Mantra Burns 150 Million OM Tokens to Restore Trust After 90% Crash

Mantra founder and CEO John Mullin has initiated a significant token burn of 150 million OM tokens, aiming to restore user trust following the token's crash in April. This move involves unstaking tokens originally allocated during the Mantra Chain's mainnet launch in October 2024. The burn process, which began on April 21, is expected to be completed by April 29, with the tokens being permanently removed from circulation. This action is part of a broader effort to rebuild trust within the community and address the underlying issues that led to the crash.

Mantra's OM token experienced a dramatic 90% price drop on April 13, reportedly triggered by a $40 million token deposit into OKX by a wallet allegedly connected to the team. This event sparked fears of insider selling and led to mass liquidations across exchanges. The token burn is seen as a first step in rebuilding trust, with Mullin stating that it is far from the last measure the company will take. The process involves unstaking his tokens and sending them to a burn address identified as “mantra1qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqcg2my8.” This address permanently removes the tokens from circulation, effectively tightening the supply.

Once completed, the burn will reduce Mantra’s total token supply from 1.82 billion to 1.67 billion OM. The number of staked tokens will drop by over 26%, from 571.8 million to 421.8 million OM. This reduction will have direct benefits for token holders who stake their OM, as the bonded ratio will decrease from 31.47% to 25.30%, resulting in higher staking annual percentage rates (APRs) for participants in the network. The unstaking process can be verified through publicly shared transaction hashes, and once the final burn transaction is confirmed onchain, Mantra plans to release a complete verification report for full transparency.

Mantra is not stopping at this initial burn. The project is currently in talks with “key ecosystem partners” about burning an additional 150 million OM tokens. If successful, this would bring the total burn amount to 300 million OM, further reducing the total supply to 1.52 billion tokens. This expanded burn represents a major shift in Mantra’s tokenomics aimed at creating more value for holders. The token burn is part of a broader “OM Token support plan” announced by Mantra following the price crash. This plan also includes a token buyback program, which Mullin has indicated is “well underway.” In addition to the burn initiative, Mantra has released a tokenomics dashboard to increase transparency. This tool is designed to help restore community trust by providing clear visibility into token distribution and circulation.

Mantra, the real-world asset tokenization platform, is pushing to burn as much as 16.5% of its total supply, valued at about $160 million, to boost staking rewards after talks with key partners. The proposal to burn as many as 300 million of its 1.8 billion tokens will drop the bonded ratio from 31.47% to 25.30%. It includes a confirmed tranche of 150 million OM, or about $80 million, belonging to founder John Patrick Mullin and an additional set of tokens owned by “ecosystem partners.” Specifics were not shared in a Monday update. Mullin’s tokens are part of his team allocation that were staked when the network first started in October 2024. The burn process, which requires unstaking, will wrap up by April 29, when the tokens hit the network’s burn address. The move follows the OM's brutal 90% price crash on April 13, which erased over $5 billion in market value in just hours. The Mantra team pinned the collapse on “reckless liquidations” by exchanges at the time amid speculation some investors were liquidating their positions.

Mantra lets users tokenize real-world assets (RWAs) like real estate and commodities, enabling compliant digital investments in tangible assets. Its OM token facilitates transactions and governance. In January, Mantra partnered with DAMAC Group, a UAE-based conglomerate, to tokenize $1 billion in assets, including real estate, hospitality, and data centers, boosting the OM token's value. OM was among the biggest market gainers in 2024, rising more than 400% on relatively low public conversation on crypto-related social media. The strength of the move intrigued traders and investors alike. The OM price is down 3.3% over the past 24 hours despite the burn announcement, indicative of a steep hit in investor confidence.