Movement Labs, the blockchain developer behind the Move programming language and the MOVE token, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following months of turmoil that included a market-making scandal, a co-founder’s suspension, and exchange delistings.
The Delaware filing lists assets and liabilities between $10 million and $50 million. The company said it will continue operating under court supervision while restructuring. Movement Labs had raised over $40 million from investors including Binance Labs, Polychain Capital, and Hack VC at a $400 million valuation in early 2024.
The crisis began in March when blockchain analytics firms identified suspicious trading patterns in MOVE token markets, suggesting coordinated wash trading by market makers engaged by the project. Movement Labs suspended its head of growth and launched an internal investigation, which confirmed improper market-making activity.
Major exchanges including Binance, Coinbase, and OKX subsequently delisted or suspended MOVE trading, citing market manipulation concerns. The token’s price collapsed over 80% from its peak, wiping out hundreds of millions in paper value.
Co-founder Rushi Manche was placed on administrative leave pending the investigation’s outcome. The company has since replaced its market-making partners and implemented new token operations controls, but the damage to credibility and treasury proved fatal to its current capital structure.
Movement Labs’ core technology — the Move language originally developed at Meta for the Diem project — remains widely used across Aptos, Sui, and other Layer 1 networks. The bankruptcy filing does not affect the open-source Move ecosystem, which is governed independently.
Creditors include token market makers, infrastructure providers, and former employees. A restructuring plan is expected within 90 days.
Source: Cointelegraph
