Movement Labs Terminates Co-Founder Rushi Manche Amid Governance Scandals, Launches Move Industries
1min read Movement Labs, an Ethereum layer-2 startup, has terminated its co-founder Rushi Manche following a tumultuous week marked by governance scandals, market maker fallout, and escalating community pressure. The decision to cut ties with Manche was announced early Wednesday on X, where the team also revealed the launch of move industries, a new entity that will lead the project under different leadership.
The new team at Move Industries, led by Torab Torabi as CEO and Will Gaines as President and CMO, has pledged a return to "crypto’s radical roots," emphasizing improved transparency, stronger internal governance, and a builder-first approach. Torabi joined Movement Labs in September 2023 as Director of Business Development, while Gaines has been a longtime marketing head for the company.
Manche's termination follows his suspension last Thursday, which was initiated in response to ongoing events involving market maker rentech. Rentech allegedly dumped 66 million MOVE tokens, equivalent to 5% of the total supply, within 24 hours of the token’s launch in December. The market maker, posing as an affiliate of a trading firm, executed the dump despite legal concerns raised by Movement’s own counsel. Manche, who allegedly forwarded the controversial deal despite legal red flags, remained active in both Movement Labs and its nonprofit foundation, violating governance separation principles.
As the fallout deepened, Binance froze $38 million in proceeds and offboarded the offending market maker, accusing it of flooding the platform with sell orders and little buy support. Coinbase, citing a routine asset review, announced it would suspend MOVE trading on May 15, leading to a further plunge in the token's value to $0.1579, its lowest ever. The MOVE token is currently trading at approximately $0.1606, reflecting an 8.48% decline in the last 24 hours and a 34.70% decline over the past week.
Despite the chaos, Move Industries has assured the community that "all previously announced initiatives are moving forward," including MoveDrop, Parthenon, DeFi Spring, and "major updates to the network." A community AMA is scheduled for Friday to address the changes and provide further clarity to users, as per the platform’s official Telegram channel.
Ask Aime: What's the future of MOVE after the co-founder's termination and the launch of Move Industries?
In summary, the termination of Rushi Manche and the launch of Move Industries mark a significant shift for the Ethereum layer-2 startup. The new leadership aims to restore trust and transparency within the project, addressing the governance issues that led to the recent turmoil. The community's response to these changes will be crucial in determining the future direction of the MOVE token and the broader project.
