On March 18, 2025, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, terminated its market-making agreement with an unnamed entity associated with the Movement (MOVE) token. This decision followed the detection of irregular market-making activities that contravened Binance’s established protocols.
Market makers are integral to the cryptocurrency ecosystem, providing liquidity by continuously quoting buy and sell prices for specific assets. In this instance, the identified market maker engaged in one-sided market-making practices, primarily placing sell orders totaling 66 million MOVE tokens shortly after the token’s listing, while exhibiting minimal buy-side activity. Such behavior is considered illicit, as it can lead to market manipulation and price distortion.
Binance reported that the market maker realized a profit of $38 million from these activities. In response, the exchange has frozen all proceeds related to these transactions to compensate affected users, with detailed information on the compensation process to be provided at a later date.
The Movement Network, an Ethereum layer-2 solution utilizing the Move programming language originally developed by Facebook, launched its native MOVE token on December 9, 2024. The token debuted with a significant airdrop, distributing one billion MOVE tokens to early adopters and community members. Within hours of its launch, MOVE traded at $0.74, achieving a market capitalization of approximately $1.6 billion.
The Movement Network had previously secured substantial funding, including a $38 million Series A round led by Polychain Capital in April 2024, and a strategic investment from Binance Labs in May 2024. These investments underscored the project’s potential within the blockchain ecosystem.
In light of the recent developments, the Movement Network is reportedly initiating a $38 million buyback of MOVE tokens. This move aims to stabilize the token’s market dynamics and restore investor confidence following the market-making irregularities.
Binance has reiterated its commitment to maintaining market integrity and protecting its users. The exchange emphasized that any project-authorized market makers found in breach of its principles and rules would face decisive actions to uphold a fair and transparent trading environment.
