Mantra OM Token Crashes 90% in Single Day, Erasing $6 Billion

The
token experienced a catastrophic crash on April 14, 2025, plummeting by over 90% in a single day. This dramatic decline erased $6 billion in market value, leaving investors in shock and raising critical questions about liquidity issues within the cryptocurrency market. The token, which had been trading at around $6.30, collapsed to a low of $0.40, reducing its market capitalization from nearly $6 billion to a mere $683 million. This sudden drop triggered over $74.7 million in liquidations, with some individual positions losing more than $1 million each.John Patrick Mullin, Mantra's CEO, attributed the crash to "reckless forced liquidations" executed by centralized exchanges during low-liquidity hours. He claimed that these actions occurred without sufficient warning or margin calls, leading to a cascade of sell-offs. However, crypto investigator ZachXBT raised serious doubts about the official narrative, pointing to two individuals allegedly tied to the Mantra incident: Denko Mancheski, the founder of Reef Finance, and a user named Fukugo Ryoshu. According to ZachXBT, these individuals had been reaching out to multiple parties in the days leading up to the crash, seeking massive loans against their $OM holdings. This
fueled speculation of coordinated market manipulation, especially given Reef Finance’s own history of similar incidents.The crash exposed several red flags surrounding the Mantra project. Market analysts discovered that the Mantra team controlled an alarming 90% of the token’s circulating supply, giving them significant control over the token’s price and liquidity. This extreme concentration of ownership raised concerns about potential manipulation. Additionally, the team behind Mantra DAO had a controversial history, with some members linked to fraudulent Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and operating a casino. The project had also faced legal scrutiny for failing to provide transparent financial reports.
Another point of concern was Mantra’s handling of a planned airdrop. The project had announced a 50 million $OM airdrop as part of its Gendrop program, but just before the distribution, the team banned 50% of participants, claiming they were bots—without providing a clear explanation. The team subsequently delayed the airdrop, leaving many users frustrated and suspicious of the team’s intentions. Compounding this, Mantra quietly altered its tokenomics without proper communication, a move that further fueled distrust.
The crash also highlighted the disconnect between $OM’s valuation and its fundamentals. Prior to the crash, $OM had a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of approximately $10 billion, yet its total value locked (TVL) was a mere $4 million. This stark disparity showed that market manipulation, FOMO, and speculative narratives massively overhyped the token, rather than genuine demand driving its value. The price, which had surged over 500x from its all-time low, was fragile and prone to collapse due to the lack of real buying pressure.
The involvement of figures like Denko Mancheski, who has a history of market manipulation with Reef Finance, only added to the suspicion. Reef itself experienced a similar pump-and-dump cycle, surging 650% before crashing 64% after a Binance delisting in 2024. The parallels between Reef and Mantra, coupled with ZachXBT’s findings, suggested that $OM’s rise and fall may have been orchestrated by experienced manipulators who exploited retail investors’ trust and FOMO.
The impact on the community and investors was devastating. Many users lamented the loss of $15 million and declared the industry a “scam.” Others accused the Mantra and Binance teams of orchestrating a liquidity exit. The crash obliterated financial portfolios and eroded trust in the RWA tokenization sector, raising broader questions about market stability and the integrity of centralized exchanges.
The Mantra OM token crash serves as a stark reminder of the risks inherent in the cryptocurrency market, particularly in projects that lack transparency and have questionable practices. Despite Mantra’s denials, the red flags surrounding the project cast doubt on its legitimacy. This saga underscores the need for investor diligence in a hype-driven market and calls for better regulation and safeguards as the industry matures.

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