Source: Cointelegraph Original: "{title}"
On April 14, during an AMA hosted by Cointelegraph, Mantra CEO John Mullin denied reports that major Mantra investors conducted large-scale token transfers just days before the OM token plummeted.
"Mantra Association, our major investors, our advisors—no one is selling, and we will firmly deny this and provide verifiable on-chain evidence to prove it," Mullin stated during the AMA.
Previous reports indicated that Laser Digital, a strategic investor in Mantra, cashed out a significant amount of Mantra (OM) tokens before the cryptocurrency crashed on April 13.
Blockchain analysis platform Lookonchain cited data from Arkham Intelligence, reporting that before the crash, 17 wallets transferred a total of 43.6 million OM tokens (worth approximately $227 million at the time) to exchanges, with at least two wallets linked to Laser Digital.
Source: Lookonchain
Laser Digital is a digital asset business supported by Nomura Holdings. The company announced a strategic investment in Mantra in May 2024.
According to Arkham data, since April 11, a wallet associated with Laser Digital transferred approximately 6.5 million OM tokens (worth $41.6 million at the time) to OKX through seven transactions.
According to CoinGecko, the last recorded transaction for that wallet occurred at 10 PM (UTC) on April 11, while the Mantra crash happened around 7 PM (UTC) on April 13.
Another wallet began transferring approximately 2.2 million OM (worth $13 million) to Binance starting April 3 through a series of transfers.
Data also indicated that Laser Digital may have started reducing its OM holdings as early as February. Reports suggested that wallets associated with the company acquired a large amount of OM tokens from crypto trading firm GSR in 2023.
A flow of Mantra (OM) from a wallet associated with Laser Digital. Source: Arkham
Subsequently, Laser Digital denied reports of its involvement in the OM volatility, stating that the wallets mentioned do not belong to the company.
Source: Laser Digital
"Laser has no connection to the recent OM price crash," Laser stated in an X post on April 14. "The claims circulating on social media linking Laser to 'investor sell-offs' are factually incorrect and misleading," the company added.
Reports indicated that Laser Digital was not the only active Mantra investor before the OM crash.
According to Lookonchain data, a wallet associated with Shorooq Partners founding partner Shane Shin received 2 million OM tokens at 11:52 AM (UTC) on April 13, just hours before the crash.
Lookonchain reported that these tokens came from a previously dormant wallet that received 2.75 million OM in April 2024.
A flow of Mantra (OM) from a wallet possibly related to Shorooq's Shane Shin. Source: Arkham
Both Laser Digital and Shorooq were among the investors in the $109 million Mantra Ecosystem Fund (MEF) announced on April 7.
"It is important to note that Shorooq (its funds and founding partners) and Mantra (management and team members) did not sell OM tokens before or during this crash," a spokesperson for Shorooq told Cointelegraph.
The representative also emphasized that Shorooq is an equity investor in Mantra, not just a token investor. "This means our focus is on the long-term development of the project," the spokesperson added.
While denying the accuracy of Arkham's data, Mantra CEO Mullin emphasized that the company does not know the identities of the addresses that sold off before the OM crash.
"I don't know who those wallets belong to," Mullin stated during the Cointelegraph AMA, adding:
"I know they do not belong to Shorooq. I know they do not belong to Laser. I know they do not belong to our major institutional partners."
Mullin stated that Mantra believes these wallets were "misidentified by Arkham," and added that the platform provided its key wallet addresses in a transparency report released on April 8.
Arkham did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph's request for comment on the labeling of the Laser Digital wallet.
As OKX and Binance were among the exchanges with significant OM trading activity before and after the crash, both exchanges responded to the issue. OKX founder Star Xu called the incident a "major scandal for the entire crypto industry."
While Mantra CEO John Mullin attributed the OM crash to a specific exchange, Binance suggested it was related to "cross-exchange liquidation."
"Our preliminary investigation indicates that the developments over the past day are the result of cross-exchange liquidation," Binance stated in an announcement on April 14.
In an update on April 14, OKX stated that since October 2024, Mantra's tokenomics had undergone significant changes, and suspicious activity had been detected across multiple exchanges.
Related: OM price flash crash at midnight MANTRA: CEX reckless forced liquidation caused it.
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