On Apr. 13, the price of the Mantra Chain (OM) token dramatically tanked by more than 90% to as low as $0.456472. Mantra is a well-known blockchain for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
The token was trading well above the $6 price mark before the collapse. Its market cap has come down from more than $6 billion to $681 million.
Mantra co-founder JP Mullin wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that “reckless forced closures initiated by centralized exchanges on OM account holders” led to the token’s collapse. He further claimed that there was one particular exchange responsible for it but denied that it was Binance.
On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain claimed that at least 17 wallets deposited 43.6 million OM tokens worth $227 million then into exchanges. These tokens constituted 4.5% of the total circulating supply.
Two of these addresses are linked to Laser Digital, a strategic investor in Mantra, Lookonchain added, citing data from Arkham.
Laser Digital denied such claims on X and said it has not deposited any OM tokens to OKX. The wallets being referenced to OKX are not Laser wallets.
Shorooq Investors, another prominent investor in Mantra, also denied on X that Shorooq funds, founding partners or MANTRA teams sold any OM tokens. It also denied any exploit, claiming that on-chain data confirmed a large forced liquidation was the trigger for the price’s collapse.
“The cascade happened in low-liquidity hours, leading to panic sell-offs,” Shorooq Investors added.
Note that Laser Digital and Shorooq Investors are among the leading investors in the MANTRA Ecosystem Fund, Mantra’s investment initiative to drive projects, worth $108 million.
At press time, the OM token was trading at $0.7057.
