Movement Labs suspends co-founder Rushi Manche following controversies over a market maker deal

Movement Labs has confirmed the suspension of its co-founder, Rushi Manche, following a third-party review that was requested by the Movement Network Foundation.

Announcing the suspension of Manche in a May 2 X post, Movement stated that the “decision was made in light of ongoing events.”

The decision comes after Coinbase decided to suspend the Movement Network (MOVE) token trading, citing the token’s failure to meet its listing standards.

The suspension arrived following a recently announced third-party review into an agreement that was brokered by Manche with Rentech, which helped to broker a deal with market maker Web3Port. Private intelligence firm Groom Lake is conducting the investigation.

This was followed by Web3Port reportedly selling the 66 million MOVE that it gained through the deal — about 5% of the total supply. This led to $38 million in December 2024 price pressure.

Groom Lake has not yet answered Cointelegraph’s inquiry.

According to a recent analysis, the right market maker can be a launchpad for a cryptocurrency project, opening the door to major exchanges and providing valuable liquidity to ensure that a token is tradeable. When the wrong incentives are set, however, market makers can kill a project as it is taking its first steps in the market.

A summer 2024 report suggests that up to 78% of new token listings since April 2024 have been poorly conducted, with some suggesting that market makers are involved.

Creditors of bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network have alleged that leading crypto market maker Wintermute was involved in the wash trading of the Celsius token. Wash trading is a form of market manipulation that creates the illusion that a particular asset is being traded at a higher volume than it actually is.

This is far from the only such case. In late 2024, Fracture Labs, the creator of the Web3 game Decimated, filed suit against market maker Jump Crypto for allegedly orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme using its in-game currency, DIO.

Another notable example is a Wall Street Journal report that claimed DWF Labs, one of Binance’s largest trading clients, engaged in market manipulation, wash trading and inflated trading volumes amounting to $300 million through deals with crypto projects. DWF Labs and Binance later denied the accusation in May 2024.

Last month, a Massachusetts court fined crypto market maker CLS Global for fraudulent manipulation of trading volumes. In late February, the founder of a so-called crypto hedge fund and market maker called Gotbit was extradited from Portugal to the US, where he faces market manipulation charges and wire fraud conspiracy.