The Daily: MANTRA debacle sparks liquidations and accusations as Laser Digital denies role in OM token crash and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter,  The Daily , which comes out on weekday afternoons.

I hope you had a good weekend, folks! As market sentiment remains mixed following the latest Trump tariff turmoil, all eyes are on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Wednesday speech for any clues about potential monetary policy adjustments to ease investors' concerns.

In today's newsletter, MANTRA's token price crash sparks liquidations and accusations, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reportedly probes crypto bank Anchorage Digital, Strategy resumes its bitcoin buying spree and more.

Meanwhile, Tether plans to deploy its hashrate on OCEAN's decentralized Bitcoin mining pool.

Let's get started.

OM's sudden price crash sparks liquidations and accusations

MANTRA's OM token plunged over 90% in a matter of hours on Sunday from around $6 to $0.45, sparking concerns over a potential rug pull or hack.

• The MANTRA team attributed the crash to "reckless liquidations" caused by a large investor's forced position closure on a centralized exchange, according to co-founder John Patrick Mullin.
• In a message to the project's official Telegram channel before it was made inaccessible, community lead Dustin McDaniel denied that the crash resulted from any team selling.
• The Layer 1 real-world asset blockchain project had previously faced allegations of controlling large portions of the token's circulating supply in an attempt to manipulate its price, which Mullin has previously rebuffed.
• OM's price collapse led to at least $70 million in liquidations within 24 hours, with multiple positions losing over $1 million, according to CoinGlass data.
• Meanwhile, Nomura's Laser Digital, a key investor in MANTRA, denied involvement in the OM token crash and rejected claims of large-scale sales by its wallets.
• Lookonchain, citing Arkham data, said some 17 addresses transferred $227 million worth of OM tokens to trading venues, including OKX, since April 7, claiming two of those addresses were tied to Laser Digital.
• Laser Digital stated that the wallet involved in the token transfers was unrelated to the firm, attributing it to a third-party financing trade, and stressed that its "core OM investment remains locked."
• OKX said it adjusted its risk parameters amid investigations into "potentially coordinated large-scale" activity before OM's crash.

US Department of Homeland Security reportedly probes Anchorage Digital

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's El Dorado Task Force has launched a probe into Anchorage Digital , reaching out to former employees about the company's "practices and policies," Barron's reported on Monday, citing people familiar.

• While the substance of the probe is unclear, the task force has a mission to "disrupt and dismantle transnational money laundering organizations," according to its website.
• The crypto bank has previously faced regulatory issues, including a 2022 cease-and-desist order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for "lax compliance" with KYC and anti-money laundering provisions.
• Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley recently attended the inaugural White House Crypto Summit, and the firm has gained traction with major financial institutions, securing digital asset custody agreements with Cantor Fitzgerald and BlackRock.

'No tariffs on orange dots': Strategy acquires another 3,459 bitcoin for $286 million

Bitcoin treasury company Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) acquired an additional 3,459 BTC for approximately $285.8 million at an average price of $82,618 per bitcoin between April 7 and April 13, according to an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

• The acquisitions were funded by proceeds from the sale of 959,712 shares of its class A common stock, with $2.08 billion of MSTR shares still available for issuance and sale under that ATM program.
• Strategy now holds a total of 531,644 BTC — worth around $45 billion — bought at an average price of $67,556 per bitcoin for a total cost of around $35.9 billion, representing more than 2.5% of bitcoin's total 21 million supply.
• The company's co-founder and executive chairman, Michael Saylor, hinted at the likelihood of another bitcoin acquisition filing ahead of time, sharing an update on Strategy's bitcoin purchase tracker on Sunday with the phrase "No tariffs on orange dots."
• Meanwhile, Japanese investment firm Metaplanet announced it had purchased an additional $26.3 million worth of bitcoin , bringing its total holdings up to 4,525 BTC ($387 million).

JPMorgan introduces GBP blockchain payments

JPMorgan's blockchain division, Kinexys (formerly Onyx), has rolled out British pound sterling (GBP) blockchain deposit accounts , complementing its existing euro and dollar real-time settlement services.

• "The new GBP-denominated blockchain accounts enable clients to conduct seamless cross-border transactions, including 24/7 foreign exchange," JPMorgan said in a statement — meaning its corporate clients can now move funds between pounds, euros and dollars around the clock, regardless of traditional market hours.
• Major clients like The London Stock Exchange Group's SwapAgent and global commodities firm Trafigura are the first to adopt the GBP blockchain accounts.
• The launch marks a significant expansion for Kinexys, which has processed over $1.5 trillion in total transactions since 2019, with average daily activity exceeding $2 billion and payments volume growing tenfold year-over-year, JPMorgan said.

Kraken launches phased rollout for US stocks and ETFs

Kraken has begun rolling out U.S. equities trading in select states , enabling customers to manage crypto, stocks and ETFs from a single account in collaboration with licensed broker-dealer Alpaca.

• The phased rollout offers commission-free trading of more than 11,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, with fractional shares available for more than half of the new offerings — paving the way for the tokenization of such assets, according to Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi.
• In addition to expanding further within the U.S., Kraken also plans to extend its stock trading offerings into the UK, Europe and Australia.

In the next 24 hours

• U.S. FOMC member Thomas Barkin will speak at 11:35 a.m. ET on Tuesday. ECB President Christine Lagarde follows at 12 p.m. U.S. Fed Governor Lisa Cook speaks at 7:10 p.m.
• Starknet, Onyxcoin, Sei and EigenLayer are set for token unlocks.

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