Team rebrands as Move Industries, promises new governance and a return to crypto roots
Movement Labs has officially parted ways with co-founder Rushi Manche after a controversial market-making deal that triggered a steep selloff of its $MOVE token. The fallout, which led Coinbase to suspend MOVE trading, has pushed the core team to rebrand under a new name: Move Industries.
The incident highlights deeper concerns in crypto, about opaque market maker relationships, token dumping, and the urgent need for better governance in Web3 projects.
A Deal That Backfired
The controversy began with a liquidity deal Manche arranged with market maker Rentech, which brought in Web3Port to handle MOVE token distribution. Instead of stabilizing the market, Web3Port allegedly dumped 66 million MOVE tokens – roughly 5% of total supply – triggering a $38 million sell-off in December 2024.
Movement Labs suspended Manche earlier this year. Then, on May 7, the project confirmed his termination via X, stating the project would move forward under new leadership.
The scandal also caught Coinbase’s attention. The exchange delisted MOVE, citing failure to meet listing standards, a serious blow to a token’s credibility.
Meet Move Industries: A Clean Slate
Following the scandal, Movement Labs reemerged as Move Industries, led by former team members Torab Torabi (CEO) and Will Gaines (CMO).
“We needed a clean break,” the team said in its announcement. The focus now is on rebuilding trust with the community through:
- Transparent governance
- Regular town halls
- Stricter vetting of partnerships
- A renewed focus on “crypto’s radical roots”
This marks a clear attempt to reset the project’s values and distance itself from backroom deals and centralization risks.
Investigation Ongoing
The Movement Network Foundation has hired private firm Groom Lake to investigate the Rentech/Web3Port deal. While the firm’s founder, Fernando Reyes Jr., hasn’t released specifics, he teased that action is coming, comparing his mission to that of Byzantine Emperor Basil II, “The Bulgar Slayer.”
His statement: “I will soon do what he did to a large swath of scammers in this industry. I will break them.”
Web3Port’s actions have been widely condemned. Binance froze the proceeds from the MOVE token dump, and the Foundation says those funds will be used to support the token price through buybacks.
Market Makers Under the Microscope
This incident is far from isolated. Market makers – firms that provide liquidity for token trading – are increasingly seen as double-edged swords. When used wisely, they help new tokens grow. When misused, they can wreck entire projects.
Other recent cases include:
- Wintermute, accused of wash trading Celsius’s CEL token
- Jump Crypto, sued for allegedly pumping and dumping the DIO token from game studio Fracture Labs
- DWF Labs, accused of inflating token volumes by $300M — a charge both DWF and Binance denied
- CLS Global, fined after U.S. regulators ran a sting using a fake token
These stories raise serious questions about how much power market makers have — and how little accountability there is when things go wrong.
Web3 Needs Stronger Governance
The fall of Rushi Manche and the rise of Move Industries offer a real-time case study in Web3 governance under pressure. The original promise of decentralized projects was transparency and shared control. But Manche’s solo deal with market makers showed how quickly those ideals can be compromised.
Move Industries now aims to rebuild through:
- Community-first leadership
- Accountability measures
- Decentralized decision-making
It’s a reset, not just for one project, but for the ecosystem at large. As crypto matures, projects that fail to prioritize clear governance and responsible token management risk losing community trust — and their place in the market.
Final Thoughts
The MOVE token saga is a warning: in crypto, bad deals don’t stay hidden. They surface, crash markets, and burn reputations. But they also offer a chance to rebuild smarter.
For Move Industries, that means stepping out from a scandal and showing that integrity, transparency, and community alignment still matter, especially in a space where shadows move fast and consequences come hard.
