Movement’s Mainnet Launch

This is a segment from the 0xResearch newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.

Movement finally launched its mainnet (beta) yesterday.

It’s another Ethereum L2 in the sea of L2s. Who cares?

I can think of at least five reasons why Movement is standing out in the crowded field of layer-2 blockchains.

1. Young Founders with Backing

Movement’s founders are Gen-Z-young and have raised a lot of money.

2. Political Engagement

Movement is brazenly open about the fact that its “go-to-market” strategy involves cozying up with DC policymakers to build “political and enterprise relationships.” Movement co-founder Rushi Manche is publicly posting pictures with Donald Trump Jr. and crypto czar David Sacks, and has somehow sold more than two million MOVE to the Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial (WLFI) project since January, valued at ~$1.9 million at the time.

3. Novel Technology

Movement’s tech has some novelty. It’s the third blockchain project, after Aptos and Sui, to leverage the Move Virtual Machine from Meta’s deceased Diem project as its execution environment. Unlike Aptos and Sui, though, Movement is a L2 chain that settles on Ethereum, though it doesn’t necessarily inherit Ethereum’s security.

4. Early Airdrop

Movement made the unusual decision to airdrop its MOVE token back in December 2024, long before its mainnet was live. The token launched at a market cap valuation of $1.5 billion and has held up rather well at $1.2 billion today despite the recent market crash.

This is a striking departure from the norm. The well-worn playbook for most projects is to dangle the lure of a token before airdrop farmers to pump TVL numbers. Berachain teased its token and mainnet for so long that a “Q5 launch” became a running joke. Solana lending app MarginFi did the same with its token in 2024, resulting in backlash against perceived delays.

5. MOVE ETF Filing

In a recent development, Movement is vying for a MOVE ETF after a public filing with the SEC yesterday under the REX-Opsrey funds. Crypto VCs counsel that “the token is a product,” and Movement took that literally.

For a pre-launch project, Movement has done exceptionally well to stand out.

How is Movement doing after one day since launching? I realize it’s unfair to evaluate a project one day after mainnet launch, but let’s check in on it anyway.