The Daily: MANTRA founder burns OM tokens, Strategy buys more BTC, Bybit's stolen funds have 'gone dark' and more

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

It's Monday! Some markets around the world are still closed for the Easter holiday, but that hasn't stopped two high-profile firms from gobbling up more bitcoin.

In today's newsletter, the founder of MANTRA vows to burn 150 million of his OM tokens, Strategy buys over 6,000 BTC for $555 million, Bybit's CEO says 28% of the $1.4 billion in stolen crypto funds in February are now untraceable and more.

Meanwhile, the Japanese investment firm Metaplanet purchased 330 bitcoin for $28.2 million to bring its total holdings to 4,855 BTC.

Let's get started.

MANTRA founder will burn $82 million worth of his OM tokens

MANTRA founder and CEO John Patrick Mullin announced plans to burn his 150 million OM tokens to restore trust and reaffirm his commitment to the project.

• The company is discussing with ecosystem partners the possibility of expanding the burn to 300 million tokens, or 16.5% of the total supply.
• This token burn is expected to reduce the bonded ratio and boost staking APR, according to MANTRA.
• The announcement follows a massive crash of the OM token on April 13, which saw its value drop over 90% and $5 billion wiped out from its market cap.
• MANTRA attributed the crash to "reckless liquidations."
• Mullin confirmed that neither he nor the MANTRA team sold any OM during the price collapse and expects more clarity from centralized exchanges.
• Over 81% of respondents in a Twitter poll supported Mullin’s burn plan, and the tokens will be unstaked and burned by April 29.

Strategy buys more BTC for $555 million

Michael Saylor’s company, Strategy, bought 6,556 more bitcoin for about $555 million at an average price of $84,785 each between April 14 and April 20.

• The purchase was funded by selling shares of its MSTR and STRK stock, raising $555 million through ongoing stock sale programs.
• Strategy now holds 538,200 bitcoin bought for $36.47 billion total, with a current market value near $46.8 billion.
• After reporting $5.91 billion in unrealized Q1 losses , bitcoin’s price recovery has flipped Strategy's holdings into gains.

Bybit CEO says nearly 28% of $1.4 billion hacked crypto 'gone dark'

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said nearly 28% of the $1.4 billion stolen in a February hack has become untraceable, up from 23% in early March.

• The stolen funds were laundered through mixers like Wasabi and Tornado Cash, then routed via cross-chain and swap services before ending up in peer-to-peer (P2P) and over-the-counter platforms.
• Most of the stolen ETH has been converted into BTC and distributed across tens of thousands of wallets, with only a small portion still on the Ethereum network.
• In response, platforms like Chainflip paused services to implement protections, while eXch announced it will shut down amid legal pressure for links to laundering activities.

South Korea's central bank vows to 'actively participate' in stablecoin legislation development

The Bank of Korea announced its active involvement in shaping stablecoin regulations to manage potential threats to monetary policy and financial stability.

• It warned that stablecoins, unlike other virtual assets, function as payment tools and could disrupt traditional financial systems if widely adopted.
• South Korea is working on a second crypto bill to regulate stablecoins, improve transparency in token listings and define crypto service providers more clearly.
• With over 18 million crypto investors, the country is also advancing central bank digital currency trials, including P2P transfers in an upcoming phase.

GSR helps consumer product firm Upexi create a SOL treasury with a $100 million private investment

GSR led a $100 million private investment into consumer goods firm Upexi to help it build a solana-based treasury, accumulate SOL and stake its holdings.

• Based in Tampa, Upexi develops, manufactures and distributes consumer products.
• Upexi joins other companies like Janover and Sol Strategies in building solana treasuries, reflecting a broader trend of traditional firms adopting and staking SOL assets.

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