Mantra (OM), the much-hyped real-world asset-focused blockchain project, experienced a dramatic price collapse over the weekend, raising serious questions about transparency, trust, and the power centralized exchanges hold in the crypto market.
On April 13, OM’s price nosedived by over 90%, plunging from around $6.30 to under $0.50 in just a matter of hours.
The freefall wiped out more than $5.5 billion in market value, shrinking its market cap from $6 billion to a low of $485 million before making a slight recovery. As of now, OM is trading at $0.8623—still down 90% from its all-time high of $8.99 in February.
Mantra CEO JP Mullin took to X on April 14 to offer an explanation. He attributed the crash to forced liquidations by centralized exchanges, which occurred during Sunday evening UTC—typically a low-liquidity period. According to Mullin, this unfortunate timing amplified the price impact and caught the market off-guard.
Sherpas, OMies, and broader crypto community,
— JP Mullin (🕉, 🏘️) (@jp_mullin888) April 13, 2025
First off, the team and I greatly appreciate the support that we have received over the past several hours, which we believe is a testament to the strong support MANTRA has among its investors and community.
We have determined that…
He emphasized that neither the Mantra team nor its investors were involved in any token sales, stating that all OM tokens remain locked according to the project’s vesting schedule. Mullin also reaffirmed Mantra’s long-term vision and urged the community to stay supportive despite the turbulence.
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Several independent analysts have voiced skepticism over the official explanation. Notably, crypto analyst Max Brown pointed to a wallet—believed to be linked to the Mantra team—that deposited 3.9 million OM tokens onto the OKX exchange right before the crash.
MANTRA CHAIN $OM CRASHED 90% IN AN HOUR AND $5.5 BILLION GOT WIPED OUT.
— Max Brown (@MaxBrownBTC) April 13, 2025
HERE'S HOW AND WHY IT COULD HAVE POSSIBLY HAPPENED 🧵
IT ALL STARTED YESTERDAY WHEN A POSSIBLE $OM TEAM WALLET DEPOSITED 3.9 MILLION OM TOKENS ON OKX.
IT WAS WELL KNOWN IN THE CRYPTO SPACE THAT OM TEAM… pic.twitter.com/9ZQNw4Yrla
This move spooked the market, especially given that the Mantra team is rumored to control up to 90% of the total token supply. Whether intentional or not, that kind of control can send serious shockwaves through the market—and in this case, it did.
This isn’t the first time the project has come under fire. Wu Blockchain, a popular crypto news channel on X, resurfaced a 2021 warning about Mantra’s founding team.
The post linked some members to past involvement with a gambling platform and alleged false investment claims. The resurfacing of these concerns has only intensified scrutiny around Mantra’s operations.
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Despite the crash,—or perhaps because of it—trading activity exploded. OM’s 24-hour trading volume surged by more than 2,500%, reaching $1.9 billion according to crypto.news. Such a spike reflects both panic selling and speculative buying, as traders looked to capitalize on the extreme price swings.
Ironically, Mantra has been gaining traction in recent months. In January, the project announced a massive $1 billion deal with real estate heavyweight DAMAC to tokenize physical assets. It also achieved regulatory milestones, securing a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Dubai’s VARA in February—a big win in the race to become a legally compliant Web3 platform.
But even with regulatory green lights and high-profile deals, this weekend’s crash has cast a long shadow over Mantra’s credibility. Critics argue that the episode highlights broader issues in crypto, including centralization of token supply, lack of transparency, and the unpredictable influence of major exchanges.
Whether you believe Mullin’s claims of forced liquidations or side with analysts pointing to insider token dumps, the OM crash is a sobering reminder of crypto’s volatility—and the risks of putting too much faith in any single narrative.
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