Backing the Genius of Movement Labs in the Developer Community

We’re back with another innovative investment at Digital Consensus Fund! Movement Labs is the first network of modular Move-based blockchains designed to seamlessly combine performance, liquidity, and composability. As their motto goes, we ”Move Anywhere with Movement Labs”, and in just 2 years from their launch, they have achieved so much!

Developer Community & Ecosystem Building

Most of the time, deploying dApps involves navigating complex, fragmented ecosystems. Developers face challenges such as integrating with different blockchain protocols, ensuring transaction security, and optimizing performance. Altogether, these issues and troubling complexities often deter developers from fully leveraging decentralized technologies, slowing down innovation and adoption in the blockchain space.

Built for the development of secure and efficient smart contracts, Move is a statically-typed programming language based on Rust, which was initially developed for Meta’s Diem blockchain project.. The objective of the Move language was to provide a platform-independent framework that would facilitate the development of smart contracts that were both efficient and secure. Resource-oriented programming is one of the primary features of Move, as it guarantees that resources are managed in a manner that precludes common vulnerabilities, including double-spending and reentrancy attacks.

The mission of Movement Labs is to decentralise and democratise the expansion of Move. Through their open builders programme, they cultivate a community of developers, investors, and experts who work together to advance decentralised applications in industries including DeFi, gaming, and NFTs. Even in its testnet stage, Movement Labs developed a remarkable initial ecosystem. Some impressive projects include Ultiverse, Hyperlane, Pyth, Stakestone, Thala, Ethena, Omni Network, and Avail.

From now on, the innovation and the advancement of state-of-the-art blockchain solutions are empowered by this ecosystem initiatives like “The Battle of Olympus” hackathon foster community engagement and innovation. These events provide developers with the resources and support needed to create groundbreaking applications on Movement Labs’ devnet and testnet, further driving the growth of their ecosystem​.

M1 & M2 Blockchain Solutions – The High-Performance Layer 1 & The Flagship Layer 2 Solution

Movement Labs developed M1 as a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain. It offers high transactions per second (TPS) and rapid transaction completion speeds, comparable to other high-speed blockchains like Sui and Aptos. The M1 blockchain employs advanced consensus mechanisms and optimized transaction processing to achieve these performance metrics.

Upon the official mainnet launch, M1 will also serve as a Decentralized Sequencer. This role involves managing the order and execution of transactions across the network, ensuring operational integrity and consistency. The dual functionality of M1 as both a high-speed blockchain and a decentralized sequencer enhances the Movement Network’s overall efficiency and reliability.

M2 is the flagship product of Movement Labs, representing a new generation of Layer 2 solutions built on Ethereum. It is the first Layer 2 to utilize the Move programming language, originally developed by Meta for the Diem project. Move enhances smart contract security by eliminating vulnerabilities such as reentrancy attacks and arithmetic errors.

Key features of M2 include high throughput, capable of processing over 145,000 TPS, significantly improving transaction speeds. It also features low gas fees, with transactions costing less than $0.01, making it highly cost-effective. The decentralized sequencer in M2 enables subsecond finality, drastically reducing transaction latency. Compounding these strengths, M2 leverages Celestia for efficient and decentralized data availability, ensuring that necessary data for transaction verification is accessible.

The synergy between M1 and M2 transforms the Movement Network into a versatile platform that can handle a diverse range of decentralized applications. M1’s high throughput and rapid transaction completion make it ideal for applications requiring speed and efficiency. Meanwhile, M2’s improved security and scalability, powered by the Move programming language, provide a safe and robust environment for more complex and sensitive operations.

Modular Blockchain Design Philosophy

As it deceomposes the blockchain stack into distinct, modular components with well-defined interfaces, Movement Labs enables seamless integration, customization, and upgradeability. The modular architecture allows developers to mix and match modules, tailoring their blockchain stacks to specific needs. Such flexibility leads to significant advantages in scalability, security, and innovation compared to traditional monolithic designs.

Modularity allows for independent scaling of components. For example, the data availability layer can be scaled separately from the consensus layer, ensuring that the network maintains high throughput without overloading any single part of the system. Individual modules can be secured and updated independently, meaning that security patches or upgrades to one component do not disrupt the entire system. This leads to a more resilient and secure network. Additionally, the use of the Move programming language, known for its resource-oriented programming, enhances security by preventing common vulnerabilities such as double-spending and reentrancy attacks.

A modular architecture promotes innovation by allowing developers to experiment with new technologies in isolated modules without affecting the entire system. As a domino effect, the flexibility accelerates the development and deployment of disruptive features.

The Team Behind the Vision of Movement Labs  & Substantial Backing

Cooper Scanlon and Rushi Manche co-founded Movement Labs in 2022 after dropping out of Vanderbilt University. Manche, with over seven years of experience as a software engineer and a brief stint at Aptos Foundation, brings invaluable expertise to the team.

From the start, their mission was to make it easier for developers without vast budgets or teams to create groundbreaking on-chain apps, thus speeding up innovation in the cryptocurrency field. And since then, their partnership has been the main force that brought the vision to life at Movement Labs.

The initial pre-seed round in September 2023 garnered over $3 million from investors including Avalanche, Colony, and Benqi. Yet, the most impressive round came in April 2024, In April 2024, as Movement Labs raised $38 million in Series A funding to integrate Facebook’s Move language virtual machine with Ethereum. This funding round was led by Polychain Capital and included investments from Hack VC, Robot Ventures, Figment Capital, Nomad Capital, Bankless Ventures, OKX Ventures, and Aptos Labs among other.

Here’s Why We Are All in Movement Labs!

Needless to say, we are incredibly impressed with what Movement Labs has achieved in such a short time. Movement Labs has revolutionized the blockchain landscape with their modular approach, while their M1 and M2 blockchains redefine scalability, security, and efficiency. Supported by a thriving community of developers, investors, and experts as well as large financial backing, Movement Labs is really leading the way in the blockchain transformation. It fascinates us to watch how their vision will keep influencing the direction of distributed apps.

Disclaimer

Please note: The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. It is not intended to be used to evaluate any investment decision and should not be relied upon for accounting, legal, tax, business, or investment advice. You are encouraged to consult with your own advisers, including legal and financial professionals, for guidance tailored to your specific circumstances.