Mantra CEO vows token burn to regain investor trust after OM collapse

Mantra CEO John Patrick Mullin has proposed burning his allocation of OM tokens in a transfer aimed toward restoring investor confidence after the protocol’s native token suffered a pointy collapse. 

Mullin stated his tokens, a part of a broader 300 million OM allocation earmarked for the staff, are topic to a cliff till April 2027.

Token burn

In a public statement posted to X on April 15, Mullin pledged to destroy his share of that future allocation and said that the group may determine whether or not he earns it again as soon as the mission recovers.

He revealed that he presently holds roughly 772,000 OM tokens, lower than 1% of the over 80 million OM tokens circulating provide as of April 15, per Tokenomist data. Mullin allotted his tokens on the liquid staking protocol Fluxtra.

Regardless of his pledge and the revelation of his present holdings, Mullin didn’t reveal his OM token stake and stated he would wait till the burn program was able to share his portion of the token provide.

The OM token, which powers the Mantra blockchain, misplaced over 90% of its worth on April 13, plunging from round $6.30 to underneath $0.50 in a single day. 

The crash erased roughly $5.5 billion from its market capitalization, decreasing it from roughly $6 billion to $530 million. Though OM has since rebounded to $0.81 with a market cap nearing $800 million, it stays properly beneath prior ranges.

Mantra is a layer 1 blockchain constructed utilizing the Cosmos SDK, which focuses on tokenizing real-world belongings and integrating regulatory compliance into its protocol. 

The platform just lately secured a Digital Asset Service Supplier license from Dubai’s Digital Belongings Regulatory Authority (VARA), positioning it for progress in regulated digital asset markets.

Reckless liquidations

Mullin attributed the collapse to abrupt liquidations by centralized exchanges throughout a low-liquidity buying and selling window, which triggered speedy promote stress. He denied that staff members or traders offered tokens, emphasizing that each one allocations stay locked underneath a public vesting schedule.

Blockchain observers raised the potential of insider exercise or pockets compromises, citing suspicious fund actions. 

Over $70 million in OM was reportedly moved to exchanges by means of a single middleman pockets earlier than the collapse, prompting comparisons to the 2022 Terra ecosystem implosion.

Mullin stated the staff is investigating and plans to publish particulars on centralized alternate involvement. He reiterated that Mantra’s tokenomics stay intact and verifiable by means of on-chain knowledge.