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Golden Finance reports that the OM token of the Layer 1 blockchain project MANTRA, focused on RWA, dropped by about 10% between 01:20 and 02:20 AM (UTC+8) today. It then suddenly plummeted from $5.21 to approximately $0.50 (as of the time of this report), experiencing a 90% drop in just 90 minutes. Before access to the project's public Telegram group was restricted, community leader Dustin McDaniel downplayed accusations of team sell-offs, stating he was unaware of any issues. At 04:51 AM, MANTRA's X account updated that the crash was triggered by reckless liquidations and had nothing to do with the project itself. Co-founder John Patrick Mullin mentioned that large OM investors faced massive forced liquidations on CEX and stated they were addressing it. Previously, MANTRA had been accused of controlling a significant portion of the token's circulating supply in an attempt to manipulate its price. In response, Mullin said: "The OM token has been circulating since August 2020, longer than most skeptics have been in crypto." Some investors pointed out that DeFiLlama data shows MANTRA protocol's TVL is only about $13 million while its fully diluted valuation reaches as high as $9.5 billion, which could be a risk signal.

On April 14, PANews reported that as the traditional gold market heats up, cryptocurrency investors are also following suit by investing in tokenized versions of this precious metal. These tokens provide price exposure while offering digital flexibility. So far this year, gold-backed cryptocurrencies like Paxos Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT) have risen by 24.15% and 23.7%, respectively, reaching new highs of over $3,300, with increases roughly comparable to spot gold prices. Subsequently, their prices slightly retreated to $3,265 and $3,244. Despite the significant rise in gold-backed cryptocurrencies this year to date, the broader crypto market is on a downward trend. Bitcoin has fallen more than 11% so far this year, while the overall cryptocurrency market has dropped just over 30%. The value of these tokens backed by physical gold and tracking its price surged as investors sought refuge from uncertainties triggered by escalating U.S.-China trade tensions. This move reflects a broader return to gold as a safe-haven asset. According to RWA.xyz data, in the first quarter of this year alone, net minting volume for crypto assets backed by gold exceeded $42.7 million; combined with rising gold prices, their total market capitalization approached $1.4 billion.