Move Industries Rebrands After 34% Token Plunge, Leadership Overhaul

Movement Labs, a prominent player in the blockchain industry, has undergone a significant leadership overhaul following a scandal involving a market maker. The protocol, now rebranded as Move Industries, announced on May 7 that it had terminated co-founder Rushi Manche. This decision comes after a series of events that have shaken investor confidence and led to a substantial drop in the value of the MOVE token.

The leadership changes extend beyond the termination of Manche. Cooper Scanlon, the other co-founder, has voluntarily stepped down as CEO. Torab Torabi has been appointed as the new CEO and ecosystem architect, with Will Gaines serving as President and Chief Marketing Officer. Gaines expressed optimism about the future, stating that this new chapter will ensure the continued development of world-class infrastructure and businesses within the Movement ecosystem.

The scandal that precipitated these changes involved market maker Rentech, which allegedly sold 66 million MOVE tokens in December 2024, generating an estimated profit of 38 million USDT. This incident was reported by Binance in March 2025, leading to the freezing of the funds and notifications to Movement Foundation and Movement Labs. The fallout from this scandal resulted in the delisting of the MOVE token from Coinbase, which suspended all related trading pairs. Movement Labs had suspended Manche pending the outcome of investigations by third-party reviewer Groom Lake into organizational governance and the market maker incidents.

In response to the scandal, Move Industries has pledged to implement several measures to rebuild trust and improve transparency. The protocol has severed all ties with Rentech and announced a $38 million USDT buyback through a new reserve fund. This initiative aims to compensate investors affected by the token dump and to demonstrate the company's commitment to rectifying past mistakes.

Under the new leadership, Move Industries plans to focus on technology and community as its primary goals. The company has promised more transparent town halls and improved vetting and verification systems to prevent similar issues in the future. Despite these efforts, the MOVE token has continued to struggle, falling nearly 10% in the past 24 hours and trading at $0.16. Over the past week, the token has plummeted more than 34%, reflecting the ongoing uncertainty and lack of investor confidence.

The investigation by Groom Lake continues as Move Industries works to rebuild trust with its user base. The company has emphasized transparency as a key priority, aiming to restore faith in the protocol while implementing stronger governance measures. The rebrand to Move Industries represents an effort to distance the project from recent controversies and start fresh under new management. Whether these changes will be enough to reverse the token’s downward trend remains to be seen.

With Torabi and Gaines now at the helm, the company hopes to refocus on its core mission of building infrastructure for the Movement ecosystem. The new leadership has emphasized their commitment to supporting existing projects on the network while improving systems to prevent future scandals. The $38 million USDT buyback initiative represents a concrete step toward addressing the damage caused by the market maker scandal, aiming to provide some relief to affected investors.

For now, the protocol’s immediate focus appears to be on stabilizing the project and implementing promised governance reforms. The MOVE token’s price action in the coming weeks will likely serve as an indicator of market confidence in the new leadership team. The company's ability to execute on its promises of transparency and improved governance will be crucial in determining the future success of Move Industries and the MOVE token.