Mantra token price collapses by over 90% in 24 hours

Update (April 13, 10:02pm UTC): This article has been updated to provide updates from the Mantra team

The price of the Mantra (OM) token, the native cryptocurrency of the Mantra real-world tokenized asset blockchain, has collapsed by over 90% in the last 24 hours.

On April 13, Mantra fell from a price of approximately $6.3 to below $0.50 and shed over 90% of its $6 billion market cap.

Some traders characterized the token collapse as an apparent rug pull. Market investor Gordon wrote: "[The] team needs to address this or OM looks like it could head to zero, biggest rug pull since LUNA/FTX?"

However, the exact reason for the collapse of the OM token's price is not clear at the time of this writing. Cointelegraph reached out to the Mantra team for comment on the OM token collapse but did not receive an answer by the time of publication.

The incident follows several high-profile token collapses and cybersecurity incidents, including the Libra memecoin implosion and the $1.4 billion Bybit hack, responsible for billions of dollars in investor losses during the first few months of 2025.

Related: Mantra unveils $108M fund to back real-world asset tokenization, DeFi

Mantra team and co-founder respond

Mantra co-founder JP Mullin responded to the OM token collapse and said that the project's Telegram group is still online. Mullin added that the Mantra team's tokens are still in the team's custody.

"We are here and not going anywhere," Mullin wrote in an X post, while providing a verification address for the Mantra team's OM tokens.

The Mantra Team also claimed that the OM price implosion was "triggered by reckless liquidations" and not related to actions undertaken by the team.

Mantra's recent tokenization initiatives in the Middle East

In January 2025, Mantra and investment conglomerate DAMAC signed a $1 billion deal to tokenize the investment conglomerate's various assets, which include real estate, data centers, and other physical properties on the Mantra blockchain.

Mantra obtained a virtual asset service provider license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), in February 2025.

The license allows Mantra to operate as a digital asset service provider in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), running crypto exchanges, broker-dealer services, management, and investment consulting inside the Middle Eastern country.

The expansion of Mantra's footprint in the United Arab Emirates was fueled by high demand for tokenized products from real estate investors and developers looking for new ways of funding projects and securing capital.

Near-instant finality times for tokenized real-world assets, reduced costs, and cross-border functionality are just some of the reasons investors cite for using blockchain to secure investments and aid in capital formation.

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