
Mantra CEO Commits to Burning $236M in Tokens After OM Price Plunge
In a bold move aimed at regaining trust within the troubled Mantra Network community, CEO John Mullin has pledged to burn all his team’s tokens distribution. This dramatic decision comes on the heels of the OM token, which serves as the key to the company’s real-world asset platform, experiencing a catastrophic price drop.
The OM token’s value plummeted from $6.30 to just 52 cents in a matter of days, resulting in an astonishing loss of over $5.5 billion in value, according to CoinGecko data. In response to this crisis, Mullin has announced his intention to relinquish the 300 million OM tokens initially reserved for the team and main members. This substantial amount is equivalent to 16.88% of the overall supply, which totals approximately 1.78 billion tokens.
Notably, these tokens were set to be released gradually between April 2027 and October 2029, as outlined in a company blog post published on April 8. Mullin explained that by destroying his team’s tokens, he hopes to demonstrate his commitment to the community and investors, allowing them to decide if they have regained trust in him.
Reactions to this development are divided, with some members of the Mantra community praising Mullin’s concession as a genuine olive branch. Conversely, others, including Crypto Banter founder Ran Neuner, express concerns about potential consequences. Neuner warns that if the team loses its incentives, it may no longer be motivated to create long-term value.
To address this issue, Mullin proposes holding a decentralized vote to decide what will happen to the 300 million tokens, demonstrating his willingness to empower the community to make decisions. Additionally, Mantra is taking steps to utilize its $109 million Ecosystem Fund to stabilize OM’s price, with potential token buybacks and further burns being considered.
In an interview with Cointelegraph on April 14, Mullin emphasized a forthcoming “post-mortem” analysis aimed at uncovering the root cause of the OM token’s crash. He reaffirmed his commitment to transparency by swiftly addressing rumors of wrongdoing, firmly denying claims of insider trading or market tampering. Mantra attributes the price drop to “careless sell-offs” linked to external market factors, rather than any internal mistakes.
The company has taken steps to quell speculation regarding the cause of the crash, as prominent exchanges like Binance and OKX have denied allegations of wrongdoing, pointing instead to a volatile trigger caused by changes to Mantra’s tokenomics in October.
Source: https://bitcoinik.com/mantra-ceo-commits-to-burning-236m-in-tokens-after-om-price-plunge/