Movement, the beleaguered Ethereum Layer 2 that was mired in controversy shortly after launch last year, has relaunched as a standalone Layer 1 blockchain with the intent of becoming the stablecoin settlement solution for emerging markets. According to The Block, Move Industries announced that over the past several months, it has worked to secure access to licensed payment rails across the United States, Canada, and the European Union via partnerships with regulated money transmitters and e-money institutions. The firm is now partnered with the likes of stablecoin issuer Circle, wallet startups KAST and Sorted, and tokenization projects Oro, Yuzu Money, and Zoth, among others, on a litany of offerings.
Rather than chasing general-purpose block space in an oversupplied Layer 2 market, Movement is doubling down on 'real-world' use cases in underserved regions via a sovereign blockchain. As reported by The Block, Torabi noted that Movement offered no competitive advantage as an Ethereum Layer 2, calling the old network a 'Frankenstein' chain cobbled together from various components and dependencies. The project still uses the MOVE programming language, which was built internally at Facebook for the shuttered Libra/Diem blockchain effort. Movement now runs its own validator set on a dedicated Layer 1 and is targeting sub-500 millisecond settlement times.
The relaunch comes after a major token-dumping scandal in early 2025 that severely damaged the project's reputation. According to a Binance investigation, a market maker associated with Movement called Rentech had controlled 66 million MOVE tokens, roughly 5% of total supply, that were rapidly sold off following the token launch, causing a $38 million sell-off and a sharp price crash within a day of its debut. Binance and Coinbase suspended trading of the MOVE token, and the token has traded below the $0.04 level year-to-date and is currently closer to $0.01, down from an all-time high of $1.45. Movement Labs conducted an internal investigation that alleged former CEO Rushi Manche had played a part in coordinating the token dump, leading to his termination.
In an effort to regain trust, Movement Labs conducted an internal investigation and offered investors an offramp, ending up repurchasing approximately 19% of tokens previously allocated to investors — equivalent to 4.2% of total supply. As reported by The Block, Torabi claims that Movement has maintained an over 90% retention rate since last year, indicating that even if the Movement brand has been tarnished, its builders still believe in the mission. Many of the investors who took the buyout had invested at a time when Movement was planned as an Avalanche subnet, according to Torabi.
Movement is rebranding at a time when it is focusing on emerging markets, with Torabi having just returned from a trip to Ethiopia where he met with the country's president, the Ministry of Finance, and major fintech players. According to The Block, Torabi noted that he's been meeting with leaders in emerging markets and having difficult conversations about stablecoin adoption amid capital controls. He emphasized the need to 'roll out responsibly, where I don't screw an entire economy' and make people's lives better. Torabi claims that even during high-level conversations in Addis Ababa, few people are asking questions about Movement's past, as there are two buckets of people — those who are crypto native and those who are not.
