OM price fails to erase losses amid intense efforts to keep the cryptocurrency alive.
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Key Takeaways
OM’s price collapsed from $6.21 to $0.49 on April 13, sparking fears of a rug pull and market-wide panic.
The event has drawn comparisons to the 2022 Terra LUNA crash, which wiped out $3.5 billion in market cap.
OM’s trading volume peaked near $700 million, but has since dropped, signaling falling interest amid rising volatility.
OM trades within a descending triangle with fragile support at $0.39; a breakdown could send the price toward $0.30.
For a bullish reversal, OM needs strong demand and renewed trust—without them, further decline seems likely.
The OM token crash has come and gone. Yet, after several efforts by the MANTRA team to revive the token, it remains a shadow of its former self.
Today, OM’s price hovers around $0.47, nearly 95% down from its all-time high. But let’s first take it down memory lane. How did the OM price crash happen?
During the intraday trading session on Sunday, April 13, OM’s price was $6.21.
In less than an hour, the cryptocurrency, one of this cycle’s top-performing assets, briefly plunged below $0.49.
The sudden crash has triggered widespread speculation of a potential rug pull, with the broader market questioning the integrity of the MANTRA team.
While the actual cause of the collapse remains debatable, the market has drawn comparisons to the infamous LUNA crash of 2022. As uncertainty looms, CCN breaks down what we know and what the future holds for the token after this unfortunate event.
MANTRA Goes From Top Performer to Collapse: Why?
OM’s price crash took the crypto market by surprise. For a token with nearly all holders in profits some weeks back, the 90% crash reversed most of these gains.
The token collapse is also surprising, considering recent developments in the MANTRA ecosystem. Just days ago, the project launched a $108 million fund to support the Real World Assets (RWA) project.
Initially, the MANTRA team did not address what caused the plunge. However, speculation across the market is spreading that the team engineered this decline, with many tagging it a “rug pull.”
Some have also compared it to the LUNA/UST crash of 2022. For instance, pseudonymous research analyst Choze mentioned that the MANTRA team, which owns 90% of the total supply, sold all its allocation.
“Welcome to Terra Luna V.2. For those wondering, the $OM team dumped their entire allocation. That’s 90% of the total circulating supply gone. They also deleted Mantra’s official Telegram group. Just like that, $3.5 billion in market cap vanished,” Choze wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Adding fuel to the fire, Master of Crypto reported that the MANTRA team allegedly sent approximately $590 million worth of tokens to exchanges. The report suggests that shortly after the transfer, the core team resigned, deepening fears of a coordinated exit scam.
“This project had full supply control, possible OTC dumps, and zero transparency. It looks like insiders got out, and the community paid the price,” The analyst revealed.
Falling Volume, Lower Prices
Following the development, OM’s trading volume skyrocketed from $70 million to nearly $700 million. Typically, such a spike in volume might suggest growing interest.
As of today, that volume is below $200 million. From a trading perspective, the drop in volume alongside the falling price is bearish. If this continues, then OM’s market value might continue to fall.
Regarding the crash, CCN spoke with Tracy Jin, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of crypto MEXC. Like others, Jin compared the recent price collapse to the 2022 LUNA crash.
She also opined that this development could leave a loophole regarding user trust.
“The bigger issue is trust. When a token this high-profile crashes without a clear smoking gun, the community’s left stitching together conspiracy threads from on-chain data. And when even exchange founders are casting doubt on it, the damage goes beyond price action,” The COO emphasized.
In addition, Jin mentioned that the crash is a reminder that low-volume hours can still create high-stakes wipeouts, especially when newer tokens start punching above their weight.
OM Volatility Hits Peak
But in this case, it indicates rising selling pressure amid the price collapse. If this trend continues, it could reinforce the bearish trend, potentially driving OM’s price even lower.
Amid this drop, on-chain data shows that the volatility around the MANTRA token has spiked to an all-time high. Volatility shows how much and how quickly a cryptocurrency’s price changes over time.
High volatility equals big price swings (up or down). Low volatility, on the other hand, indicates a stable price and little movement. Therefore, these sudden spikes suggest that OM’s price might continue to experience large price swings downwards.
Meanwhile, on-chain sleuth ZachXBT has weighed in on the matter, stating that he has yet to pinpoint the cause of the crash. He also noted that while some have speculated the collapse was due to token unlocks, there is no concrete evidence to support that claim.
“I wonder if a few large wallets got hacked or an exploit (there were a few large OM holder thefts recently). Mantra is a Cosmos chain, which makes it very difficult to analyze quickly for large CEX deposits bc there are few analytics tools for anything in the IBC. Everyone is saying it’s the unlocks, but those do not happen for a few days. (Don’t take any of this as fact, just thinking aloud, Zach stated.
OM Price Analysis: Recovery Hard to Find
From a technical point of view, OM’s price action invalidated the bullish structure formed before the crash. Data from the daily chart also shows that the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has dropped below 30.00. This led to a drop below $0.60 before it recently bounced to $0.78.
The RSI measures momentum and shows whether an asset is overbought or oversold. Readings above 70.00 indicate overbought levels, while those below 30.00 indicate oversold.
The Money Flow Index (MFI) was to be in the same situation, falling below 20.00 on April 15. This decline indicates rising selling pressure.
As of this writing, the OM technical setup has not exactly improved. As seen below, the altcoin still trades within a descending triangle with horizontal support at $0.39.
In addition, the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), which measures buying and selling pressure, has yet to retest the zero signal line. If this continues, OM’s price risks falling below the horizontal support.
If that happens, OM’s next move could be a decline toward $0.30. However, this trend might improve if OM sees an increase in demand for large volumes.
In that scenario, the market value might rise above $2 if bears do not control the directional movement.
Red Flags and the Way Forward
While the crash shocked some people then, others had issued a warning earlier. For instance, CCN’s thorough investigation showed that a certain X (formerly Twitter) user had predicted a rug pull. On Feb. 15, the user with the “Not Telling” handle disclosed that the MANTRA project was manipulated.
In 2021, the Wu Blockchain team also disclosed that the MANTRA project was a fraud after Binance listed it. Meanwhile, in its defense, ex-Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) mentioned that exchanges should not have a listing process, as they should provide access to all tokens while traders decide what to trade.
In the meantime, the MANTRA team has addressed the situation. According to co-founder J.P. Mullin, a forced liquidation involving a large holder caused the sharp decline in OM’s price.
Mullin noted that since the full details have been known, it is time to take steps to win back community trust. Earlier today, the MANTRA team revealed that it would disclose what it is doing regarding that at the upcoming TOKEN2049 in Dubai, which aligns with what Mullin stated earlier, where he noted that:
“Guys, I’ve just woken up, and I’m getting the complete breakdown of what’s going on. There was a massive forced liquidation from a large OM investor on a CEX. Still working on the details, but we are here, and we’re fixing this,” Mullin explained.
Disclaimer:
The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, financial advice. We do not make any warranties regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of this information. All investments involve risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results. We recommend consulting a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
Victor Olanrewaju is a crypto analyst and reporter at CCN with deep roots in on-chain research and technical analysis. His crypto journey began in 2017, but it was the 2020 Uniswap airdrop that sparked a full-time pivot into the space.
With a foundation in copywriting, Victor honed his craft creating high-converting content for leading crypto brokers — most notably an XRP price prediction that ranked #1 on Google during the 2021 bull run.
He later joined AMBCrypto in 2022, where he combined storytelling with technical and on-chain analysis to cover key market narratives.
In 2024, he expanded his expertise at BeInCrypto, collaborating with analysts and using tools like Glassnode, Santiment, and IntoTheBlock to break down Bitcoin and altcoin trends.
At CCN, Victor covers the top cryptocurrencies, memecoins, macro shifts, blending real-time insights with deep-dive metrics.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Ibadan, equipping him to simplify complex data for a wide audience. Follow his work or connect on LinkedIn or X.
