Key Takeaways
- Mantra misplaced 90% of its worth in a single hour, wiping out $6 billion in market cap regardless of no confirmed assault on the community.
- On-chain information suggests giant token actions earlier than the crash, with some addresses presumably linked to traders—elevating questions on insider exercise.
- The group reportedly managed as much as 90% of the token provide, a determine that had beforehand raised issues amongst some traders.
Mantra (OM), as soon as thought-about a promising crypto undertaking, dropped by 90% inside a single day. The group has said that the undertaking stays secure.
Mantra is positioned as a Actual World Property (RWA) protocol, centered on the tokenization of crypto belongings. Earlier than the collapse on Apr. 13, OM ranked among the many high 5 RWA tokens by market capitalization.
On April 13, OM’s worth fell sharply from $6.10 to $0.40. The token misplaced nearly all of its worth. Market capitalization dropped by $6 billion in simply half-hour. Lower than two months earlier, on Feb. 23, OM had reached its all-time excessive of $8.99.

The crypto neighborhood rapidly started evaluating the crash to occasions like Terra (LUNA) or the collapse of FTX. The comparability stems partially from OM’s standing as one of many high 30 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Some analysts have since identified that there have been early warning indicators across the undertaking that have been beforehand neglected.
‘We Need to Guarantee You That MANTRA Is Basically Sturdy’
On April 13, the official X account of the undertaking posted that nothing had occurred to Mantra and that the collapse was brought on by “reckless liquidations.”
MANTRA neighborhood – we wish to guarantee you that MANTRA is basically robust. Immediately’s exercise was triggered by reckless liquidations, not something to do with the undertaking. One factor we wish to be clear on: this was not our group. We’re wanting into it and can share extra particulars…
— MANTRA | Tokenizing RWAs (@MANTRA_Chain) April 13, 2025
The undertaking’s founder, John Patrick Mullin (JP Mullin on X), didn’t instantly reply, which raised issues. On April 12, he shared a put up suggesting he was on a long-haul flight from France to Seoul.
My literal nightmare is not any WiFi on lengthy haul flights
See you in Seoul…— JP Mullin (
,
) (@jp_mullin888) April 12, 2025
In line with Mullin, the crash was linked to a liquidity challenge and the actions of a single whale holding OM on a centralized alternate (CEX).
Guys, I've simply woken up, and I'm getting the entire breakdown of what's happening. There was a large pressured liquidation from a big OM investor on a CEX. Nonetheless engaged on the main points, however we’re right here, and we're fixing this.
Thanks for the understanding.https://t.co/p8l2Teo4p2
— JP Mullin (
,
) (@jp_mullin888) April 13, 2025
Social media posts started to flow into from traders reporting main losses following the OM crash. For instance, Max Brown, who has over 80,000 followers on X, claimed he misplaced $1.3 million.
I JUST LOST ALL MY MONEY ON $OM.
FULLY WIPED OUT. EVERYTHING GONE
FUCK THIS CRYPTO SHIT. I’M DONE pic.twitter.com/rlylVQ9Igy— Max Brown (@MaxBrownBTC) April 13, 2025
One other consumer, JB, addressed each the undertaking and Binance, stating that he had invested $3.5 million in OM and was left with about $200,000.
Expensive @MANTRA_Chain @_RichardTeng @cz_binance
I invested $3,500,000 into your RWA token, $OM. That funding is now price barely $200,000, a drop of over 90%.
My intention was to help the way forward for RWAs. I carried out thorough due diligence, and the supposed partnership with… pic.twitter.com/G11642FWYC— JB (@Jeetburner) April 13, 2025
Binance additionally issued an announcement noting {that a} warning had been positioned on the OM buying and selling web page since January 2025, citing dramatic modifications within the tokenomics and elevated token provide:
Since October of final 12 months, Binance has applied varied danger management measures together with lowering the leverage ranges, with regard to the $OM token. Binance continuously displays leverage ranges and makes changes in response to market situations for danger controls to assist scale back volatility.
Why Did the Worth of Mantra Collapse?
As of now, there is no such thing as a confirmed motive for what triggered the collapse. Mantra maintains that the platform is working usually and that there was no assault on the community. In the meantime, components of the crypto neighborhood suspect insider buying and selling and level to the undertaking group as a attainable trigger.
One of many main purple flags cited is token distribution. In line with Mantra’s official web site, 16.8% of OM tokens are held by the group. Extra allocations are reserved for the Mirror Bucket and improve mechanisms, that are additionally thought-about inner. In follow, this locations a big share of the provision below group management.
Lookonchain reported that 17 addresses moved a complete of 43.6 million OM to exchanges simply earlier than the crash. Two of those addresses are believed to be linked to Laser Digital, considered one of Mantra’s identified traders.
Who dropped the worth of $OM?
Earlier than the $OM crash(since Apr 7), a minimum of 17 wallets deposited 43.6M $OM($227M on the time) into exchanges, 4.5% of the circulating provide.
In line with Arkham’s tag, 2 of those addresses are linked to Laser Digital.
Laser Digital is a strategic… pic.twitter.com/zB8yAPRPSO— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 14, 2025
Laser Digital responded, stating that the wallets in query will not be related to the corporate and that their funding stays locked.
1/ We wish to instantly handle latest hypothesis round Laser Digital’s involvement within the worth motion of $OM (Mantra) @MANTRA_Chain.
2/ Laser has no involvement within the latest worth collapse of $OM.
Assertions circulating on social media that hyperlink Laser to 'investor promoting'…— Laser Digital (@LaserDigital_) April 14, 2025
There’s presently no official investigation by the Mantra group or by impartial crypto analysts. Nonetheless, many in the neighborhood imagine the token might have been offered privately at a reduction. Some estimates counsel the group managed as a lot as 90% of OM.
Seems $OM might have offered tokens to personal traders
At huge reductions, some 50% off or extra
That began a sequence response:
Individuals offered
Cease-losses hit
Leverage positions liquidated
(6/9) pic.twitter.com/H1C3dikbJh— StarPlatinum (@StarPlatinumSOL) April 13, 2025
There have been additionally reviews that the undertaking’s Telegram channel had been deleted. Nonetheless, it’s presently energetic, and customers proceed to put up messages.
What Are the Penalties?
No matter what occurred with Mantra, it is a worrying sign for the crypto neighborhood. OM was one of many largest tokens by market cap, but its worth dropped by 90% in only one hour.
The crash has already drawn comparisons to main collapses like Terra (LUNA) and the FTX alternate. It’s additionally a reminder that purple flags shouldn’t be ignored. Regardless of repeated warnings in regards to the dangers of a group controlling round 90% of the entire provide, many traders continued to imagine within the undertaking and put cash into it.
4/ The OM group mentioned “nothing was offered, all the things continues to be locked.”
Positive. But when 90% of the float is locked, it solely takes a bit stress on the remaining 10% to ship issues right into a loss of life spiral.
That’s how these setups all the time work.— Three Sigma (@threesigmaxyz) April 14, 2025
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