Movement Labs confirmed the termination of its co-founder, Rushi Manche, following controversies over a market maker deal that he brokered.

Movement Labs made the announcement in a May 7 X post, stating it had “terminated Rushi Manche.” The project said it “will continue under a different leadership.” The post also hints at upcoming governance changes.

The termination follows Movement Labs announcing Manche’s suspension earlier this month, explaining that the “decision was made in light of ongoing events.” It also comes after Coinbase’s recent decision to suspend the Movement Network (MOVE) token, citing its failure to meet its listing standards.

Source: Movement

Related: Movement Network to buy back tokens with $38M recovered from rogue market maker

Movement Labs launches Move Industries

In addition to terminating Manche, Movement Labs announced the launch of Move Industries, with former Movement Labs employees Torab Torabi as the firm’s CEO and Will Gaines as its chief marketing officer. “In light of recent news, we needed a clean break. Movement started with the community and our builders,“ the announcement stated.

The firm promises better governance with new leadership, town halls for heightened transparency, and improved vetting and verification procedures. Other, less tangible changes include “evolved leadership philosophy” and a “return to crypto’s radical roots.”

Market makers at it again

The termination comes after a recently announced third-party review requested by the Movement Network Foundation into an agreement orchestrated by Manche with Rentech. Rentech then helped broker an agreement with market maker Web3Port.

After the deal concluded, Web3Port reportedly sold the 66 million MOVE that it gained through the deal, about 5% of the total supply. This led to $38 million in downward price pressure in December 2024.

The investigation is being conducted by private intelligence firm Groom Lake. The organization’s founder Fernando Reyes Jr. told Cointelegraph that he “won’t reveal any information about Movement Labs or Movement Foundation without the express written consent.”

Still, he hinted at developments by citing Byzantine Emperor Basil II “The Bulgar Slayer.” He promised:

“I will soon do what he did to a large swath of scammers in this industry. I will break them.“

Related: How to choose a market maker for your Web3 project

Market makers make or break tokens

A mid-April analysis report suggested that the right market maker can be a launchpad for a cryptocurrency project, opening the door to major exchanges and providing valuable liquidity to ensure a token is tradeable. Still, the same kind of organization can also destroy a project before it even really gets started.

In summer 2024, reports suggested that up to 78% of new token listings since April 2024 had been poorly conducted, with some suggesting that market makers are involved. Market makers have been accused of unsavory practices many times in the past.

Creditors of bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network have claimed that leading crypto market maker Wintermute was involved in the wash trading of the Celsius token. Wash trading is a form of market manipulation, creating an illusion that a particular asset is trading at a higher volume than it is.

Other similar cases include Fracture Labs — creator of the Web3 game Decimated — filing a suit in late 2024 against market maker Jump Crypto for allegedly orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme using its in-game currency, DIO. Some reports claim that DWF Labs — one of Binance’s largest trading clients — engaged in market manipulation, wash trading, and inflated trading volumes amounting to $300 million through deals with crypto projects. DWF Labs and Binance later denied the accusation in May 2024.

US regulators have started taking matters into their own hands by creating a fake digital asset and looking for market makers to manipulate its market. As a result of this action, last month, a Massachusetts court fined crypto market maker CLS Global for fraudulent manipulation of trading volumes.

Magazine: What do crypto market makers actually do? Liquidity, or manipulation

Japan’s Metaplanet has purchased an additional 555 Bitcoin as part of its aggressive accumulation strategy, bringing its total holdings to 5,555 BTC — valued at over $536 million at current prices.

On May 7, the Tokyo-listed firm disclosed that it spent $53.4 million acquiring 555 Bitcoin (BTC) at an average price of $96,134. The company now holds 5,555 BTC, purchased for $481.5 million at an average price of $86,672 per Bitcoin, according to CEO Simon Gerovich.

The company also announced the issuance of another $25 million in zero-coupon ordinary bonds to fund its ongoing BTC buys. Since early 2024, the firm has raised over 35 billion yen ($244 million) through zero-coupon bonds and stock acquisition rights via its partner Evo Fund.

The company’s proprietary key performance indicator, BTC Yield, has surged in recent quarters, reaching 309.8% in Q4 2024, 95.6% in Q1 2025, and 21% in the current quarter.

“In Japanese, the number 5 is pronounced “Go,” so today we’re shouting: Go go go go — to the moon and beyond!” Gerovich said in a post on X.

Source: Simon Gerovich

Related: Eric Trump joins Metaplanet’s strategic board of advisers

Metaplanet announces US subsidiary

On May 1, Metaplanet announced plans to launch a wholly owned US subsidiary, Metaplanet Treasury Corp., based in Florida. The entity plans to raise up to $250 million to further its Bitcoin strategy and tap US capital markets.

Metaplanet is currently Asia’s largest public corporate holder of Bitcoin and ranks 11th globally, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET.

At the beginning of April, the firm announced its acquisition of 696 BTC for 10.2 billion yen ($67 million). Later that same month, the firm acquired 330 Bitcoin for $28.2 million at an average price of $85,605 per BTC, bringing its total holdings to 4,855.

On April 24, the firm disclosed it bought an additional 145 BTC for 1.9 billion Japanese yen (around $13.4 million), boosting its total holdings to 5,000 BTC.

Its shares surged 11% by midday on the Tokyo exchange, according to data from Google Finance.

Magazine: Rise of MicroStrategy clones, Asia dominates crypto adoption: Asia Express 2024 review

Key takeaways:

Large Bitcoin holders have accumulated 81,338 BTC over the past six weeks, showing confidence in a future price uptrend.

Wallets with less than 0.1 BTC sold around 290 BTC, indicating smaller retail investors are either panic selling or selling out of boredom. 

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen $4.41 billion in inflows since March 26.

While larger Bitcoin holders remain confident and continue accumulating the asset, data from a crypto analytics platform shows that smaller retail investors have been shedding BTC amid the asset’s prolonged consolidation below the $100,000 price level.

The contrasting behavior between Bitcoin (BTC) whales and retail investors often signals that Bitcoin may be heading toward another upward trend, Santiment said in a May 6 X post. 

Bitcoin smaller players show cold feet

“When large wallets gradually accumulate in tandem with retail panic selling/selling out of boredom, it is generally a strong long-term sign of prices biding their time before another breakout,” Santiment said.

Bitcoin wallet holders with between 10 and 10,000 BTC have accumulated a combined 81,338 BTC over the past six weeks since March 26.

This represents a 0.61% increase in the cohort’s total holdings. Santiment said this could signal a potential retest of the psychological $100,000 price level in the near future. “As May progresses, Bitcoin’s key stakeholders are mostly moving in the right direction if you’re rooting for $100K BTC in the near future,” Santiment said.

However, Bitcoin wallets with less than 0.1 BTC sold off approximately 290 Bitcoin over the same period. Since March 26, Bitcoin has traded between $76,273 and $97,210, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Bitcoin is trading at $96,360 at the time of publication. Source: CoinMarketCap

Bitcoin fell below $100,000 on Feb. 1 after US President Donald Trump announced his tariffs and has yet to reclaim that price level. At the time of publication, Bitcoin is trading at $96,360.

Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin ETF holders have accumulated over the same period, with US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs totaling $4.41 billion in inflows since March 26, according to Farside data. 

Bitcoin dominance continues to soar

The overall crypto market is still concentrated around Bitcoin. Bitcoin dominance reached 65% on May 6, the highest reading since January 2021, according to TradingView data. 

Related: Watch these Bitcoin price levels as BTC meets ‘decision point’

At the time of publication, the metric is 65.19%. Meanwhile, CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season index still reads “Bitcoin Season,” indicating the market is favoring Bitcoin over altcoins.

While several analysts have been eyeing new all-time highs by the end of June, Bitfinex analysts recently said that Bitcoin needs to continue to hold above the $95,000 level to climb back and retest its all-time high or face an even deeper correction.

Magazine: 12 minutes of nail-biting tension when Ethereum’s Pectra fork goes live

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.