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Mantra Founder Burns Personal Stake To Salvage Reputation After 90% Crash

Published 22 April 2025
Prashant Jha
Authors
Edited by Insha Zia

Key Takeaways

  • MANTRA plans to burn 300 million OM tokens to win back community trust.
  • CEO John Patrick Mullin will burn his personal team allocation of 150 million tokens.
  • The team is also in talks with ecosystem partners to coordinate a second 150 million token burn.

Following a steep 90% crash in the OM token’s price, MANTRA founder and CEO John Patrick Mullin has announced that he will burn his personal token allocation, 150 million OM, in a bid to restore confidence in the project.

The move is part of a broader effort to reduce the token’s supply and rebuild trust with the community. The MANTRA team has begun the process of unstaking these tokens, originally set aside during the network’s genesis to secure the chain.

Aiming for a 300 Million OM Burn

MANTRA says it’s also in discussions with major ecosystem partners to coordinate a second 150 million OM token burn, potentially bringing the total to 300 million tokens.

These tokens were originally staked in October 2024 by the founding team and early contributors to bootstrap network security.

Now, nearly six months later, those same allocations are under scrutiny after community backlash and a wave of criticism over perceived insider token movements ahead of the crash.

In its public announcement, the team framed the burn as a “commitment made to the community” and a signal of their focus on building a transparent and accessible tokenized finance platform.

Behind the Crash: Sell-Offs, Liquidity Issues, and a YouTube Confession

Tensions rose further after Mullin appeared in a video with YouTuber and investigator Coffeezilla, where he admitted to “pumping” the OM token price before its collapse.

While MANTRA attributed the crash to “reckless liquidity” by centralized exchanges, on-chain activity revealed that team allocations were adjusted and sold shortly before the plunge.

Tokenomics Impact: Lower Supply, Higher Yields

Beyond reputational damage control, the burn also has implications for OM holders.

The removal of 150 million OM tokens from circulation is expected to increase staking yields by lowering the bonded ratio from 31.47% to 25.30%.

According to the team, the total token supply will shrink from 1.82 billion to 1.67 billion OM, while staked tokens drop from 571.8 million to 421.8 million OM.

In the wake of the crash and the CEO’s controversial interview, trust in the MANTRA ecosystem has taken a major hit.

Accusations of a “soft rug” continue to circulate among critics. Now, with millions of tokens headed for the burn wallet, the team is betting on transparency and tokenomics to salvage its standing.

Prashant Jha

Prashant Jha is a seasoned crypto journalist based in Delhi, India, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science Engineering. Passionate about the evolving world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, he has been a dedicated voice in the industry since 2018. Prashant’s expertise lies in regulatory reporting, where he unravels complex legal and financial developments with clarity and precision. Before joining CCN in 2024, he honed his craft at Cointelegraph, establishing himself as a trusted name in crypto journalism.

His coverage spans major industry events, including the high-profile collapses of FTX, Three Arrows Capital (3AC), and LUNA, offering readers insightful analyses of their regulatory and market implications. Prashant’s technical background enables him to bridge the gap between intricate blockchain technology and its real-world applications, making his work accessible to novices and experts.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Prashant is an avid music enthusiast, often exploring diverse genres to unwind. A sports lover, he has a particular passion for cricket and frequently engages in discussions about the game. His multifaceted interests and sharp journalistic instincts make him a valuable contributor to CCN, where he continues shaping the crypto landscape's narrative.

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