Movement Labs terminates co-founder Rushi Manche amid leadership restructuring

The entity will implement new governance amid controversy over token dealings and leadership changes.

Photo: AI/ Crypto Briefing

Key Takeaways

• Movement Labs has terminated co-founder Rushi Manche amid controversies and plans a new leadership structure.
• The MOVE token price plummeted following governance issues and is facing delisting from Coinbase.

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Movement Labs has terminated Rushi Manche, the project’s CEO and co-founder, amid a leadership overhaul following recent controversies and a Coinbase delisting announcement.

“Movement Labs has terminated Rushi Manche. Movement will continue under different leadership,” the company announced Tuesday on X, noting that a revised governance structure and leadership details would be shared “soon.”

The decision follows an ongoing third-party review by Groom Lake investigating internal governance issues and controversial dealings with a market maker.

We confirm that Rushi Manche has been suspended from Movement Labs. This decision was made in light of ongoing events and as the third-party review is still being conducted by Groom Lake regarding organizational governance and recent incidents involving a market maker.

— Movement (@movementlabsxyz) May 2, 2025

The project faced increased scrutiny after Binance disclosed in March that a market-making entity had sold tens of millions of MOVE tokens.

A recent CoinDesk investigation revealed Movement Labs allegedly entered into a market-making agreement that gave a middleman, Rentech, control of 66 million MOVE tokens, valued at approximately $38 million.

Rentech reportedly sold the tokens while serving as both an agent of the Movement Foundation and a Web3Port subsidiary, raising conflict-of-interest concerns.

The situation raised questions about the potential undisclosed roles of Manche and other advisors, including Sam Thapaliya, in the transaction.

Movement Labs attempted to address the crisis by announcing a $38 million USDT buyback and ending its relationship with the market maker.

Last week, Coinbase announced it would suspend trading of Movement’s MOVE token on May 15, citing a failure to meet listing standards following a routine review. The exchange preemptively shifted MOVE to limit-only trading, prompting a 20% price drop to $0.18 before a modest rebound.

The MOVE token is currently trading at around $0.16, down around 88% from its all-time high, per CoinGecko.

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