Movement Labs Files for Chapter 11 After Months of MOVE Token Turmoil

Movement Labs, the team behind the Movement blockchain, has filed for bankruptcy after months of governance disputes and a controversial token launch. Court filings show the entity has more than $1 million in liabilities, compared with less than $500,000 in assets on its balance sheet.

Bankruptcy filing caps turbulent year for Movement Labs

According to the Chapter 11 filing, Movement Labs has fewer than 1,000 creditors. Per the filing, the biggest creditors comprise the Delaware Division of Revenue, Anchorage Digital, and co-founder Rushi Manche, among others.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows struggling businesses to reorganize their internal affairs while remaining open and continuing normal daily operations. 

Following the announcement, MOVE price fell by 2% over the last day, continuing its tragic decline since the start of the year. Over the last month, MOVE has tanked by 10% and has fallen by over 90% since its launch in 2025.

Movement Labs developed the Movement blockchain, an Ethereum layer-2 network that uses the Move programming language created at Meta. The project sought to bring Move-based smart contracts to Ethereum while offering lower-cost and faster transactions.

However, Moverment Labs’ challenges began after the December launch of the MOVE token. Reports emerged that a market-making agreement allowed a single counterparty to exert unusual influence over MOVE’s circulating supply. 

Leaning on the agreement, an entity sold 66 million MOVE tokens into the market one day after the tokens’ launch. The large sale coincided with a steep decline in the token’s price, triggering a wave of unfortunate events for Movement Labs.

Citing misconduct, Binance suspended the market-making account involved in the token launch. Movement Labs also parted ways with co-founder Rushi Manche, leading to the launch of Move Industries to focus on cross-border payments and stablecoin services. 

Manche says Move Industries is not affected by the bankruptcy 

In a post on X, Move Industries CEO Torab Torabi clarified that the entity has no affiliation with Movement Labs. As a result, Torabi states that Move Industries is not involved in the bankruptcy, signaling an expansion into the African market.

“Movement is now a global fintech company with access to live, licensed stablecoin rails, built to close the gap between how money moves and how it should move,” said Torabi.

However, critics are drawing a different conclusion from Torabi’s claims. In the bankruptcy proceedings, Move Industries is considered a creditor to Movement Labs, with the exact separation of historical financials and brand usage rights remaining unclear. 

Previously, leading blockchain entities have filed for bankruptcy, including Terraform Labs and Celsius, to the dismay of investors. 

Source:: Movement Labs Files for Chapter 11 After Months of MOVE Token Turmoil