The Mantra Paradox: What Really Happened To OM?

Mantra’s failure and its native token OM triggered several discussions on social media over the weekend.

While project failures and price crashes are common in the industry, OM’s collapse raises more questions than answers.

Unlike most new projects, Mantra has a verified track record of innovating in the Real-World Asset (RWA) space.

This history was a source of trust for many in the industry who invested in the project.

Mantra’s Promising Transparent Start Turns Sour

There are growing concerns with market valuations crashing by over 90% and wiping over $5 Billion in market capitalization.

Many have sought to understand what went wrong with a previously acclaimed project.

Notably, Mantra, a Layer-1 blockchain project focused on tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs), started on a solid footing.

The ecosystem complied with regulatory guidelines and helped bridge traditional and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Mantra was launched in October 2020 initially as Mantra DAO, with John Mullin as CEO and founder.

The ecosystem was built on transparency, as community members were allowed to propose and vote on ecosystem upgrades.

It even initiated partnerships with renowned entities like DAMAC Group, Polkadot and later integrated with Google Cloud and Fireblocks.

These developments signaled institutional trust in the broader financial space.

The Layer-1 blockchain also secured a license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). This indicates that Mantra has aligned with its compliance goals from inception.

The Mantra Collapse: What Really Happened?

However, holders of Mantra’s native token OM were beyond shock following a 91% loss in value. The asset’s market cap plummeted to $478.98 Million from nearly $6 Billion.

Marked by a shocking price crash, OM dipped from $6.26 to below $1. As of this writing, it was trading at $0.6068, representing an 18.2% decline intraday and a 91.05% decline over the week.

According to Choze, a crypto research analyst, the OM team dumped their entire allocation. This move wiped out 90% of the total circulating supply.

Choze also alleged that the team had deleted Mantra’s official Telegram group.

Analysts are comparing recent developments involving Mantra to the 2022 collapse of the Terra ecosystem.

“Welcome to Terra Luna V.2. And yep, @jp_mullin888 is the guy behind it all,” Choze wrote on X.

Some other voices in the space have used strong words on Mantra and the team. Some allege that Mantra engaged in market manipulation to defraud.

Meanwhile, Laser Digital, a notable Mantra partner, denied involvement in OM’s staggering price collapse.

In 2024, Laser Digital backed Mantra, but many are now alleging that the company deposited massive volumes of OM on OKX, leading to the collapse.

In a statement on X, Laser Digital maintained that social media assertions linking the company to the recent price collapse were “factually incorrect and misleading.”

Interestingly, Lookonchain, while citing Arkham Intelligence data, highlighted that 17 addresses moved $227 Million worth of OM tokens.

An on-chain observer noted that two wallets, including one “0xB37DBD” address, had links to Laser Digital.

Despite evidence pointing to the firm and the Mantra team, both entities have denied involvement with investigations ongoing.

HTX Lists OM Amid the Chaos

When tokens crash like this, investors rarely want to go near it. However, Justin Sun linked crypto exchange HTX is taking a different approach to the trend.

In another shocking development, HTX, a major crypto exchange, announced the OM listing. Deposits are already open, and trading is set to commence.

Some view this move as a way to help Mantra revive, while others say it supports the allegations of market manipulations.

It now remains whether or not other exchanges will join the trend.