Recently, the Mantra (OM) token has come under scrutiny due to a sharp decline in its price. This article examines the reasons and expert opinions on the matter.
What Happened to OM’s Price?
On April 13, the price of the OM token plummeted over 90%, falling from $6.30 to below $0.50 within hours. This sharp decline erased more than $5.5 billion from the market capitalization, shrinking it from $6 billion to below $485 million at the lowest point. At press time, the token was trading at $0.8623.
JP Mullin's Explanation
Mantra’s CEO JP Mullin stated that the price drop was caused by forced liquidations triggered by centralized exchanges. He explained that these actions occurred suddenly during low liquidity hours on Sunday evening UTC, which may have amplified the market impact. Mullin clarified that the sell-off was not due to any token sales by the Mantra team or its investors, noting that OM tokens remain locked according to the project’s vesting schedule.
Independent Analysts' Views
Several independent analysts have provided contradictory opinions. For instance, crypto analyst Max Brown claimed that the sell-off began when 3.9 million OM tokens were deposited on OKX from a wallet thought to be connected to the Mantra team. He noted that the team allegedly controls almost 90% of the total supply, alarming the market and triggering a sell-off. Earlier, Wu Blockchain, a popular news channel, reposted a warning about the Mantra team, linking them to gambling websites and previous false investment claims.
The situation surrounding the OM token's price crash highlights the importance of transparency in the cryptocurrency space and the need for careful analysis of project teams' actions. The market's reaction to Mantra's actions reflects a high level of concern among investors.
