The CEO of Movement Labs – the blockchain project behind the MOVE token, has been officially dismissed following serious allegations of market manipulation. The incident not only caused the price of MOVE to plummet, but also led to Coinbase suspending trading of the token and triggered a wide-ranging internal investigation.

Movement CEO Fired Amid Scandal

Turmoil continues to hit the blockchain project Movement Labs as its CEO and co-founder, Rushi Manche, has been officially dismissed following a series of market manipulation allegations related to the native token MOVE.

Movement Labs has terminated Rushi Manche. Movement will continue under different leadership.

Details on leadership changes and a revamped governance structure will be coming soon.

— Movement (@movementlabsxyz) May 7, 2025

The controversy erupted after Coinbase unexpectedly announced it would suspend trading of MOVE on May 15, sparking widespread concern in the crypto community. Just hours later, Movement Labs announced that it had suspended Rushi Manche, marking the beginning of a wave of shocking revelations.

According to an investigation by CoinDesk, Manche allegedly overstepped his authority to push through a deal between Movement Labs and a market maker (MM), despite legal objections from the company’s compliance team.

The deal granted the market maker control over 66 million MOVE tokens, a quantity large enough to significantly manipulate the market. Binance later blacklisted that market maker for violating rules related to price manipulation.

In a statement posted on X, Rushi Manche admitted fault, saying he had been “too trusting” and failed to anticipate conflicts of interest between advisors and deal participants. However, his explanation has done little to calm the backlash from outraged investors.

Read more: MOVE Downed 80%: Catalyzed by Negative Information Overload.

Binance Suspends HODLer Airdrop Program Amid Movement Labs Scandal

In a notable development tied to the controversy, Binance has announced the suspension of its HODLer Airdrop program for the MOVE token. According to an earlier statement in early May, Binance had planned to distribute 5% of MOVE’s total supply to long-term holders approximately six months after the token’s initial listing.

However, due to ongoing events surrounding Movement Labs, Binance has decided to postpone the program until the project provides greater transparency regarding its current situation. The team will hold the airdrop tokens in a public wallet to ensure transparency with the community.

Binance emphasized that user protection and transparency standards remain its top priorities, and the exchange will closely monitor developments and update its policy accordingly.

Project Continues Operations, New Leadership Disclosure

A spokesperson for Movement Labs stated that the project will continue to operate normally under the direction of a new leadership team. The team will announce details about the updated organizational structure and the project’s strategic direction in the near future.

MOVE Price – Source: CoinGecko

Amid the escalating scandal, Movement Labs has also launched a token buyback program for MOVE in an effort to limit investor losses and restore community trust. Additionally, the team has pledged to continue its internal investigation to clarify the responsibilities of all involved parties, ensuring transparency and accountability moving forward.

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