Mantra's CEO Commits to Destroy Team Tokens Following OM Token Downfall in Effort to Restore Community Faith

John Mullin, the CEO of the blockchain platform Mantra, has committed to destroying the team’s entire token allocation to regain trust from the community after a drastic decline of the OM token value on April 13.

In a statement on X issued on April 16, Mullin remarked, “I’m planning to burn all of my team tokens, and when we turn it around, the community and investors can decide if I have earned it back.”

Background on Token Allocation

Mantra initially designated 300 million OM tokens—around 16.88% of the total supply of nearly 1.78 billion—for its team and key contributors. Prior to the crash, these tokens, which held an estimated value of $1.89 billion, were slated for release between April 2027 and October 2029. Their current worth is about $236 million given OM’s price of $0.78.

Impact of the Decline

The token’s price took a significant hit, dropping from approximately $6.30 to a low of $0.52, which erased over $5.5 billion in market capitalization according to CoinGecko. Responses to Mullin’s vow varied, with some praising it as a bold accountability measure, while others raised concerns about the potential negative impact on the team’s long-term motivation to develop the platform.

Ran Neuner, founder of Crypto Banter, expressed criticism, stating, “Burning the incentive may seem like a good gesture but it will hurt team motivation long term.”

Mullin has also hinted that a decentralized vote might decide the future of the 300 million team tokens.

Future Plans

In response to the crisis, Mullin mentioned that the Mantra team is formulating recovery strategies, which may include utilizing its $109 million Mantra Ecosystem Fund for possible OM token buybacks and burns. Mantra firmly denied accusations of insider trading or hoarding 90% of OM’s supply, attributing the collapse to “reckless liquidations” rather than actions by the team.

Exchanges like OKX and Binance, which facilitated the majority of OM transactions before the crash, also denied any wrongdoing, attributing the events to extreme market fluctuations.

Key Takeaways:

John Mullin, CEO of Mantra, is committing to burn 300 million OM tokens to regain community trust after a sudden token collapse.
This crash resulted in a loss of over $5.5 billion in market value, prompting questions about the governance and transparency in DeFi projects.
Mantra refutes insider trading claims and is planning recovery efforts alongside community engagement.