Movement Labs, Backed by Trump-Linked World Liberty Financial (WLFI), Faces Backlash Over Deal With Insiders

Movement Labs, which is backed by the Trump-linked World Liberty Financial (WLFI), is again facing backlash following allegations over a deal that the team made with early insiders.

Movement Labs, the startup behind the MOVE token and backed by Trump-linked World Liberty Financial (WLFI), is again facing backlash. This time, allegations over a deal that the team made with early insiders have surfaced.

According to Journalist Sam Kessler, the crypto startup quietly promised early insiders access to up to 10% of the supply of the MOVE token. The journalist cited documents that CoinDesk obtained, adding that the team didn’t disclose this deal to investors.

The documents showed that Movement Labs allocated a large portion of its token supply to two shadow advisers, including Zebec CEO Sam Thapaliya, during early funding rounds in 2023. Kessler noted that some of the documents promised nearly $2 million annually in compensation.

The agreement also showed that the MOVE team agreed to allocate 5% of the token’s total supply to Thapaliya Trust for “marketing, market making, and exchange alignment.” Kessler alleges that Thapaliya later transferred this same amount to Web3Port, a Chinese firm that allegedly dumped $38 million worth of tokens after launch.

Interestingly, the Movement Labs allegedly gave Thapaliya another 2.5% of the MOVE token’s supply. Meanwhile, the team promised Vinit Parekh, another early adviser, 2.5% of the token’s supply for every $1 million that the team raised.

The MOVE token price is $0.2, down over 6% in the last 24 hours. This news comes just days after Coinbase suspended MOVE trading on its platform amid market manipulation allegations.