Timeline | OM Plunges Over 80%: Whose Fault Is It - Team, Liquidity Provider, or Investor?

In the early morning hours, the RWA sector project MANTRA (OM) experienced a rapid 90% decline, plummeting from $6 to $0.5, with a market capitalization loss of over $5.5 billion. Three hours later, the MANTRA team (OM token issuer) released a statement attributing the crash to irrational liquidations unrelated to the project itself, stating it was not the team's doing. Subsequently, OM rebounded from around $0.5 to $1.2, experiencing a brief pump. According to Coinglass data, within just four hours, the OM contract saw liquidations totaling $58 million.

Prior to this crash, OM had gone through several violent price surge phases since November last year, earning the nickname "Strong Hold Phantom Coin" from the community. Related Reading: "After Evaporating $5.5 Billion in 15 Minutes and Surging 4x, Why Did 'Phantom Coin' OM Suddenly Crash?". So, what is the truth behind this crash? Was it really caused by off-exchange trading liquidations? BlockBeats will continue to monitor and provide real-time updates, with the following timeline of events:

April 14

11:11 PM: ZachXBT states Reef founder sought to collateralize OM for a large loan on the eve of OM's crash

At 11:11 PM, blockchain sleuth ZachXBT posted on social media that he had been hearing two names associated with the Mantra incident: Denko (Reef Finance founder) and Fukogoryushu. It was reported that in the days leading up to OM's 90% crash, these two individuals had sought collateralized loans using their OM holdings from multiple parties.

It is worth noting that Reef Finance has a history of market manipulation, with the token being delisted from Binance in October 2024 and the team entering into an $80 million OTC trade agreement with Alameda Research in 2021.

10:22 PM: MANTRA investor Shorooq claims neither the fund nor the MANTRA team sold any tokens during OM's crash

At 10:22 PM, a significant MANTRA investor, Shorooq Partners, took to social media to state that neither the Shorooq fund, founding partners, nor the MANTRA team sold any tokens during the OM price collapse. Shorooq confirmed that there were no vulnerabilities in MANTRA, and on-chain data corroborated that large-scale forced liquidations were the triggering factor. This chain reaction occurred during a period of low liquidity, leading to panic selling. Shorooq expressed that as a long-term equity investor in MANTRA, their belief remained unwavering.

BlockBeats previously reported that the RWA project MANTRA announced on March 19, 2024, that it had completed a $11 million funding round, led by Shorooq Partners, with participation from Three Point Capital, Forte Securities, Caladan, Virtuzone, Hex Trust, Token Bay Capital, GameFi Ventures, Mapleblock, Fuse Capital, 280 Capital, and others.

18:28: MANTRA Staking Address Sends 38 Million OM to Binance Cold Wallet, Equivalent to $26.96 Million

According to OnchainLens monitoring, 2 hours ago, the MANTRA DAO staking wallet sent 38 million OM tokens (equivalent to $26.96 million) to the Binance cold wallet.

18:10: Laser Digital Responds to OM Price Crash: Not Involved in Sell-off, Core OM Investment Still Locked Up
At 18:10, Laser Digital released a statement saying, "We would like to directly respond to recent speculation about Laser Digital's involvement in the OM (Mantra) price fluctuations. Laser has no relationship with the recent decline in the OM price. Claims on social media about Laser's involvement in 'investor sell-offs' are inaccurate and misleading."

Publicly tagged are some OM on-chain transfer records related to the Laser wallet. We state categorically: Laser has not deposited any OM tokens into OKX. The wallets mentioned in relation to OKX are not owned by Laser. Consistent with our partners, our core OM investment remains locked up. We have no interest in exerting pressure on the token or undermining the stability of the project. Transparency is crucial."

15:56: OKX Issues Statement on MANTRA (OM) Price Volatility

According to the official announcement, OKX has recently observed significant price fluctuations in the MANTRA project's OM token: following a sharp rise in the token's value in early November 2024, around 2:28:32 am on April 14, 2025 (UTC+8), rapid price declines and increased trading volume were first seen on other exchanges, followed by an overall market drop of over 80% in a short period of time.

Meanwhile, based on on-chain public data and exchange internal data, since October 2024, the project's tokenomics has undergone significant changes; and from early March to the present, multiple on-chain addresses with similar operating patterns have exhibited large deposits and withdrawals across various exchanges. In light of the aforementioned market risks, OKX has adjusted a series of platform risk control parameters to mitigate these risks. At the same time, OKX reminds users that the current market poses significant risks, with some tokens experiencing significant changes in token supply, leading to substantial price fluctuations and impacts. Users are advised to carefully analyze project details when trading.

14:21: An address receives 2 million OM tokens five hours before the OM crash, currently facing a loss of over $11 million

At 14:21, as monitored by Lookonchain, five hours before the OM crash, a wallet that had been dormant for a year transferred 2 million OM tokens to a wallet possibly associated with Shane Shin (@KeunShane). The wallet received 200 million OM tokens at a price of approximately $12.58 million, but its value has now dropped to around $1.57 million.

Around 14:00: VC Insider Reveals OM's Ground Push OTC Model with a Scale of $500 Million

Around 14:00, HashKey Capital member Rui and ArkStream Capital founding partner Ye Su disclosed on X that the crypto project MANTRA (OM) follows a "Ground Push OTC" model with an off-exchange scale of $500 million, employing a cycle of "new OTC token for old OTC dump" until the final unlocked chips "OTC remain motionless" collapse.

According to the disclosure, in 2023, when the OM token's FDV plummeted to nearly $20 million, nearing abandonment, under the arrangement of an intermediary, a Middle Eastern capital intervened for a buyout, retaining only the CEO position. The Middle Eastern capital owned a large number of mansions, resorts, and other physical assets, subsequently packaging OM into a Real World Asset tokenization (RWAfi) project. Ye Su stated that under strict control, OM achieved the highest increase in value on Binance in 2024, realizing a 200x growth. The team is currently still promoting the "OTC Market" business.

11:30: Binance Responds to OM Flash Crash: Mainly Triggered by Cross-Platform Clearing, Will Closely Monitor Developments

At 11:30 AM, Binance officially announced that they had noticed a significant price fluctuation in the MANTRA token OM. A preliminary investigation revealed that the recent day's fluctuation was primarily caused by cross-platform liquidation. Since October last year, Binance has implemented various risk control measures on the OM token, including reducing the leverage level. Binance will continue to monitor the leverage level and adjust it according to market conditions to enhance risk control, help reduce volatility.

Starting from January this year, Binance has also enabled a pop-up reminder on the spot trading page for OM, reminding users that the token's tokenomics has undergone significant changes with an increase in the token supply. Binance will continue to closely monitor the situation and take appropriate actions to protect user interests and maintain the platform's stability and fairness.

9:06 AM: 10 OM positions worth over a million US dollars each were liquidated in the past 12 hours

At 9:06 AM, according to Coinglass data, 10 OM positions worth over a million US dollars each were liquidated in the past 12 hours.

On-chain Monitoring: Before the OM flash crash, 4.5% of circulating supply deposited into CEX, strategic investor Laser Digital suspected to be involved
At 8:40 AM, according to The Data Nerd monitoring, 6 hours ago, OM's price plunged 90% from $6 to $0.4, and in the last 3 days, 24.4 million OM coins (approximately $143.94 million at that time) were deposited from 5 wallets into OKX. Four wallets had the same operation pattern: withdrawn from Binance last month and then deposited into OKX.

At 8:55 AM, according to Lookonchain monitoring, before the OM crash (since April 7), at least 17 wallets deposited 43.6 million OM (approximately $227 million at that time) into CEX, accounting for 4.5% of the circulating supply. According to Arkham's tags, two addresses were associated with Laser Digital. Laser Digital is a strategic investor in MANTRA.

At 9:56 AM, according to Spot On Chain monitoring, in the three days leading up to the crash, a group of large OM holders transferred 14.27 million OM coins (valued at approximately $91 million) to OKX at an average price of $6.375. Back in late March, they collectively withdrew 84.15 million OM coins from Binance with a total value of about $564.7 million (average $6.711). Today, after experiencing a roughly 90% crash, the remaining 69.08 million OM coins are worth only $62.2 million, with an estimated total loss of $406.3 million. Spot On Chain suggests that they may have hedged this position elsewhere, which may have been one of the reasons for this crash.

8:28 AM: Total OM Contract Position Across the Network Reaches $136 Million, with a 24-hour Decrease of 60.95%; Over $65 Million Liquidated in the Past 12 Hours, Second Only to Bitcoin

According to Coinglass data, the total OM contract position across the network has reached $136 million, holding 134 million OM tokens, with a 24-hour decrease of 60.95%. Binance has the highest market share, with an OM contract position on the platform of $33.038 million, accounting for 24.33%. Additionally, in the past 12 hours, over $65 million in OM has been liquidated across the network, with long positions liquidated at $47.325 million. The liquidation volume of this asset in the past 12 hours is second only to Bitcoin.

MANTRA Founder: OM's Sharp Decline Not Due to Binance, but Due to Improper Liquidation on Other CEXs

At 7:16 AM, MANTRA founder JP Mullin responded to the OM sharp decline event on social media, stating that this market imbalance was not caused by the team, the MANTRA Chain Association, its core advisors, or MANTRA's investors selling off the token. He emphasized that it was not due to Binance but was caused by improper forced liquidation on other CEXs.

JP Mullin stated that this market imbalance was not caused by the team, the MANTRA Chain Association, its core advisors, or MANTRA's investors selling off the token. The token remains in a locked state and follows the publicly announced unlocking schedule. In the next few hours, the team will host a community live stream event on Platform X to further discuss these events.

4:51 AM: OM Responds to Pre-Dawn Plunge: Volatility Caused by Disorderly Liquidation, Not Team's Actions

At 4:51 AM, the MANTRA community released a statement stating that today's abnormal volatility in OM was caused by a "disorderly liquidation," unrelated to the project itself, and emphasized that the event was not caused by the team. The official statement mentioned that an investigation into the specific reasons is ongoing and more details will be released soon.

MANTRA stated that the timing and depth of the crash indicate that account positions were closed very suddenly, with insufficient warning or notification. This occurred during a low liquidity period in the early hours of the Asian time zone, at least suggesting a certain degree of negligence on the part of CEXs or potentially intentional market manipulation.

「CEX partners play a crucial role in providing liquidity for projects like ours. We work closely with them; however, they still have significant discretionary power. When this discretion is exercised without proper internal and external oversight, market dislocation can occur, as seen recently, potentially harming the project and investors' interests. It is essential to note that this market dislocation was not caused by the team, MANTRA Chain Association, its core advisors, or MANTRA's investors selling tokens. The tokens remain locked and subject to the announced vesting period. OM's tokenomics remain unchanged, as outlined in our latest token report last week. Our token wallet address is online and visible.」

4 AM: Market Maker Algorithm Abnormally Boosts BTCDOM Perpetual Contract by 20%
At 4:01 AM, according to Formula News, an unidentified market maker experienced an algorithm error after the OM (Mantra) flash crash, inadvertently causing a 20% surge in the BTCDOM (Bitcoin Dominance Index) perpetual contract on the Binance platform.

The BTCDOM index includes the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization on Binance and Binance Futures, excluding BTC and stablecoins, with OM's weight being only about 5%. This abnormal fluctuation is suspected to have occurred due to the market maker's mistaken belief that the sharp price movement of OM indicated a structural change in the market, triggering a strategic buy order.

3 AM: CZ Responds to OM Flash Crash: Do Not Chase the Narrative, CEX Should Not Have Listing Processes Anymore, Investors Should Decide Trading Pairs Themselves

Around 3 AM, CZ, in response to the OM decline, posted on Platform X advising investors to "not chase the narrative. Stick to fundamental principles, projects with users, revenue, and profits." When addressing the community's questions about "OM flash crash, whether the Binance platform has conducted due diligence," CZ reiterated that CEX should no longer have listing processes, and investors should decide on trading pairs themselves.

2 AM: OM Suddenly Plunges, Over 80% Decline in 24 Hours

Around 2 AM on April 14th, according to HTX market data, OM experienced a short-term plunge of over 67%. Additionally, Coinglass data showed that OM liquidated over $28.61 million within an hour, with long liquidations accounting for approximately $28.14 million and short liquidations about $0.47 million. Subsequently, OM's 24-hour decline widened to over 80%.

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