The crypto world reels as Mantra Token (OM) plummeted 90% in a jaw-dropping freefall, erasing $5.2 billion in market value within hours. The crash, which left traders scrambling and memes flooding social media, was pinned on what CEO John Patrick Mullin called a “massive forced liquidation event” tied to over-leveraged positions. In a frantic Twitter Spaces session early Monday, Mullin admitted the team was “blindsided” by cascading sell-offs but vowed to stabilize the protocol—though skeptics are already questioning if Mantra can recover.
The meltdown began at 3:00 AM UTC on April 14th, 2025, when OM’s price nosedived from $6.33 to a gut-wrenching $1.40 and is now selling at $0.78 at the time of writing this article, triggering panic across major exchanges. Data from CoinGecko showed trading volumes spiking 2,539.10% as automated liquidations hammered leveraged traders. “This wasn’t a hack or a rug pull—it was a perfect storm of reckless borrowing and bad timing,” MANTRA’s official X account tweeted, sharing a post-mortem thread. It revealed that a cluster of whale accounts, overexposed to OM-backed loans, were margin-called simultaneously, creating a “domino effect” that overwhelmed Mantra’s liquidation safeguards.
Critics, however, argue the protocol’s risk parameters were flawed. “Mantra’s liquidation engine failed to handle volatility,” an analyst said. “Their system allowed too much leverage without circuit breakers.” The crash wiped out thousands of retail investors, with one user lamenting, “My life savings are gone—poof!” while others joked about “OM” standing for “Oh My God.”
Mullin’s emergency proposal to pause liquidations and initiate a buyback fund did little to calm nerves. Binance and Bybit temporarily halted OM trading, but not before derivatives traders lost $800 million in hours. The CEO insists Mantra’s fundamentals remain strong, pointing to its real-world asset (RWA) partnerships in Asia. Yet, with OM still down 88% at press time, faith is fading. Crypto veterans compared the crash to Luna’s 2022 collapse, warning of contagion risks. Meanwhile, crypto Twitter is split: half demand accountability, and half hunt for bargains.
As Mantra scrambles to plug the holes, the Mantra Token 90% crash serves as a brutal reminder—no project is too big to fail. Will OM stage a comeback or join the graveyard of once-hot tokens? For now, holders are stuck between hope and a hard wallet.
