Cooper Scanlon is a blockchain developer and co-founder of Movement Labs, where he focuses on advancing the Move programming language for blockchain scalability and security. ^[2]

Career

Scanlon began his career in 2020 as a legal assistant at a virtual paralegal startup, handling document preparation and client communication, while also delivering for Doordash. In 2021, he tutored advanced English to Korean students and worked as a college admissions counselor. In early 2022, he was an analytics and reporting intern at Millions of Conversations before pursuing self-employment. That summer, he interned at Bloomberg LP in leadership and talent development, then worked at a stealth startup before co-founding Movement Labs in late 2022.

Originally drawn to investing, he used financial aid refunds to trade stocks before shifting to crypto, attracted by its accessibility and opportunities for innovation. He saw Web3 as a space where contributions outweighed traditional credentials. While considering corporate finance careers, he found the barriers to entry too restrictive and decided to focus on blockchain development. Movement Labs was founded to advance the Move programming language within the blockchain space. ^{[1] [5]}

Interviews

About Movement

On the DEGN Talk podcast, Scanlon discussed the scaling of Ethereum by integrating the Move programming language. Initially developed by Facebook's Libra program, Move is designed to be blockchain-native, offering faster and safer transactions compared to existing solutions. Scanlon explained how Movement Labs aimed to foster a large ecosystem around Move by onboarding developers and scaling its adoption. He highlighted upcoming initiatives, including a global tour to create regional hubs for developers and community members, and introducing the Parthenon program to reward core contributors. He also emphasized the importance of consumer applications and discussed the potential of using Move to create rewarding ecosystems for loyal users. Looking ahead, Movement Labs planned to decentralize its network and expand its validator set while introducing customizable rollups for real-world asset applications and privacy-focused solutions. ^[6]

Transitioning to Crypto

In Episode 145 of "Show Me the Crypto," Scanlon discussed his journey from a challenging financial situation to co-founding a rapidly growing project. After working various jobs to support himself and his family, Scanlon transitioned into the crypto space, initially experimenting with investments before diving into blockchain technology. Alongside his co-founder, Rushi Manche, Scanlon founded Movement Labs from their college dorm room, navigating the ups and downs of raising funds and launching their mainnet. The conversation explored Movement Labs' vision, including their focus on creating a new blockchain language, Move, and the company's ambition to build infrastructure for traditional finance. Despite their project's success, Scanlon emphasized that their focus remains on the community and the work ahead, underscoring their hunger for growth and their commitment to delivering for investors and supporters. ^[7]

Web3 Community Design

On The Movecast, Scanlon discussed his journey into crypto and Web3, which stemmed from financial struggles during his youth. While working full-time in high school to support himself and his family, he became interested in finance and investing but lacked access to traditional markets. In college, exposure to coding and online communities broadened his perspective, and he eventually discovered crypto through platforms like Coinbase. Initially focusing on lithium investments, he transitioned to blockchain development, working on infrastructure projects before encountering the Move language. Recognizing its potential for security and efficiency, he became deeply involved in its ecosystem. His experience with the challenges of launching new blockchain projects led to the creation of Movement Labs, which aimed to build frameworks that empower developers and foster a strong, engaged community. Scanlon emphasized the importance of support networks in Web3 and the need for systems that provide opportunities for individuals regardless of background. ^[8]

Adopting Move

In the “Bellwether’s in Web3” profile series, Scanlon discussed his journey from a challenging upbringing to co-founding a Web3-focused company. He initially explored finance and blockchain applications, recognizing inefficiencies in traditional markets. While working with smart contract languages, he found Solidity inadequate for security and scalability, leading him to adopt Move, a Rust-based language developed by Facebook for its Libra project. Seeing Move's potential, he dropped out of college and committed to building in the space, but early adoption challenges led him to co-found Movement Labs. The company aimed to democratize and scale Move within Web3, overcoming barriers to adoption. Reflecting on the rapid progress, he credited his team, supporters, and the technology for Movement Labs' growth while acknowledging ongoing challenges in the evolving landscape. ^[9]

Presentations

Modularity, Move, and Meta

At Avalanche Summit II 2024, Scanlon discussed integrating the Move programming language with Avalanche’s modular blockchain infrastructure. Initially focused on the Aptos ecosystem, Movement aimed to decouple Move from any single Layer 1 blockchain, allowing developers to build across distributed networks. Avalanche’s subnet architecture enabled Move’s modularity, enhancing scalability, security, and interoperability. Scanlon highlighted Move’s advantages over Solidity, particularly in security, and its potential to prevent exploits seen in Ethereum-based smart contracts. Movement launched Mocha, a high-throughput Layer 1 on Avalanche, leveraging subnets for liquidity access and application-specific rollups. The project partnered with Benqi for liquidity solutions and explored parallel processing to increase transactions per second. Additionally, Movement introduced developer tools, such as CLI integrations and debugging support, to ease Move adoption. Use cases included DeFi security improvements, gaming transaction efficiency, and dynamic NFTs for interactive digital assets. ^[10]

Panels

Adopting Layer-2

A Modular & L2 Day Singapore panel explored the growth and adoption of Layer 2 (L2) solutions, discussing Ethereum's role and L2 differentiation. Panelists included Sandeep Nailwal (Polygon), Kenny Li (Manta), Tom Ngo (Metis), Pavel Altukhov (TAC), Marouen Zelleg (Crestal), and Scanlon. They agreed that L2s complement rather than compete with Ethereum, addressing scalability while Ethereum remains the security layer. They noted that user adoption remains a challenge, with many on-chain activities driven by incentives rather than technological features. The discussion also covered the evolution of L2 ecosystems, shifting from technical distinctions to consumer-oriented use cases. Some panelists predicted a future with thousands or even millions of specialized chains, assuming seamless interoperability. The conversation reflected broader industry trends, emphasizing the need for sustainable models beyond current speculative dynamics. ^[11]