- Mantra CEO John Mullin is planning to burn all team tokens to rebuild trust following OM token’s 90% crash on April 13.
- The team’s 300 million tokens (16.88% of supply) were worth $1.89 billion before the collapse and now approximately $236 million.
- Mantra denies allegations of insider trading and attributes the price crash to “reckless liquidations” across exchanges.
Mantra CEO John Mullin announced plans to burn all team-allocated tokens following the dramatic collapse of the OM token on April 13. In a statement posted on X on April 16, Mullin said: "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."
The team’s allocation comprises 300 million OM tokens, representing 16.88% of the nearly 1.78 billion total supply. These tokens are currently locked and were scheduled for gradual release between April 2027 and October 2029, according to an April 8 blog post. At the current trading price of approximately 78 cents, the team tokens are valued around $236 million, significantly down from their previous worth of $1.89 billion before the April 13 crash.
Community Reactions Mixed
While many community members welcomed Mullin’s pledge, others expressed concerns about the potential impact on the team’s motivation. Crypto Banter founder Ran Neuner said, "This would be a mistake. We want teams that are highly incentivized. Burning the incentive may seem like a good gesture but it will hurt the team motivation long term." Mullin suggested the decision could ultimately be determined through a decentralized vote.
The OM token experienced a catastrophic drop on April 13, plummeting from around $6.30 to as low as 52 cents, wiping out over $5.5 billion in value according to CoinGecko. The collapse sparked widespread concern across the cryptocurrency community.
Recovery Efforts Underway
Mullin has promised a post-mortem statement to explain what went wrong. Additionally, he told Cointelegraph on April 14 that Mantra plans to leverage its $109 million Ecosystem Fund for potential token buybacks and burns to stabilize the price.
The company has firmly denied rumors suggesting it controls 90% of OM’s token supply or engaged in insider trading. Mantra attributes the collapse to "reckless liquidations" rather than any actions by the team.
Major exchanges including OKX and Binance reported significant OM activity immediately before the crash. Both platforms denied any wrongdoing, pointing to tokenomics changes made in October 2024 and unusual volatility that triggered widespread cross-exchange liquidations on April 13.
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