Massive price collapse shakes confidence in RWA-focused chain
John Patrick Mullin, CEO and co-founder of Mantra, has pledged to burn his personal token allocation in response to a stunning 90% drop in the price of OM, the native token of the Mantra blockchain. The token plummeted from $6 to under $0.40 within an hour on Sunday, sending shockwaves through the crypto community.
The OM token had previously reached a market cap of $6.46 billion, briefly becoming the 23rd largest cryptocurrency. It has since fallen out of the top 100, with its market cap now under $750 million, according to CoinGecko.
CEO plans ‘comprehensive burn program’
Mullin tweeted that he would burn all of his tokens from the "Team and Core Contributor" allocation, which are set to start vesting in 2027. He also announced a broader token burn initiative: “We will create a comprehensive burn program for other parts of the OM supply,” he said, claiming the goal is to rebuild trust with the community.
Although exact burn amounts have yet to be disclosed, Mullin stated he will make the burn “as large as [he] can possibly make it.” Several other team members have reportedly offered to follow his lead.
OTC deals and buybacks under scrutiny
Mullin admitted to over-the-counter (OTC) token sales worth $20 to $30 million and said those funds were partially used for token buybacks to support liquidity. Critics, including investigative YouTuber Coffeezilla, called it manipulation. Mullin countered that the buybacks were discretionary market support, not price pumps.
In an interview, Mullin claimed the OM crash was due to “reckless liquidations” on a major centralized exchange, not team actions. He emphasized that neither the team nor its treasury used leverage and that none of their tokens were sold.
Despite partnerships with major firms like Google Cloud and Dubai-based DAMAC Group, questions about Mantra’s tokenomics and trading practices persist.
