Mantra CEO John Patrick Mullin Burns His Allocation of OM Tokens to Restore Investor Confidence

Mantra CEO John Patrick Mullin has proposed burning his allocation of OM tokens in a move aimed at restoring investor confidence after the protocol's native token suffered a sharp collapse.

Mantra (OM) CEO John Patrick Mullin has proposed burning his allocation of the protocol’s native token in a move aimed at restoring investor confidence after the protocol’s token suffered a sharp collapse.

Part of a broader 300 million OM allocation earmarked for the team is subject to a cliff until April 2027, Mullin said.

Token burn

In a public statement posted to X on April 15, Mullin pledged to destroy his share of that future allocation and stated that the community could decide whether he earns it back once the project recovers.

“I will be personally burning my full allocation of OM tokens, which will be part of the broader 300 million allocation to the team, and the community can decide if I earn it back when the project recovers,” he said.

He revealed that he currently holds around 772,000 OM tokens, less than 1% of the over 80 million OM tokens in circulating supply as of April 15, according to Tokenomist data.

Part of his tokens are allocated on the liquid staking protocol Fluxtra.

Despite his pledge and the unveiling of his current holdings, Mullin did not disclose his OM token stake and said he would wait until the burn program was ready to share his portion of the token supply.

The OM token, which powers the Mantra blockchain, lost over 90% of its value on April 13, plunging from around $6.30 to less than $0.50 in a single day.

The crash wiped out around $5.5 billion from its market capitalization, reducing it from around $6 billion to $530 million. Although OM has since recovered to $0.81 with a market cap approaching $800 million, it remains well below prior levels.

Mantra is a layer 1 blockchain built using the Cosmos SDK, focusing on tokenizing real-world assets and integrating regulatory compliance into its protocol.

The platform recently secured a Virtual Asset Service Provider license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), positioning it for growth in regulated digital asset markets.

Reckless liquidations

Earlier this month, Mullin blamed the collapse on central exchanges carrying out “reckless” liquidations during a low-liquidity trading window, which triggered rapid sell-side pressure.

He denied that any team members or investors sold tokens, stressing that all allocations remain locked in a public vesting schedule.

Blockchain observers raised the possibility of insider activity or wallet compromises, citing suspicious fund movements. More than $70 million in OM was reportedly moved to exchanges through a single intermediary wallet ahead of the crash, spurring comparisons to the 2022 implosion of the Terra ecosystem.

According to Mullin, the team is investigating and plans to publish details on the central exchanges’ involvement. He added that Mantra’s tokenomics remain intact and are verifiable through on-chain data.