Mantra’s OM Token Plummets 90% Amidst Controversy Over Forced Liquidations
In a surprising move, Mantra's OM token saw a drastic decline of 90%, leading to speculations about forced liquidations by exchanges.
Key Highlights:
- Mantra’s OM tokens faced a significant 90% plunge in value overnight, stirring worries and discussions in the crypto community.
- The team at Mantra credits this drop to reckless liquidations from centralized exchanges rather than any fundamental issues with the project.
- This abrupt decline led to over $50 million in liquidations on OM futures, dramatically reducing open interest.
Crypto traders were reminded of the recent LUNA situation as the popular Mantra OM token unexpectedly fell from above $6 to approximately 40 cents during low liquidity hours of the market, where minor trading volumes can create substantial price fluctuations.
Mantra reassured users with a post on X, stating:
“We want to assure you that MANTRA is fundamentally strong. Today’s activity was triggered by reckless liquidations, not anything to do with the project. One thing we want to be clear on: this was not our team. We are looking into it and will share more details about what happened as soon as we can.”
The platform allows users to tokenize real-world assets, including real estate and commodities, facilitating compliant digital investments. In January, Mantra had partnered with DAMAC Group to tokenize $1 billion worth of assets, which include real estate and various properties.
Co-founder John Patrick Mullin expressed concerns, suggesting the market movement was likely sparked by exchanges closing OM positions, affecting overall market exposure. He stated in a post:
“We have determined that the OM market movements were triggered by reckless forced closures initiated by centralized exchanges on OM account holders. The timing and depth of the crash suggest that a very sudden closure of account positions was initiated without sufficient warning or notice.”
Notable figures in the crypto community, such as OKX founder Star Xu, have also raised alarms, pointing to over $220 million in token deposits before the crash, implying significant market manipulation.
“It’s a big scandal to the whole crypto industry. All of the on-chain unlock and deposit data is public, all major exchanges’ collateral and liquidation data can be investigated,” Xu mentioned.
