Mantra CEO Commits to Burning Team Tokens After OM Token Crash

John Mullin, CEO of Mantra, has announced plans to burn the 300 million OM tokens allocated to his team in a bid to restore community confidence. This step follows the April 13 collapse of the Mantra (OM) token, which fell from $6.30 to a low of $0.52, erasing over $5.5 billion in market value. Mullin aims to “win it back” by sacrificing the team’s tokens, currently worth $236 million but previously valued near $1.89 billion before the crash.

Burning Team Tokens

Mantra had reserved 300 million OM — about 16.88% of the token’s total supply of nearly 1.78 billion — for the platform’s team and core contributors. These were locked, with a release schedule spanning April 2027 to October 2029, according to a blog post on April 8. Mullin has now suggested that this enormous stake could be destroyed altogether, stating in an April 16 post:

“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.”

Reaction to the Plan

While many community members welcomed Mullin’s pledge, some criticized it as a shortsighted move. Ran Neuner, founder of Crypto Banter, warned that removing the team’s financial incentives might undermine the core contributors’ motivation in the long run. Mullin then proposed the idea of hosting a decentralized vote to let community members decide whether to burn the tokens.

Fall of OM Token

The OM token collapsed on April 13, plunging from around $6.30 to $0.52. Mullin suggests it may have resulted from “reckless liquidations” and denies claims that Mantra controlled 90% of the supply or engaged in insider trading. Meanwhile, major crypto exchanges OKX and Binance reported unusual volatility before the crash but attributed the final spiral to changes in tokenomics and rapid cross-exchange liquidations, rather than any direct action by their own platforms.

Plans for Recovery

Since the token collapse, Mullin and his team have refuted accusations of wrongdoing. Speaking with Cointelegraph on April 14, Mullin highlighted a $109 million Mantra Ecosystem Fund that may support buybacks and token burns, potentially stabilizing the OM price. He also committed to releasing a full post-mortem to explain the meltdown and outline next steps.

“We strongly deny that the team orchestrated any market manipulation,” Mullin stated. Mantra claims the downturn was triggered by external “reckless liquidations,” unrelated to direct actions by the core contributors.

Mullin’s suggestion of burning 300 million team tokens underscores a willingness to shoulder responsibility, but it also raises questions about the project’s future and how the team will remain incentivized to continue building the real-world asset tokenization platform. The final decision will likely rest with a community vote, reflecting the decentralized ethos Mullin wants to preserve.