Binance Bans Market Maker Over MOVE Token Manipulation, 38 Million USDT Buyback Announced

Binance, one of the world's leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has taken a firm stance against market manipulation by banning a market maker associated with the Movement (MOVE) project. The market maker in question is alleged to have profited from manipulating the trades of the MOVE token, which was listed on the exchange on December 10, 2024. The market maker reportedly sold approximately 66 million MOVE tokens at negligible buy orders, resulting in a net profit of around 38 million USDT before being offboarded by Binance on March 18, 2025.

Binance's investigation revealed that the market maker may have been connected to another market maker previously banned for misconduct. This market maker had also serviced other projects like GoPlus Security (GPS) and MyShell (SHELL), raising questions about a possible pattern of misconduct. Market makers are intermediaries that provide liquidity to exchanges in return for other assets, but Binance has strict rules against market manipulation, including maintaining adequate order size, limiting excessive bid-ask spreads, and preventing disruptive high-frequency trading.

In response to the incident, Movement Labs and the Movement Foundation have pledged to use the frozen funds for a MOVE token buyback program. They stated that all cash proceeds redeemed from the market maker will be used to create the Movement Strategic Reserve, a 38 million USDT buyback of MOVE tokens for long-term utility and to return the USDT liquidity to the Movement ecosystem. This initiative aims to compensate affected users and restore confidence in the project.

Binance's decisive action has intensified scrutiny on market makers involved in the MOVE project. Flowdesk and GSR Markets, two other market makers, have been mentioned in the controversy, with Flowdesk allegedly receiving 1.66 million MOVE tokens and GSR Markets allegedly receiving 70 million MOVE tokens. However, no clear evidence implicates these market makers, and their involvement remains a subject of community concern.

Despite the controversy, the price of the MOVE token briefly appreciated almost 7% after the announcement of the buyback program, highlighting the market's sensitivity to information surrounding potential price support mechanisms. This incident reinforces Binance's commitment to combating market manipulation and maintaining a fair trading environment for its users. The exchange has reiterated that it will continue monitoring trading activities for any suspicious patterns and take appropriate action to protect its user base.