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- Coinbase has announced it will delist MOVE amid controversy over a $38M token sell-off.
- MOVE has plunged to a record low, down 84% from its December 2024 peak.
- Movevent Labs co‑founder Rushi Manche has been suspended amid governance and audit inquiries.
Following Coinbase’s May 15, 2025 announcement that it would suspend trading, the Ethereum-based Movement Network’s MOVE token collapsed to unprecedented depths.
We regularly monitor the assets on our exchange to ensure they meet our listing standards. Based on recent reviews, we will suspend trading for Movement (MOVE) on May 15, 2025, on or around 2 PM ET.
— Coinbase Assets 🛡️ (@CoinbaseAssets) May 1, 2025
After allegations surfaced of a $38 million token dump and questionable market‑making arrangements, the exchange placed MOVE into restricted mode and concluded the token no longer met its listing standards.
Market‑making scandal
Coinbase’s decision to halt new trading followed revelations in internal documents that Movement Labs had signed a market‑making arrangement that gave an outside intermediary undue influence.
The agreement reportedly bundled Web3Port with a little‑known firm called Rentech, allegedly granting Rentech the right to sell large quantities of MOVE once the token’s fully diluted valuation reached $5 billion.
Soon after MOVE began trading, a rapid sell‑off by Rentech triggered a sharp price collapse that eroded investor confidence within hours.
Movement Labs responded by announcing a $38 million reserve fund intended to buy back the dumped tokens, but critics say no meaningful repurchases have been executed to date.
Binance escalated the crisis by freezing funds linked to the same market maker, heightening concerns about the project’s governance and transparency.
Investigation Findings on Staff Misconduct in Trading
Dear Binance Users and Community Members,
On March 23, 2025, Binance’s Internal Audit team received a complaint alleging that one of our staff members engaged in front-running trades using insider information to gain… pic.twitter.com/SVVvu4rX1x
— Binance Wallet (@BinanceWallet) March 25, 2025
Amid these developments, Movement Labs suspended co‑founder Rushi Manche on May 2 while an independent review led by intelligence firm Groom Lake continues.
We confirm that Rushi Manche has been suspended from Movement Labs. This decision was made in light of ongoing events and as the third-party review is still being conducted by Groom Lake regarding organizational governance and recent incidents involving a market maker.
— Movement (@movementlabsxyz) May 2, 2025
Manche has publicly distanced himself from the token dumps, stating bad actors acted behind the protocol and denying personal involvement in off‑market sales.
Even with those assurances, the sudden leadership disruption has intensified uncertainty around MOVE’s strategic direction and governance reforms.
MOVE token battered
After Coinbase’s restricted‑mode notice on May 1 and the formal delisting announcement, MOVE’s price plunged more than 20% to a record low near $0.18, later recovering slightly to $0.1985 at the time of publication.
Source: CoinMarketCap
The token trades over 86% below its December 2024 peak of $1.45, illustrating how turbulence at a single project can overwhelm broader market rebounds.
At the time of writing, MOVE’s market capitalization stood around $496.27 million, while 24‑hour trading volume surged an astonishing 398.04%, leaving a volume‑to‑market‑cap ratio above 116.66%.
The circulating supply is 2.5 billion MOVE out of a 10 billion total supply, raising concerns about vulnerability to sell pressure when liquidity is thin.
Technical indicators offered little respite: the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) continued to decline, showing no bullish divergence or reversal signals.
From an Elliott Wave perspective, MOVE appears to be in an extended fifth wave of its downtrend, suggesting potential further declines toward a 1.61 extension target near $0.136.
Community sentiment has visibly deteriorated, with Telegram discussions swinging between attempts to limit further losses and outright accusations that MOVE is another crypto scam.
A Movement Network Foundation spokesperson emphasized the suspension is not necessarily permanent and said negotiations with Coinbase are underway to restore trading if listing standards are met.
However, delays to the promised MoveDrop airdrop and the lack of a concrete timetable for deploying the strategic reserve have left many token holders skeptical.
Approximately 33,850 addresses hold MOVE, and the fully diluted valuation remains near $1.98 billion—regaining stakeholder trust will be a difficult task.
As Movement Labs undergoes governance audits, works to honor buyback commitments and seeks possible reinstatement on major exchanges, MOVE’s future hinges on transparent accountability and tangible remediation.
Only by addressing the structural flaws exposed by the market‑making scandal and delivering on recovery promises can Movement hope to restore credibility and value to its token.