi Manche terminated May 7, 2025. Token crashed 98% from $1.21 ATH to $0.18.

Lesson: Movement scandal highlights importance of scrutinizing market-making arrangements. Large circulating supply loaned to opaque entity creates enormous price manipulation incentives.

Move Industries Rebrand

Following scandal, Movement Labs rebranded to Move Industries to distance from controversy. Remaining team led by co-founder Cooper Scanlon committed to rebuilding trust. Ecosystem DEXs (Mosaic, Yuzu Finance) allocated protocol revenue toward on-chain MOVE buybacks to support token price.

As of April 2026, protocol layer accumulated $200M+ TVL across DeFi protocols. Status: mid-recovery, but trust severely damaged.

MOVE Token Economics

Metric	Value
Max Supply	10,000,000,000 MOVE
Initial Circulating	22.5% (2.25B)
All-Time High	~$1.21 (Dec 2024)
Price (April 2026)	~$0.018
Holders in Profit	~1.1%

MOVE serves as gas token for all Movement transactions. Portion of fees allocated to cover Ethereum L1 settlement. Token also provides governance rights and staking capability.

2026 Outlook: Bull vs Bear Case

Bull Case

Move language genuinely solves real security problems. AggLayer integration could solve liquidity bootstrapping problem. Ecosystem buyback programs show protocol-level alignment with holders. If DeFi protocols tire of Solidity exploits, Movement offers safer alternative without leaving Ethereum.

Bear Case

Market maker scandal devastated trust and cratered token 98%+. Only ~1% in profit = massive overhead resistance. Move developer adoption remains small vs Solidity. L2 market increasingly crowded with chains worth billions more TVL. Rebrand to Move Industries may not escape scandal's shadow.

FAQ

What is Movement Network?

First blockchain built with Move language, settles on Ethereum L2. Integrates MoveVM + EVM compatibility. 10K+ TPS, $200M TVL, founded 2022.

What happened in the market maker scandal?

April 2025: opaque entity Rentech given control of 66M MOVE, led to $38M dump, 98% price crash, co-founder fired, Coinbase delisting.

How fast is Movement Network?

Verified 10,000+ TPS through Move parallelized execution. ~30 TPS Ethereum, 100-2000 TPS most L2s.

What is MOVE token used for?

Gas token for transactions, governance, staking. Max supply 10B, current price ~$0.018 (down 98% from ATH).

Is it safe to use Movement after scandal?

Protocol functional with $200M TVL, but only ~1% holders in profit. Elevated caution recommended.

How does Movement compare to Aptos/Sui?

Move-based like Aptos/Sui but Ethereum L2 (inherits Ethereum security). Supports both Move and Solidity.

Disclaimer: Movement Network scandal is real and ongoing. Only ~1% of token holders profitable. Extreme caution warranted. This is educational content only, not financial advice.

Educational disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Crypto involves significant risk — do your own research before making any decisions. Learn more about our team.