Mantra CEO Plans To Burn Tokens After $5.5B Crash To Rebuild Community Trust

Mantra CEO John Mullin has announced he will burn all of the team-held tokens in an effort to rebuild trust with the community after the Mantra (OM) token suffered a major crash on April 13 – a drop many are comparing to the Terra Luna collapse.

“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,” Mullin posted to X on April 16.

300 Million Tokens to Be Burned

Mantra had set aside 300 million OM tokens — about 16.88% of the total supply — for the team and key contributors. These tokens were locked and scheduled for gradual release between April 2027 and October 2029, according to a blog post from April 8.

Following the crash, with OM trading at $0.78, the team’s tokens are now worth around $236 million. Before April 13, however, they were valued at approximately $1.89 billion. OM’s price plunged from $6.30 to as low as $0.52, wiping out over $5.5 billion in market value.

Some community members supported Mullin’s decision to burn the tokens, while others raised concerns about how it might affect the team’s motivation.

Ran Neuner, founder of Crypto Banter, said the move might seem positive on the surface, but could weaken the team’s drive to keep building the project. In response, Mullin said the final decision could be made through a community vote.

Mullin has also promised to release a full post-mortem report explaining what went wrong during the crash. He shared that Mantra plans to use its $109 million Ecosystem Fund for possible token buybacks and additional burns to help stabilize OM’s price.

Was This An Inside Job?

Mantra has strongly denied rumors that it controls 90% of OM tokens or that it was involved in insider trading or market manipulation. Instead, the team pointed to “reckless liquidations” as the cause of the crash.

Binance and OKX, two major exchanges that saw heavy OM trading before the drop, also denied any involvement. They pointed to OM’s previous tokenomics and extreme volatility as the triggers behind the large-scale liquidations.

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Rebuilding After the Crash

Despite the setback, Mullin thanked the community for its ongoing support. He acknowledged the losses faced by traders and emphasized that Mantra has been through multiple market cycles – and intends to keep building.

He also gave a special mention to long-term backers like Shorooq Partners and Laser Digital for their continued support and openness with the community.

The crash has raised new questions around hype-driven DeFi projects and brought renewed focus to the importance of transparency, trust, and long-term sustainability.

Mantra’s next moves could set a crucial example for how a project handles crisis – and whether it can earn back the community’s confidence.

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