Mantra's OM Token Nosedives 90%: CEO Blames Centralized Exchanges

JP Mullin Points Finger at Forced Liquidations

Hang onto your hats, crypto fans! Mantra's CEO JP Mullin is throwing down the gauntlet, claiming that the jaw-dropping 90% price crash of their OM token was all thanks to some shady moves by centralized exchanges. On April 13, OM plummeted from a comfy $6.30 to a gut-wrenching below $0.50 in just hours. In a fiery post on X the next day, Mullin didn't hold back, saying these forced liquidations hit during the low-liquidity hours of a Sunday evening UTC, making the market impact even more brutal.

Mantra Team and Investors Not to Blame, Says Mullin

Mullin was quick to clear the air, insisting that this nosedive had nothing to do with any token sales from the Mantra team or its investors. He stressed that those OM tokens are still locked up tight according to the project's vesting schedule. With a rallying cry, he reaffirmed Mantra's long-term commitment and urged the community to keep the faith.

Analysts Cry Foul, Point to Mantra Team's Wallet

But hold up, not everyone's buying what Mullin's selling. Crypto analyst Max Brown is calling BS, claiming the sell-off kicked off when a whopping 3.9 million OM tokens landed on OKX from a wallet linked to the Mantra team. With the team allegedly holding nearly 90% of the total supply, this move sent shockwaves through the market, sparking the sell-off frenzy.

Market Cap Plummets, Trading Volume Explodes

The fallout? A staggering $5.5 billion wiped off OM's market cap, shrinking it from a hefty $6 billion to a measly below $485 million at its lowest. As of now, OM's trading at $0.8623, a brutal 90% drop from its February all-time high of $8.99. But here's the kicker: trading volume has skyrocketed over 2,500% in the last 24 hours, hitting a mind-blowing $1.9 billion.

Mantra's Rise and Fall: From Regulatory Darling to Crash Victim

Mantra burst onto the scene as a regulatory-compliant, real-world asset-focused layer-1, making waves with big partnerships and regulatory wins. They inked a $1 billion deal with real estate giant DAMAC in January to tokenize assets and got the green light to operate legally in the UAE after snagging a virtual asset service provider license from Dubai's VARA in February. But this crash has reignited old flames of criticism.

Old Skeletons Resurface, Transparency Concerns Mount

Wu Blockchain, a popular X news channel, dug up a 2021 warning about Mantra's founding team, linking them to a gambling website and past false investment claims. Traders are now sounding the alarm on transparency and exchange processes, drawing eerie parallels to past crypto collapses like Terra. Buckle up, folks, because the ride's far from over!