برچسب: Mantra

  • Mantra Crash Fallout: Binance, OKX, and Bybit Address Price Drop and Insider Allegations

    Mantra Crash Fallout: Binance, OKX, and Bybit Address Price Drop and Insider Allegations


    After the crash of $OM, the native token of Mantra, a blockchain for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, three international centralized crypto exchanges (CEXs) have issued statements on the issue.

    Short Background on the $OM Crash

    On April 14, 2025, Philippine time, $OM’s fiat value dropped by more than 90 percent within 24 hours, falling from approximately $6.30 to below $0.50, erasing nearly $6 billion from its market capitalization.

    According to Mantra co-founder John Mullin, the price drop was due to a “massive forced liquidation” on an undisclosed exchange. Meanwhile, the blockchain’s community lead, Dustin McDaniel, cited “reckless liquidations” as the cause of the collapse.

    But the explanation from the Mantra team did not convince the community, as posts on X alleged that the Mantra team or insiders sold off a large portion of the token’s circulating supply. Some even claimed that up to 90 percent was dumped.

    Crypto publication Cointelegraph also revealed on X on-chain data that showed $227 million in $OM was moved to exchanges ahead of the collapse.

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    There are also claims that some investors of Mantra moved their $OM assets from noncustodial crypto wallets to CEXs such as Binance and OKX.

    Statement of International CEXs on $OM Price Drop

    Binance

    In a post on X, Binance Customer Support said on the day of the crash that they were aware of $OM’s significant price volatility.

    The CEX further said it had implemented various risk control measures, including reducing the leverage levels for $OM since October 2024. In January 2025, Binance added a pop-up warning on $OM’s spot trading page to inform users that the token had undergone significant changes to its tokenomics, increasing its supply.

    “Our initial findings indicate that the developments over the past day are a result of cross-exchange liquidations. Binance constantly monitors leverage levels and makes adjustments according to market conditions for risk controls to help reduce volatility.”

    Binance

    Meanwhile, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao shared Cointelegraph’s on-chain data and said that while some people blame Binance for the $OM crash, he was sure that the big transfer of $OM from a wallet to exchanges “knows to avoid Binance.”

    The founder then suggested that CEXs should not have a listing process but instead provide access to all tokens, allowing traders to decide what they want to trade.

    OKX

    Also on the day of the $OM price drop, OKX said it had observed significant volatility of $OM and noticed substantial trading volume spikes and price declines across various CEXs outside of OKX.

    OKX then revealed that it conducted its own investigation using on-chain and internal exchange data:

    “Our investigation uncovered that several on-chain addresses have been executing potentially coordinated large-scale deposits and withdrawals across various centralized exchanges since Mar 2025.”

    Furthermore, OKX CEO Star Xu said the exchange would publish all reports regarding the incident.

    “It’s a big scandal to the whole crypto industry. All of the onchain unlock and deposit data is public, all major exchanges’ collateral and liquidation data can be investigated.”

    Star Xu, Chief Executive Officer, OKX

    To help its users, the exchange said it adjusted a number of platform risk control parameters to mitigate potential impacts, while announcing that certain tokens may experience significant changes in supply, which could result in considerable price volatility.

    A risk warning feature for the $OM trading page was also added to inform users of its increased volatility.

    ByBit

    Meanwhile, Bybit is not only at the center of the liquidity issue for $OM but also of the listing process of the token.

    Two hours before Xu said that OKX would post its investigation findings, an OKX enthusiast alleged that Bybit was going to schools and asking students to download the exchange’s app. Another allegation claimed that Bybit encouraged KOLs to report the OKX wallet to regulators.

    But the most serious accusation is that Bybit charges a $1.4 million listing fee for every project’s token.

    Bybit CEO Ben Zhou immediately denied the allegations and commented on the X post of the OKX enthusiast, saying:

    “The cryptocurrency world is so chaotic because of idiots like you who spread rumors without any evidence and fantasize every day.”

    This article is published on BitPinas: $OM Crash Fallout: Binance, OKX, and Bybit Address Price Drop and Insider Allegations

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  • Mantra CEO Denies Exit Dump But Admits Price Support Loop in Coffeezilla Interview

    Mantra CEO Denies Exit Dump But Admits Price Support Loop in Coffeezilla Interview


    A top 20 cryptocurrency, Mantra ($OM), saw its price collapse by over 90% in just 24 hours which wiped out $4.5 billion in market value and triggered a wave of forced liquidations. The crash triggered widespread speculation about potential market manipulation and insider involvement.

    To address the controversy, Coffeezilla, a popular crypto investigator, interviewed Mantra CEO JP Mullin in an explosive discussion that offered new insight—but also raised more questions.

    Coffeezilla Interviews Mantra CEO

    interviewing the ceo of crypto which crashed -90%

    A 90% Crash Overnight

    “Yesterday a top 20 token called Mantra or OM crashed 90%, leading me to search for answers,” Coffeezilla opened in his video. He collaborated with blockchain investigator ZachXBT to uncover what caused one of the biggest single-day token collapses in recent history.

    Mullin was quick to frame the incident as a cascade of liquidations. “Effectively what we were able to discern was that overnight tokens that had been used as collateral… had been forced closed and liquidated causing this massive selloff,” he said.

    Did the Team Dump or Get Liquidated?

    One of the most pressing questions was whether the team themselves sold or were liquidated. Mullin stated: “We have published a transparency report… The team tokens are all long vested and have not moved… We did not sell a single OM… The team also did not get liquidated.”

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    However, he confirmed OTC (over-the-counter) sales by the Mantra Association to fund operations: “We have had OTC transactions for the Mantra Association itself to fund business operations… I’d say between 25 to 30 million USD.”

    OTC Deals and Price Support

    Coffeezilla pressed Mullin on whether Mantra used OTC proceeds to prop up the token’s price: “You’re saying you’ve never heard of the guy [Mr. P]… but this guy right before this huge dump is laying out a plan which doesn’t seem too dissimilar from what may have been happening.”

    Mullin admitted to a type of buyback loop:

    “What you’re talking about… you sell tokens to somebody else… and then you’re taking the money that you get and you’re reinjecting it back into the token. That is exactly correct.”

    Coffeezilla challenged him: “That’s pumping the price, yes or no?”

    Mullin eventually conceded, “Sure, yes.”

    Still, he was careful to frame these moves as market support rather than manipulation: “We’ve never put in levels or supports or anything like this. It’s more just a discretionary—this is going to be used to enter the market over the next, you know, you do a TWAP over 30 days.”

    Who Was Liquidated?

    Despite the scale of the liquidation, Mullin said the team still didn’t know who was behind it: “We think it was a group of people… We’ve been in contact with our institutional partners to try to figure out what’s going on, but we don’t know who was liquidated.”

    He did, however, acknowledge that certain individuals had positions big enough to cause such an event: “I think it was in the size of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

    Mr. P and Shadowy Market Making

    A large chunk of the interview was spent discussing a mysterious figure known as “Mr. P,” who claimed to be a market maker and had been offering discounted OM tokens OTC days before the crash. Mullin denied any association: “We don’t—we’ve never heard of that name before.”

    Coffeezilla pointed out the similarity between Mr. P’s strategy and Mantra’s own approach: selling tokens OTC and using the proceeds to support the price. Mullin admitted to the similarity but rejected the comparison: “There was no selling. You’re just buying. That’s correct.”

    What’s Next for Mantra?

    When asked what happens when these discounted OTC tokens unlock, Mullin responded: “We’ll continue to build out the ecosystem… and support as much as we can so that people have a reason to stake, hold it, and continue to see it as an asset.”

    Still, Coffeezilla concluded that what was happening at Mantra was far from normal: “They were using OTC deals to support the price, which to me feels like kind of maybe how we got here.”

    This article is published on BitPinas: “You Can’t Just Say It’s Nobody’s Fault”—Coffeezilla Confronts Mantra CEO Over $OM Collapse

    What else is happening in Crypto Philippines and beyond?



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