A scandal involving the Movement Foundation, Web3Port Labs, and the Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has rocked the crypto world, following revelations of a $38 million MOVE token dump the day of the project’s Binance debut.
New documents obtained by CoinDesk reveal a backdoor deal between the Movement Foundation (MOVE) and China-based Web3Port Labs that led to the sudden offloading of 66 million MOVE tokens on December 9 the same day the token was listed on Binance. The incident caused the token’s value to plummet and prompted Binance to ban further trading of MOVE.
The Controversial Agreement
According to internal contracts and correspondence reviewed by CoinDesk, the Movement Foundation founded with backing from WLFI, a financial firm tied to the Trump family loaned nearly 50% of MOVE’s circulating ecosystem supply to Web3Port.
Web3Port then routed the tokens through a little-known intermediary named Rentech, which Movement Foundation co-founder Cooper Scanlon believed to be a subsidiary of Web3Port. However, that claim has since been disputed, raising further red flags about the nature of the deal.
Critically, the agreement included a profit-sharing clause that allowed Rentech to liquidate all of its MOVE tokens if the token’s fully diluted valuation exceeded $5 billion. The contract promised 50% of profits to Rentech and the other 50% to the Movement Foundation terms that many experts say are clear hallmarks of a pump-and-dump scheme.
Market Fallout
Once MOVE launched on Binance, wallets linked to Web3Port liquidated 66 million tokens then valued at approximately $38 million. The sell-off immediately crashed the token’s price and triggered community backlash. As of now, the same tranche of tokens is worth just $15.7 million.
Binance responded swiftly by banning MOVE trading, citing suspicious activity and a violation of listing terms.
Trump-Tied Web3 Ventures Under Scrutiny
The scandal comes amid growing concern over former President Donald Trump’s involvement in crypto. WLFI, a firm connected to the Trump family, purchased 3.42 million MOVE tokens for $1.5 million in late January, a move that has since seen over a 50% loss in value.
Adding to the intrigue, Web3Port had invested $10 million into WLFI earlier this year, reinforcing financial ties between the entities now embroiled in the token dump controversy.
Industry Reaction
Crypto watchdogs and industry experts are calling for greater transparency and accountability.
“This is textbook manipulation,” said a source close to the matter. “If crypto is ever to gain mainstream trust, these types of insider deals need to be rooted out.”
Neither the Movement Foundation, Web3Port Labs, nor WLFI has issued a formal statement in response to the allegations.
