OMFG! Crypto Implodes Overnight! 😱

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Ah, the predictable agony! 😩 Mantra’s OM token, once puffed up with the hot air of digital dreams, suffered a collapse of, yes, more than 90%! Such a percentage! Overnight, it became a monument to the fleeting nature of virtual wealth. The crypto world, that den of speculation and self-deception, now finds itself in disarray, unable to agree on the precise malady that felled this digital beast. On April 13, a date to be forever etched in the annals of crypto-folly, OM’s price, once a respectable $6, plunged into the abyss below $0.50. Billions, a sum incomprehensible to the common man, vanished into the digital ether, triggering panic most unbecoming of these self-proclaimed masters of the universe. 🙄

The sudden, brutal demise of OM invites inevitable comparisons to the Terra’s LUNA catastrophe, a dark omen indeed. Traders, those frantic souls forever chasing the next fleeting gain, now scramble for answers, like rats in a sinking ship. Rumors, like noxious fumes, spread of insider dumping, of forced liquidations, of wallets deliberately mislabeled, of exchanges manipulating the market like puppeteers. But Mantra, ever the innocent bystander, insists it was merely caught in the crossfire. A convenient excuse, wouldn’t you agree? 🤔

Mantra, in its hubris, had built a “strong position” (their words, not mine) in the tokenization of real-world assets. This, of course, came with the backing of a $1-billion deal to tokenize the properties of Dubai-based Damac Group. A shiny VARA license in Dubai, like a badge of honor, was secured. A $108-million ecosystem fund was launched, supported by such heavyweights as Laser Digital, Shorooq, Amber Group, and Brevan Howard Digital. In February 2025, a date now tinged with irony, the OM token reached an all-time high, nearly $9. Such heights! Such folly! 🤣

But on April 13, this carefully constructed edifice was violently shaken. The hours that followed were a chaotic tapestry of token transfers, insider speculation, and shifting blame. Prepare yourself, dear reader, for a detailed unraveling of the OM collapse. A tragedy, a farce, a cautionary tale – all rolled into one. 🤡

24 Hours of the Mantra OM Fiasco: A Chronicle of Calamity

April 13 (16:00–18:00 UTC): The Calm Before the Storm

Mantra’s OM token, blissfully ignorant of its impending doom, traded sideways throughout the day. A gentle decline, a mere prelude to the avalanche. It dropped from $6.14 to $5.52 during this two-hour window. Such insignificance! Little did they know… 🤭

April 13 (18:00–20:00 UTC): The Plunge

The token, with the suddenness of a guillotine’s fall, plummeted to $1.38 in the first hour, then to a dismal $0.52 in the next. Over 90% of its value vanished in a single day. Social media, that breeding ground of conspiracy theories and wild speculation, erupted. Rug pull! Insider dumping! Forced liquidation! Exchange manipulation! The accusations flew like poisoned arrows. The pitchforks were out. 😈

April 13 (20:00–22:00 UTC): Damage Control Begins (Or Does It?)

Early speculation, fueled by a screenshot of a deleted Telegram channel, pointed to a rug pull. This was later debunked, but the seeds of doubt had already been sown. Mantra shared its first statement on X, that bastion of truth and reason, but the brief update was met with immediate backlash. The mob was not appeased. 😡

April 13 (22:00–00:00 UTC): The CEO Speaks

Mantra co-founder and CEO John Patrick Mullin, perhaps sensing the impending doom, posted a more detailed statement on X. He blamed “reckless forced closures initiated by centralized exchanges.” A convenient scapegoat, wouldn’t you say? 🤔

“The timing and depth of the crash suggest that a very sudden closure of account positions was initiated without sufficient warning or notice,” Mullin declared, as if anyone truly cared. 🙄

“That this happened during low-liquidity hours on a Sunday evening UTC (early morning Asia time) points to a degree of negligence at best, or possibly intentional market positioning taken by centralized exchanges.”

April 14 (00:00–02:00 UTC): Wallets and Whispers

In the days leading up to the crash, at least 17 wallets had deposited a total of 43.6 million OM (worth $227 million) into Binance and OKX. A suspicious amount, wouldn’t you agree? 🤔

Two of these wallets were labeled as belonging to Laser Digital, a strategic Mantra investor. Accusations and finger-pointing ensued. But the accuracy of these labels remains unconfirmed. The truth, as always, is elusive. 🕵️‍♂️

Meanwhile, Mullin, in a desperate attempt to quell the rising tide of anger, suggested internal findings pointed to one exchange as the main culprit. But he refused to name names. The plot thickens! 🤨

April 14 (02:00–05:00 UTC): Exchanges Respond

Binance and OKX, those giants of the crypto-world, finally deigned to address the situation. Binance acknowledged the price volatility and pointed to “cross-exchange liquidations.” OKX CEO Star Xu promised an investigation. A big scandal, he proclaimed! But will the truth ever be revealed? 🤫

OKX stated they had identified “major changes to the MANTRA token’s tokenomics model since Oct 2024.” And even more damning, “several on-chain addresses have been executing potentially coordinated large-scale deposits and withdrawals across various centralized exchanges since Mar 2025.” Coordinated, you say? 🤔

April 14 (05:00–12:00 UTC): Denials and Dormant Wallets

Laser Digital, perhaps fearing the wrath of the mob, denied ownership of the wallets. “The wallets being referenced are not Laser wallets,” they declared. But can we trust them? 🤨

A dormant wallet, inactive for a year, suddenly sprung to life just hours before the crash. It was labeled as belonging to Shane Shin, a founding partner of Shorooq Partners, and received 2 million OM shortly before the collapse. Coincidence? I think not! 😈

April 14 (12:00–13:00 UTC): Mullin Speaks Again

Mullin, in a desperate attempt to salvage the situation, denied reports that key Mantra investors had dumped OM before the collapse. He dismissed allegations that the team controlled 90% of the supply. But his words rang hollow. 😔

He reassured users that OM token recovery was the team’s primary concern. A buyback of tokens, he hinted, might be on the horizon. Promises, promises… 😒

April 14 (13:00–16:00 UTC): More Theories Emerge

Theories multiplied like rabbits. Market makers at FalconX were blamed. Individuals linked to Reef Finance were accused of seeking massive OM-backed loans. The blame game continued. 🤪

What We Know (Or Think We Know) of the OM Crash

Theories abound. Rug pull? Insider trading? An expiring deal with FalconX? Mislabeled wallets? The truth remains shrouded in mystery. The team has denied everything, of course. But who can we trust in this den of vipers? 🐍

Arkham Intelligence, the source of the mislabeled wallet accusations, has remained silent. Perhaps they know more than they are letting on. 🤫

In the days following the crash, Mullin promised to burn all of his team’s tokens. A noble gesture, if it were genuine. He announced a post-mortem and a “statement of events.” But the truth, the real truth, remains elusive. 👻

Mullin claims to have tapped an unnamed blockchain analyst to investigate the cause of the crash. But details remain confidential. The secrets, it seems, will remain buried. 😔

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2025-04-17 17:33