MANTRA (OM) Plummeted 90%: Crisis of Confidence or Market Trap?
On April 13, 2025, a big storm swept through the crypto market: Real World Assets (RWA) star project MANTRA (OM) token plummeted from $6.3 to $0.37 in just a few hours, a drop of over 90%, with a market value evaporating as much as $10 billion. This sudden collapse has sparked intense debate within the community, with some accusing the team of “running away” and others believing it to be a “malicious liquidation” by centralized exchanges.
Behind MANTRA’s big dump, is it internal project injury, market trap, or another warning in the crypto market? This article will reconstruct the incident, analyze the reasons, and explore the implications for investors.
The Rise and Highlight Moments of MANTRA
MANTRA is a Layer 1 blockchain based on Cosmos SDK, dedicated to tokenizing real-world assets and connecting them with DeFi. Since 2024, the concept of RWA has swept the crypto market, and MANTRA has become the focus with partnerships with heavyweight partners such as Google Cloud and Dubai DAMAC.
Its token OM soared from 0.0158 USD at the beginning of the year to a high of 9 USD during the year, with a market value once exceeding 8 billion USD. However, behind the glory, there are hidden concerns in the tokenomics of MANTRA: the team and early investors control nearly 90% of the 888 million token supply, and the community has many doubts about its transparency and lock-up plan ution.
Two, the whole story of the big dump: billions evaporated overnight
On the evening of Sunday, April 13th (UTC), the price of OM suddenly plummeted, reaching a low of $0.37, a drop of over 90%. On-chain data shows that the trading volume on centralized exchanges surged that evening, triggering market panic due to suspected large-scale sell-offs. The big dump occurred during a weekend period of low liquidity, leading to a rapid amplification of market reactions.
Subsequently, the price slightly rebounded to around $1, but investor confidence has been severely damaged. The scale and speed of this crash inevitably bring to mind the collapse of Terra LUNA in 2022.
Three, Reasons for the big dump: Official vs. Community Clash
The MANTRA team responded quickly, denying internal sales and blaming the ‘reckless forced liquidation’ of centralized exchanges as the culprit. Co-founder John Patrick Mullin stated on X that the team’s tokens are still held according to the lock-up plan, the tokenomics remain unchanged, and described the big dump as an ‘external attack’.
However, the community is not entirely convinced. On-chain analysis shows that a wallet suspected to be team-related deposited 3.9 million OM into OKX, triggering speculation of selling. There are also unconfirmed rumors that the team unilaterally increased the token supply from 888 million to 1.78 billion, bypassing community voting, sparking a crisis of confidence.
The community’s anger is also directed at MANTRA’s long-standing issues: unfair voting mechanism, delayed airdrop plans, highly centralized tokens, etc. Some investors directly call it a “rug pull” (runaway), while supporters believe that the core technology of the team is still there, and the big dump may be a by-product of market manipulation or the retreat of RWA craze. Objectively speaking, the overvaluation and low liquidity of OM undoubtedly magnified the risk, and similar events are not uncommon in the crypto market.
Four, Community Split and Market Aftermath
After a big dump, the MANTRA community is divided. Some call for the team to increase transparency and disclose detailed fund flows; others choose to continue supporting, hoping for a project comeback. The team promises to hold a community discussion on X and provide more details to restore trust.
However, the impact of the incident has extended beyond the project itself. OM’s big dump has been widely compared to Terra LUNA, reminding investors of the vulnerability of high-risk tokens. In addition, the highly centralized pattern of tokens may attract regulatory attention, sounding the alarm for the governance of DeFi projects.
Five, Insights from the Cryptocurrency Market
MANTRA’s big dump reveals several truths about the crypto market. Firstly, tokenomics is the lifeblood of a project, high centralization and low transparency often hide risks. Secondly, low liquidity markets are easily manipulated, investors need to beware of “black swan” events.
Once again, community trust is crucial for the survival of the project, and any communication error can trigger a snowball effect. For ordinary investors, the lesson of MANTRA is: do not let speculation cloud your judgment, independent research, diversified investment, and risk control are the way to survive.
MANTRA (OM) big dump is a complex Crisis of Confidence, intertwined with market volatility, governance disputes, and community trust tests. Although the price has slightly rebounded, whether the project can regain the favor of investors still needs time to verify.
The crypto market has never lacked drama, and the story of MANTRA is just one of them. Investors should learn from it and always remain rational and vigilant while chasing opportunities.
