Mantra Token Plummets by More Than 90% in Mysterious Circumstances
In just a few hours, the OM token on the Mantra platform saw its value collapse by over 90%, dropping from over $6 to just $0.40. This sudden crash, which occurred during a period of low market liquidity, immediately brought back memories of the Terra (LUNA) crash for investors. No external events or announcements could rationally explain this movement, leading to various speculations.
Facing this shock, the Mantra team hesitantly addressed the situation to reassure its community. They claimed that the project remained fundamentally strong and accused centralized exchange platforms of triggering reckless liquidations. Co-founder John Patrick Mullin went even further, suggesting that positions exposed to OM were abruptly closed without sufficient notice. He even denounced a possible deliberate strategy by these platforms, indicating widespread market manipulation.
The consequences on OM-related derivatives were immediate: over $50 million worth of long positions were liquidated, and the open interest dropped by more than half, from $345 million to $130 million.
OM: A Token Backed by Real-World Asset Tokenization
Launched as a key tool for tokenizing real-world assets such as real estate and commodities, OM experienced a meteoric rise in 2024, recording a +400% performance. In January 2025, Mantra even entered into a strategic partnership with DAMAC Group to tokenize $1 billion worth of assets in the United Arab Emirates. This success, built on tangible use cases and relatively low media attention, attracted the interest of numerous institutional and retail investors.
The Incident Shakes the Community and Major Players
As Mantra tries to defuse the crisis, reactions multiply. Many figures in the crypto ecosystem remain skeptical of the explanations given. Critical comments flood Mullin’s posts. Star Xu, the founder of OKX platform, goes as far as calling it a “scandal for the entire crypto industry” and announces the upcoming publication of detailed reports on token deposits, collateral, and liquidation mechanisms. He claims that all on-chain data is available and verifiable.
Mullin shared the team’s address, stating that no tokens had been sold on their end, without providing further information about their partners. Several on-chain investigators point the finger at market maker Laser Digital as the origin of these chain liquidations. However, the OM tokens owned by Laser Digital, according to its investment round, were not supposed to be available for trading at the moment…
