Movement Labs has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after raising $141 million. Here's how the project collapsed, and why the MOVE token lost 99% of its value.
Movement Labs, the company behind the Movement blockchain, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the District Court of Delaware. Following the bankruptcy news, the MOVE token was trading at $0.0106, down more than 99% from its all-time high of $1.45.
Movement was launched with big ambitions built around the Move programming language. The project promised a faster and safer blockchain for developers. Investors believed in that vision and poured more than $141 million into the company over multiple funding rounds.
But the project’s big vision did not last long. Soon after the MOVE token launched in December 2024, the project faced its biggest setback.
A market-making agreement allowed firms Rentech and Web3Port to borrow and sell around 66 million MOVE tokens, equal to about 5% of the total supply. The sudden selling pushed the token price sharply lower and wiped out billions of dollars in market value.
That incident damaged investor confidence from the very beginning.
Things got even worse when Binance banned the market making accounts linked to the token sale. Later, Coinbase also stopped trading the MOVE token because it no longer met its listing standards.
At the same time, co-founder Rushi Manche got suspended from the company and later sued Movement Labs. Court records show he is claiming more than $1.6 million in legal costs related to a U.S. Justice Department investigation.
Although Movement Labs secured more than $141 million in funding, the blockchain struggled to attract meaningful activity after launch.
According to DeFiLlama data, daily application revenue on the network has remained below $800 since November, while on-chain fees stayed in single digits for months.
During the past 24 hours, the network generated only $1 in fees, highlighting the lack of user demand despite the project's large financial backing.
The contrast between massive fundraising and almost no sustainable revenue ultimately raised questions about the project's long-term business model.
The bankruptcy filing adds new uncertainty to the future of the MOVE token.
The token currently trades around $0.010, down more than 99% from its $1.45 all-time high reached shortly after launch.
Although the Movement Foundation previously announced a $38 million token buyback using recovered funds in an effort to restore confidence, the initiative has done little to reverse investor sentiment.
Without stronger network activity, developer adoption, or growing demand for the blockchain, analysts believe the token may continue facing pressure despite recent stabilization efforts.
While Movement Labs has entered bankruptcy, the blockchain itself is expected to continue operating under a separate organization.
A newly established entity called Move Industries, formed by former team members, has taken over development and day-to-day operations. According to CEO Torab Torabi, the new company is legally separate from Movement Labs and is not affected by the bankruptcy proceedings.
The organization is also changing its long-term strategy. Rather than competing in the crowded Ethereum Layer-2 market, it plans to focus on cross-border payments, global remittances, and stablecoin settlements, targeting practical financial use cases.
Meanwhile, the bankruptcy process allows Movement Labs to continue operating while restructuring its debts under court supervision. Creditors have until September 14, 2026, to submit claims as the company attempts to reorganize under Subchapter V rules.
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