Movement Labs Fires Co-founder Rushi Manche and Rebrands as Move Industries

Movement Labs has fired co-founder Rushi Manche and is renaming itself Move Industries. The firm's third-party review on organizational governance and the recent market maker debacle continue.

Movement Labs has fired co-founder Rushi Manche and will continue under new leadership, the firm revealed in a post on X (Twitter) on Thursday.

The development comes only days after Manche's suspension, which BeInCrypto reported. The incident follows a third-party investigation into alleged market maker misconduct involving the MOVE token.

When the investigation began, Manche was said to be on a temporary leave of absence. At the time, Manche disputed reports of his departure from the project. Reports also circulated about his status on Slack, adding to the controversy.

As the community digests this development, the MOVE token has dropped by over 10% in the last 24 hours.

The drop comes as some community members expressed disappointment with the development, citing a lack of clarity.

"This is incredibly disappointing. The community deserves transparency—not vague statements and behind-the-scenes decisions," one user remarked.

The sentiment is that they fired Manche without context, withholding details of the investigation.

"...asking us to wait for details isn't how trust is built. If Movement is serious about governance and decentralization, start by being honest with the people who believed in this project," they added.

Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that the entire saga centers on agreements between entities linked to Movement Labs and market makers upon the project's inception.

Shadow advisors, concealed payment flows, and controversial token allocations upon the MOVE token's launch all contributed to the situation, culminating in Manche's termination.

Cooper Scanlon Announces Restructuring and Rebranding

Co-founder Cooper Scanlon has addressed the prevailing controversy, mentioning allegations and attempts to spread false narratives against him and the Movement.

"I won't engage with these narratives or allow them to encumber us by the ill-intentioned individuals coming after me to hurt the company at the same time. The third-party review will address all these matters in time," Scanlon stated.

With this stance, he mentions the need to restructure and rebuild a new company. As Rushi Manche exits the company, Scanlon is commissioning another project, Move Industries.

Torab Torabi, one of Movement Labs' founding team members, will lead the new initiative as CEO. Meanwhile, Will Gaines will be president after spearheading the Movement's marketing department.

"Today, I give my blessing to Torab as they establish Move Industries with Torab as the CEO and with Willis as President and Torab’s right hand. This journey has been incredible, and I am proud of what we have built together,” Scalon stated.

Acknowledging the launch, Move Industries mentions a clean break, returning to its roots with the community and builders. It has committed to town halls for transparency and more rigorous vetting and verification.

“We are Move Industries. The Movement is now under new leadership. Today, a new era begins...The focus will be dual, the north stars being both technology and community. A focus built not only on hype but action...We will return to crypto's radical roots. We want to build better opportunities for people,” Move Industries said.

More interestingly, Move Industries said it would move forward with MoveDrop (MOVE airdrop) after the recent delay.