John Mullin to Burn 300M OM Token After Crash to Win Back Trust

The CEO of Mantra (blockchain platform), John Mullin, announced a big move to regain trust after a huge crash of OM token on April 13. He said he is planning to burn 300 million of OM token which are in the name of Mantra team. It is a step to depict his commitment towards the project and the community.

300 Million Tokens on the Line

The stock Mullin wants to burn were originally set aside for the Mantra team and core contributors. This amount makes up 16.88% of OM’s total supply , which is around 1.78 billion tokens. These OM token were locked and scheduled for release between 2027 and 2029 . Based on the current price of the currency at about $0.79, this team's share of coins are worth $236 million . Before the crash, they were valued at nearly $1.9 billion .

On 16 April, Mullin took to X (Twitter), saying:

"I decide to burn all of the OM token of my teams, and once we turn things to the other side, the community and investors can decide if I have gained their trust back."

Why the Burn?

The OM token crashed from around $6.30 to $0.52 , wiping more than $5.5 billion in value . The cause, according to Mantra, was reckless liquidations across multiple exchanges, not insider actions. Still, rumors are there in the market that the Mantra team controlled 90% of the supply and it manipulated the market. Mullin emphatically denied these allegations and stated that a full post-mortem will be released to the community.

His move to incinerate the team's tokens is straight out of a response to the community's rattled confidence. Some users have welcomed the move, as a strong gesture of accountability. However, others are worried. Critics like Ran Neuner, founder of Crypto Banter, said:

“It would be a mistake. We want teams that are highly motivated and incentivized. He further added it is definitely a good move, but it can decrease the team's motivation”.

To address both sides, Mullin suggested that the burn could be decided through a decentralized community vote , giving users the power to choose what happens next.

Plans for Recovery

Alongside the coin's burn proposal, Mullin shared details of a recovery plan already in motion. He said that Mantra is considering using its $109 million Ecosystem Fund to support OM’s price , possibly through currency buybacks and further burns . These steps are being taken for bringing back the stability for the project and demonstrating dedication towards the roadmap in the long run.

He also stated that the event of the token’s price collapse is not related with the actions taken by the Mantra team. OKX and Binance , are the two exchanges which were involved in the trading for the currency, they have also refused any wrongdoing. They said changes in tokenomics in October 2024 and market fluctuations as the causes of the sudden crash. As per the reports of coinmarketcap, the token has gained an increase of 28.82% after the announcement .

What is Next ?

Despite the massive hit, Mantra is trying to bounce back. The response by the community to Mullin’s actions will play a big role in the future prospects of the project. Whether or not the team's tokens are burned, the next few weeks will determine if this risky maneuver is sufficient to regain trust and infuse new vigor into the OM token.