The cryptocurrency world was rocked when the OM token, issued by Mantra DAO, suffered a catastrophic 90% decline in value within a single day.
Trading at approximately $6 before the collapse, the token hit a low of $0.37 on April 13, 2025, before recovering slightly to around $0.80, according to CoinMarketCap data.
This precipitous drop wiped out nearly $6 billion from its market capitalization, leaving investors shocked and sparking widespread alarm throughout the crypto community.
Forced liquidations and allegations
Mantra DAO’s CEO, JP Mullin, attributed the crash to forced liquidations initiated by centralized exchanges.
Mullin insisted that the sell-off was not connected to token sales by the Mantra team or its investors, emphasizing that OM tokens remain locked in accordance with the project’s vesting schedule.
He reiterated Mantra DAO’s long-term commitment to the ecosystem and called for community support during this turbulent period.
“We have determined that the OM market movements were triggered by reckless forced closures initiated by centralized exchanges on OM account holders,” Mullin explained.
“The timing and depth of the crash suggest that sudden account closures were carried out without adequate warning, particularly during low-liquidity hours on a Sunday evening UTC (early morning Asia time). This points to negligence at best—or perhaps intentional market manipulation by centralized exchanges.”
Contradicting claims from analysts
Despite Mullin’s assertions, some analysts have presented alternate explanations for the collapse.
Max Brown, a respected crypto analyst, reported that the sell-off began when 3.9 million OM tokens were deposited on OKX by a wallet allegedly connected to the Mantra team.
Given the team’s reported control of nearly 90% of the total supply, this move raised red flags among traders, causing panic and triggering a mass sell-off.
Mullin firmly denied these claims, stating, “To be clear, this dislocation was not caused by the team, the MANTRA Chain Association, its core advisors, or Mantra’s investors selling tokens. Tokens remain locked and subject to the published vesting periods. OM’s tokenomics remain intact, as shared last week in our latest token report. Our token wallet addresses are online and visible.”
Community and market implications
The crash has left many investors questioning the stability and transparency of the OM token and its ecosystem.
Analysts believe that the incident exposed the vulnerabilities of cryptocurrencies subjected to centralized exchange practices, particularly forced liquidations in low-liquidity periods.
Mantra DAO’s leadership has vowed to investigate the events further and ensure that corrective actions are taken to regain community trust. Amid allegations and contradicting reports, the focus remains on rebuilding confidence and stabilizing OM’s market performance.
The crypto industry at large continues to watch closely, as this event serves as a cautionary tale about the risks of market manipulation and the importance of safeguarding decentralized financial ecosystems.
What you should know
- Launched as a regulatory-compliant real world asset-focused layer-1, Mantra has made headlines in recent months for its partnerships and regulatory progress.
- In January, it signed a $1 billion deal with real estate giant DAMAC to tokenize assets.
- Mantra was also greenlighted to operate lawfully in the UAE after being granted a virtual asset service provider license by Dubai’s VARA in February.
