Movement Mainnet Launch Analysis

Background and Key Developments

On March 10, 2025, Movement Network, founded by former Aptos engineer Rushi Manche, officially launched its Beta mainnet, becoming the first Ethereum Layer 2 solution built on the Move language. The project has secured strong institutional backing through two funding rounds—$3.4 million in a pre-seed round and $38 million in a Series A round—from top-tier investors such as Polychain Capital and Binance Labs, with a valuation reaching $3 billion.

Movement’s unique positioning integrates the efficiency and security of the Move language while maintaining compatibility with Ethereum’s EVM ecosystem, aiming to address the liquidity fragmentation issues seen in traditional Layer 1 chains like Aptos and Sui.

According to official reports, the Beta mainnet attracted over 100,000 active addresses on its first day, with the testnet processing a total of 681 million transactions, demonstrating its high throughput (theoretical 80,000 TPS) and low latency (near-instant finality).

Technical Architecture: Fusion of Move and EVM

Movement’s core competitive advantage lies in its modular architecture and cross-ecosystem compatibility. Its technical framework consists of:

1. MoveVM Execution Layer: Supports both Solidity and Move-based development through parallelized processing and resource security models, allowing Ethereum developers to migrate their existing DApps without learning a new language.
2. LayerZero Cross-Chain Bridge: Integrates LayerZero to enable seamless asset transfers, allowing users to move BTC, ETH, and other assets into the Movement ecosystem while ensuring security through an optimistic verification mechanism.
3. Modular Data Availability (DA) Layer: Supports multiple DA solutions such as Celestia, reducing transaction costs and enhancing censorship resistance while allowing developers to customize Rollup configurations (validity or optimistic proof).

This design enables Movement to leverage Move’s security and efficiency advantages—such as non-replicable resources and built-in reentrancy attack prevention—while sharing Ethereum’s liquidity network, creating a dual moat of “technology + ecosystem.”

Ecosystem Incentives and Key Projects

Alongside the mainnet launch, Movement introduced the Cornucopia multi-asset liquidity program, covering BTC, ETH, MOVE, and other asset pools to provide fundamental liquidity for DeFi applications.

Notable projects within the ecosystem include:

• Native token MOVE: Total supply of 10 billion, with 40% allocated to community incentives. Stakers receive transaction fee dividends and governance rights. MOVE was initially distributed via Galaxy tasks during the testnet phase, and its market cap surpassed $1.2 billion post-mainnet launch.
• Tradeport (NFT Marketplace): Supports native Move-based NFT minting and cross-chain trading, integrating AI-generation tool CoScription. The platform processed over 500,000 transactions during the testnet phase and is expected to become the liquidity hub for Move ecosystem NFTs.
• DeAgentAI (AI Agent Platform): Enables users to create on-chain AI agents for automated trading and governance voting. It plans to issue the governance token DAI, with airdrops for early adopters.

Additionally, the Movement SDK provides modular development tools, including MoveVM, the Fractal cross-chain adapter, and the Hyperlane messaging protocol, lowering development barriers and enhancing cross-chain interoperability.

Market Impact and Potential Challenges

Movement’s launch could reshape the L2 competitive landscape:

1. Pressure on the Solana Ecosystem: Its EVM compatibility may attract Solidity developers, particularly in DeFi and GameFi sectors.
2. Acceleration of Modular Rollup Evolution: Competing with Arbitrum Orbit and zkSync, Movement could push the industry toward greater execution-layer and DA-layer separation.

However, there are risks，Regulatory Uncertainty: The SEC may scrutinize MOVE’s security classification, similar to its lawsuit against Helium (HNT).Cross-Chain Bridge Security: Despite using LayerZero, liquidity risks persist if Movement’s cross-chain asset volume (currently $233 million) remains insufficient.

Future Outlook and Developer Opportunities

Movement plans to launch the Move Arena Cross-Chain Protocol in Q2 2025, enabling asset interoperability with Aptos and Sui, along with a Decentralized Shared Sequencer (DSS) to further reduce transaction latency. Its long-term goal is to establish Move Stack Chains as the standard execution layer for modular blockchains, attracting institutional capital.

For developers, participating in Galaxy tasks and the Kaito community airdrop can yield early token rewards. Investors can track MOVE price fluctuations on JuCoin’s spot market and evaluate ecosystem activity using on-chain data.

As Move language merges with Ethereum’s ecosystem, Movement presents a compelling case for innovation and practical adoption within the blockchain industry.