What Happened to Mantra That Led to OM Token’s 90% Price Crash?

On April 13, Mantra’s OM token experienced a catastrophic collapse, plunging over 90% from approximately $6.30 to below $0.50 within an hour. The sudden drop erased more than $5 billion in market capitalization, drawing parallels to the infamous Terra LUNA crash of 2022.

Mantra Scandal Explained

The immediate cause behind the OM price crash appears to be a series of “forced liquidations” on centralized exchanges.

Mantra co-founder John Patrick Mullin stated that these liquidations were executed without prior notice, exacerbating the sell-off during low-liquidity trading hours.

Guys let’s get a couple things straight:

– The TG was not deleted.
– The Team tokens all remain in custody, verifiable at this address – mantra1yejpacug78zuqkzwwuc94c0a2al4mz4yfqquam
– We are actively figuring out why these massive forced liquidations occurred and will provide…

— JP Mullin (🕉, 🏘️) (@jp_mullin888) April 13, 2025

In October 2024, Mantra implemented significant changes to OM’s tokenomics, including doubling the total supply from 888 million to 1.77 billion tokens and transitioning to an inflationary model with a 3% annual inflation rate.

These changes were intended to support network security and growth but raised concerns among investors about potential dilution and long-term value.​

Binance acknowledged these tokenomic changes and had implemented risk controls for OM since October 2024, including reduced leverage levels and user warnings.

The crypto community reacted suspiciously, with some alleging insider involvement or a potential rug pull. Analysts pointed to large-scale token movements to exchanges before the crash as evidence of possible coordinated sell-offs. ​

A wallet labelled as @LaserDigital_ deposited over $41M worth of $OM into OKX just 2 days ago.$OM price has dumped 90% in the last few hours❗️

This wallet received the majority of its $OM holdings from GSR over a year ago!

Address:
0xB37DBDec19737d52cDC8fD969B92bAA9e044f26A pic.twitter.com/PRoRFGNLRH

— Amir Ormu (@AmirOrmu) April 13, 2025

Mantra has denied these allegations, asserting that team and investor tokens remain locked and subject to vesting schedules.

OM Price Exhibiting Dead Cat Bounce

As of now, OM is trading at approximately $0.73, reflecting a nearly 100% bounce from the April 13 low but still 87% below its pre-crash value.

Latest on-chain evidence reveals further downside pressure, with proofs of Mantra DAO staking wallet transferring around $38 million in OM tokens to a Binance wallet, raising further selloff risks.

🚨 WARNING TO $OM HOLDERS

TEAM IS ABOUT TO SELL MORE!

THE MANTRA DAO STAKE WALLET JUST TRANSFERRED 38M $OM ($26.96M) TO A BINANCE COLD WALLET. pic.twitter.com/0rXjhENit1

— CryptoGoos (@crypto_goos) April 14, 2025

“Its a Dead cat bounce on $OM,” noted market analyst @red_polkadot, adding: 

“Insiders want your money, don’t be stupid here. This coin has proven to be a rug. Mantra is another embarrassment to the cryptoverse.”

Mantra plans to hold a community connect session on X to provide further updates and address concerns. The team has also indicated that they are compiling a list of exchanges involved in the forced liquidations and will release more details in due course.