In the previous week's Binance blockchain, ABMedia exclusively interviewed Rushi Manche, the founder of the modular blockchain project Movement Labs. We discussed the origin, mission and beliefs of Movement, as well as technical issues, including why they chose Stake Rollup. We also talked about some Easter eggs in the testnet, inquired about more details of the collaboration with Tsinghua University, and explored the future development direction.
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ToggleThe Origin of Movement: Integrating the Advantages of EVM, Move, and Ethereum
The interview was conducted in the media room at the Coca-Cola Arena main venue, where we first discussed Rushi's previous experience with the Move language and asked for his thoughts on the developer experience (DX) of the main languages.
Peg: You previously founded the educational project Ensemble and worked at Aptos. Can you briefly introduce yourself and your background? How did you get in touch with the Move language, and what motivated you to found Movement?
Rushi: Yes, I'm considered an early Move engineer. I initially worked in distributed system network security. I've always been interested in Rust programming and enjoy working in the Rust environment. In August 2022, I started building applications using Move and established the first decentralized exchange (DEX) on Aptos. Then in November 2022, we wanted to bring the Move language and its development experience to Ethereum, so we founded Movement. Movement is a combination of EVM, Move, and Ethereum, integrating the advantages of these platforms.
Peg: Some say the developer experience on Solana is not as good as EVM, and the Move language is more developer-friendly. As a developer, can you share your experience?
Rushi: I think EVM has two main features. Move language places a strong emphasis on security, with over $4.5 billion lost annually due to hacker attacks, while Move focuses on security and stability. Additionally, we also focus on parallelization and high-throughput execution to avoid state conflicts between transactions.
(altVM or Next-Gen VM? A article analyzing why Movement founder Rushi is so fascinated by altVM)
Why do other projects peak at Airdrop? Rushi: The key is the cohesion of community beliefs
Next, we asked Rushi why he chose Stake Rollup, which is different from the mainstream approach. We were also curious how Movement would attract users and avoid the fate of projects that decline after an Airdrop.
Peg: Unlike typical zk-rollups or Optimistic Rollups, Movement uses Stake Rollup, which seems to be inspired by the Proof of Stake or oracle Staking mechanism. Can you explain the concept of Stake Rollup? Why did you choose Stake Rollup over zk or Optimistic?
Rushi: It's actually a type of Optimistic Rollup, but we have a pre-confirmation or post-confirmation mechanism. This way, some transactions on Layer 2 can achieve fast finality, compared to the traditional confirmation that takes hours or even days, they can be completed in seconds.
The author's supplement: The concept of pre-confirmation is that before the transaction is officially added to the blockchain, the nodes perform a temporary confirmation in advance. Through this mechanism, users can pay an additional fee to ensure that their transactions will be executed in the next block. If the proposer fails to fulfill the promise (the pre-confirmed transaction is ultimately not executed), they may be fined. This mechanism can not only be applied to L1 transactions, but also provide the same pre-confirmation guarantee for L2 transactions if applied to Layer 2.
Peg: There are hundreds of Layer 2 solutions on the market, many of which have gradually faded after the Airdrop. How will Movement stand out? How will you continue to develop the ecosystem after the Airdrop?
Rushi: We have a truly supportive community for Movement, who believe in the Movement system. Because we use the MoveVM, we have many developers and applications that cannot be found on other EVMs or Ethereum, and Movement's goal is to bring influence and promote the active development of the ecosystem.
Peg: Movement combines the Move language and EVM, which seems more like an attempt to attract developers. So what features of Movement can attract users?
Rushi: There are two key points. First is security, Movement can protect DeFi applications and on-chain users from hacker attacks. The second is speed, we have low gas fees and efficient transaction experiences, similar to the user experience of Solana and Aptos.
Imagine the security of Move, the stability of Ethereum, and the user experience of Solana
Peg: As a Sui enthusiast, I'm excited about Movement's goals. The next question is, the testnet seems to have a storyline, with the roles of creators and explorers, which is interesting. Can you share the reason for this design?
Rushi: Yes, most testnets are boring, with a single function. Our testnet is like a game, a full-chain MMO where you can try different applications, use different testnet features, earn rewards and points, and compete with friends. You can see it as a game where you can build guilds and acquire different relics, which is helpful for your development.
Peg: So it's kind of like a social game? Rushi: Yes.
Peg: There are also a few cross-chain dApps on the testnet. How does Movement's architecture integrate with cross-chain?
Rushi: We have the support of LayerZero, which provides cross-chain transfer capabilities, and we have built-in cross-chain bridges. We believe in the multi-chain universe, so we have a shared sequencer to unify the state and support cross-rollup and all bridging functions.
Peg: According to the documents, Movement combines the security of Move and the compatibility of Ethereum. What is your vision for Movement? In other words, what problem does Movement solve?
Rushi: Movement is the fastest and most secure Layer 2. Currently, Ethereum's EVM Layer 2s are somewhat boring and slow, and Movement wants to become the fastest and most secure Layer 2 on Ethereum. EVM is not as good as Solana now, so we want to bring Solana's user experience to Ethereum.
Large-scale applications will explode from Gen Z, and Movement breaks through with mobile devices
We then discussed with Rushi the general problems in the industry, the lack of breakthrough topics like NFTs, and the overall market being reduced to in-house capital PVP. Rushi provided relatively specific and already underway solutions to this problem. We also talked about the meme coin topic that has already appeared on Movement, and I think this is quite related to the Gen Z that Rushi mentioned.
Peg: Currently, Web3 faces many infrastructure issues, but lacks new topics that can attract Web2 capital. What kind of applications do you think can attract new users? Additionally, what is the most promising large-scale application on Movement?
Rushi: I think the key to large-scale applications is to serve consumers. Movement focuses on mobile applications, such as Up Phone, a DePin phone-like mobile device that allows users to support on-chain activities with a dedicated mobile device. We also have Sentiment, a wearable on-chain interaction device, and many social and consumer-oriented applications. I think the next wave of adoption will come from Gen Z users, such as those using platforms like webtoon, TikTok, and Instagram.
UP Network sells phones with lies? Movement co-founder reveals no airdrop promised (post deleted)
Peg: I thought of SocialFi Movewiffrens, which is very similar to Twitter on Movement.
Rushi: Absolutely correct.
Peg: Many people are now discussing meme coins. What are your thoughts on the relationship between meme coins and Movement? I just saw the first meme coin on Movement, Courage Dog, this morning.
Rushi: I think meme coins will be very popular on Movement, because our transaction fees are cheap and fast, while having the authority of Ethereum. Courage and Nova are the first batch of meme coins in the market, and there will be more meme coins launched in the future.
Collaborating with National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan to cultivate Movers, focusing on the Asian region in the future
Finally, we discussed Movement's recent collaborations, especially the one with National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. We also talked about the specific areas and routes that Movement will implement in the future.
Peg: Recently, Movement has partnered with Gate to set up a fund. Can you introduce the main investment direction of this fund?
Rushi: We mainly invest in the Move ecosystem, including DeFi applications, lending applications, DePin applications, etc. We will invest a lot of resources to meet these needs.
Peg: Movement announced a collaboration with National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. Can you share the background story of this collaboration? Or in other words, how did this collaboration start?
Rushi: Cooper (Cooper Scanlon, co-founder of Movement Labs, the two met at Vanderbilt University) and I both participated in part of Movement while in college, and one of our goals is to help more students and young people enter the crypto field. We collaborate with developers at National Chiao Tung University to help them learn and develop the Move language, while also assisting the company in launching accelerator and incubator programs.
Peg: I was at National Chiao Tung University when this collaboration was just announced, so I was very surprised.
Rushi: Oh, really? Are you a student at National Chiao Tung University?
Peg: No, I was just there with a friend at the time.
Peg: Finally, are there any specific regions that Movement wants to focus on in the future? For example, Aptos and Sui both have connections to the Asian region, and Movement also sponsored the Korea Blockchain Week last month.
Rushi: We will focus particularly on South Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and mainland China.
Peg: I'm glad to have discussed Movement's vision with you, it's a very valuable conversation! Thank you very much! I hope to see you again soon and "Move to the Moon" together.
