- Movement Labs suspended Rushi Manche after allegations of a token-dumping scandal.
- Coinbase delisted MOVE after reports of a $38M dump tied to an illegitimate market maker.
- Rentech, linked to Web3Port, allegedly manipulated MOVE’s price before dumping the tokens.
Movement Labs has suspended its co-founder, Rushi Manche, following Coinbase’s delisting of the MOVE token. The suspension comes amid a growing controversy over alleged market manipulation involving a third-party market maker. Once seen as a promising project in decentralized infrastructure, the MOVE token is now under intense scrutiny from the broader crypto community.
The news broke shortly after Coinbase confirmed it would delist MOVE, citing recent events as the reason. The token, launched in December via a public airdrop, has lost over 86% of its peak value. As of press time, MOVE trades at approximately $0.1960, down 22% in the last 24 hours.
According to a report, the Movement Labs signed a deal with a market maker called Rentech, under the leadership of Rushi Manche. Rentech was allegedly misrepresented as a subsidiary of Web3Port, an entity that does not have any online presence. Investigators now believe Rentech held roughly 5% of MOVE’s total token supply.
Apart from that, documents show that Rentech was incentivized to drive MOVE’s price to a $5 billion valuation. Once the price surged, the firm reportedly dumped the tokens for massive profits. This action, according to Movement Labs, was not sanctioned by the project’s core team and is now under investigation as part of an ongoing third-party governance review.
Related: Movement Labs Advances With Developer Mainnet Launch
In response, Movement Labs posted an official statement confirming Manche’s suspension. The company said the decision was made to maintain community trust while the review continues by Groom Lake.
Coinbase’s delisting of the token adds further pressure on Movement Labs. While the exchange did not provide full details, it referenced compliance and internal risk policies as factors. The delisting follows a report that provided details on how MOVE’s price manipulation triggered widespread concerns.
Notably, Binance had banned Web3Port, the entity allegedly tied to Rentech, earlier this year. However, the repeated association of Web3Port with manipulation scandals has raised questions about due diligence and token listing processes across platforms.
Meanwhile, considering the situation, some have called for greater transparency and a clearer explanation from the Movement Labs leadership. As the third-party review proceeds, further updates are anticipated. Both Movement Labs and Coinbase have yet to issue detailed follow-up statements.
