The cryptocurrency project Mantra is coming under increasing suspicion after its OM token shed 90% of its value within a single day. The value dropped from $6.27 to only $0.72, erasing more than $5 billion in market value. What transpired next only served to worsen the situation.
Based on blockchain data, Mantra DAO—the project’s behind-the-scenes organization—sent $26.95 million of OM tokens to a Binance wallet on Monday, April 14. This is just after the price’s massive dump, which triggered red flags among observers.
Detractors cite a disturbing fact: the Mantra team owns around 90% of all OM tokens. The high concentration of ownership and timing of the exchange transfers have fueled accusations of potential insider selling.
With 90% already dumped in $OM, it seems like the $OM team is about to sell more.
2 hours ago, the @MANTRA_Chain DAO staked wallet sent 38M $OM ($26.96M) to #Binance Cold Wallet.https://t.co/nSttgmuqzg pic.twitter.com/Vsc2q346fC
— Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) April 14, 2025
Mantra CEO Denies Token Dumping Accusations
Mantra chief executive JP Mullin has rebutted such allegations. He said the team and investors didn’t dump their holdings during the crash.
Instead, Mullin attributed the price decline to “forced liquidations” instigated by cryptocurrency exchanges. Such liquidations occur when exchanges sell traders’ holdings automatically after they are unable to cover margin calls.
But his account is not to everyone’s liking. Various independent analysts have monitored suspicious token transfers that point to a different narrative.
OM price has sustained a steep drop in the last week. Source: CoinMarketCap
On-Chain Detective Work Reveals Suspicious Transfers
Crypto analyst Max Brown found that Mantra transferred nearly 4 million OM tokens to cryptocurrency exchange OKX shortly before prices began to decline.
The problem for investigators is that once tokens are moved to centralized exchanges like Binance or OKX, they become much more challenging to trace. This is essentially a blind spot where the tokens can be disposed of while leaving behind no clear trail on public blockchains.
MANTRA CHAIN $OM CRASHED 90% IN AN HOUR AND $5.5 BILLION GOT WIPED OUT.
HERE’S HOW AND WHY IT COULD HAVE POSSIBLY HAPPENED 🧵
IT ALL STARTED YESTERDAY WHEN A POSSIBLE $OM TEAM WALLET DEPOSITED 3.9 MILLION OM TOKENS ON OKX.
IT WAS WELL KNOWN IN THE CRYPTO SPACE THAT OM TEAM… pic.twitter.com/9ZQNw4Yrla
— Max Brown (@MaxBrownBTC) April 13, 2025
While analysts cannot prove it for a fact that insiders sold off tokens, the gradient of movements into exchanges just ahead of the price tumble certainly gives room for serious doubt.
Exchanges Provide Varying Account Of The Crash
Major cryptocurrency exchanges launched investigations as to what triggered the spectacular fall of the OM token.
Binance, the largest crypto exchange in terms of trading volume, corroborates Mullin’s account. In early findings, they indicate cross-exchange liquidations most likely caused the crash, which would support the CEO’s explanation.
OKX paints a different picture. The exchange cited “major changes” in OM’s tokenomics as a possible cause. They also noted that multiple blockchain addresses had sent large quantities of tokens to exchanges during the time of the crash.
The contradicting accounts by various players in the market have left investors uncertain about what actually transpired. With $5 billion of market value lost and no certainty, confidence in the project has been severely undermined.
Featured image from Blueberry Markets, chart from TradingView
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