- Large wallets moved millions in $OM before the crash, and two were tied to a major investor.
- The token dropped in value as trade volume spiked and confidence fell across markets.
- Binance said liquidations caused the crash and confirmed security measures had been active.
Before the sharp collapse of MANTRA ($OM), blockchain data showed that 17 wallets collectively deposited 43.6 million $OM tokens—worth $227 million—onto centralized exchanges, a movement that represented about 4.5% of the asset’s circulating supply. Among these wallets, two were identified as belonging to Laser Digital, a known strategic investor in digital assets, thus speculating across the market about the coordinated timing of these transfers around the liquidation event that followed.
Massive Transfers Preceded by Strategic Wallet Movements
Data from Arkham Intelligence highlighted a series of high-volume transfers that began four days before the token crashed. These volumes have comprised multiple batches of sums ranging from 400,000 or 1.2 million USD in $OM sent from the same address to exchanges. In a particular case, a wallet linked to Laser Digital transferred 6.5 million $OM, valued at $41.66 million, to another wallet, which then proceeded to offload the tokens into OKX.
Besides the sheer size of the funds transferred, the suddenness of the activity led many to question whether internal actors pre-empted the crash. Along with that full stack of 43.6 million $OM, deposited at once, coincided with the most dramatic price drop in the history of the token. The timing has now been questioned by not only on-chain analysts but also the entire crypto community at large.
Price Collapse Triggers Industrywide Reactions
According to CoinMarketCap data, the value of $OM collapsed from $6.26 to $0.77 within 24 hours—an 87.64% loss—prompted by massive selloffs. The price movement saw trading volume soaring by 2913% as total daily volume spiked to $2.15 billion. On the other hand, market capitalization dropped from almost $6 billion down to $750.9 million, with FDV sitting at $1.4 billion.
Source: CoinMarketCap
The MANTRA team responded by posting on X that, “Today’s activity was triggered by reckless liquidations, not anything to do with the project.” They added, “One thing we want to be clear on: this was not our team. We are looking into it.” However, the explanation faced backlash from the crypto community, with on-chain sleuth ZachXBT replying, “What kind of statement is this? OM went down 90%+ from $5.9B to $500M mkt cap in a single candle.”
Other users contested the terminology “reckless liquidations,” arguing that the explanation failed to include origins and timings of the high-volume movements. In addition, community members called for transparency on allocation internally, on treasury wallet behavior, and concerning the terms of investor lock-ups.
Related: MANTRA Unveils RWAccelerator for Real-World Asset Startups
Binance Cites Cross-Exchange Liquidations and Implements Safeguards
In an official X post, Binance confirmed it had investigated the crash and attributed the selloff to cross-exchange liquidations rather than internal protocol flaws. Binance further stated that, since October 2024, it had implemented risk controls specifically for $OM, including reduced leverage thresholds to contain volatility.
Meanwhile, in January 2025, Binance added a pop-up warning on the $OM spot trading page to inform the users about the updated tokenomics, which featured a significant increase in supply. The firm emphasized that this information is necessary for users to engage in long or leveraged positions, further solidifying its commitment to protecting user funds and in monitoring the overall market activity.
