The cryptocurrency market was shaken on April 14, 2025, when $OM, the native token of Mantra Chain, experienced a calamitous worth collapse.
In a matter of hours, $OM plummeted from effectively over $6 to simply $0.60, marking a merciless 90% drop that worn out greater than $6 billion in market cap and despatched RWA (Actual World Asset) traders reeling.
This sudden unweaving of what had been one in all the most sought-after tokens of late 2024 and early 2025 is now upsetting severe doubts about tokenomics, liquidity, and the shadowy leverage trades that make up the crypto markets. Many are making uncomfortable comparisons to the notorious collapse of $LUNA in 2022. The autumn of $OM serves as a sober reminder of the fragility that may lie beneath even the most attractive floor narratives.
From RWA Darling to Devastation
Between November 2024 and April 2025, $OM had a spectacular rise. The token’s worth elevated by greater than 5 instances, boosted by enthusiasm for real-world belongings and the perception that tokenized finance was on the verge of going mainstream. And in the event you needed to seek out causes to be much more bullish, you might level to political developments: the growing chance of Trump profitable a second time period was being mentioned in crypto circles as a possible game-changer that might result in a way more favorable regulatory atmosphere for digital belongings in the U.S.
The main RWA infrastructure supplier, Mantra Chain, had located itself in entrance as a developmental group in an rising line of enterprise. Their technical strengths, mixed with a positive market narrative, had pushed $OM into the highlight, attracting each retail and institutional traders.
The token’s fast rise turned out to be unsteady.
The decline got here on quick and fierce. LookOnChain information present at the very least 17 wallets funneling greater than 40 million $OM—over $200 million value at the time—onto centralized exchanges. That amounted to about 4.5% of $OM’s circulating provide. The inflow of promote orders hit an already skinny market and made it even thinner; then it hit the token’s worth and took it down exhausting.
What $6B Misplaced on $OM Taught Us About Tokenomics?
Early on April 14th 2025, the worth of $OM plummeted from over $6 to simply $0.60 inside hours—wiping out greater than $6 billion in market capitalization.
The collapse dealt a big blow to traders, particularly provided that… pic.twitter.com/9vizmm9znv
— Tokenomist (prev. TokenUnlocks) (@Tokenomist_ai) April 21, 2025
The sell-off was not solely a case of market volatility. The scale and coordination of the withdrawals pointed strongly to inside jobs or at the very least a fairly well-coordinated, massive group of revenue takers. Extra considerably, it laid naked a layer of systemic danger that too many individuals concerned in the ecosystem had did not see.
$OM had grow to be a broadly accepted type of collateral on many DeFi platforms. Its use in lending protocols meant that the token secured plenty of different belongings and positions that had been leveraged up. When the worth of $OM collapsed, it absolutely didn’t assist that plenty of belongings additionally began to fall, triggering a wave of liquidations and margin calls—with the $OM liquidations in DeFi including to the variety of crypto belongings that have been being pressured to market.
What $6B Misplaced on $OM Taught Us About Tokenomics?
Early on April 14th 2025, the worth of $OM plummeted from over $6 to simply $0.60 inside hours—wiping out greater than $6 billion in market capitalization.
The collapse dealt a big blow to traders, particularly provided that… pic.twitter.com/9vizmm9znv
— Tokenomist (prev. TokenUnlocks) (@Tokenomist_ai) April 21, 2025
That’s the primary story. After all, there are various extra particulars to cowl, and there may be some crypto Twitter grist from the mill as effectively.
Classes in Token Design and Market Fragility
The $OM collapse teaches a cautionary lesson for builders, traders, and regulators. It wasn’t a conventional liquidity disaster, and $OM had a decent market cap for a crypto asset. However its meteoric rise and the subsequent crash provide insights into the utility-versus-speculation dynamic that many crypto tokens face immediately.
Traders and token holders should ask themselves: What is $OM alleged to do in 5 years, 10 years? And can it do this if, at the time of writing, it has an 8- to 9-figure market cap? And can the common $OM holder be higher off holding $OM or receiving a stream of money or cash-equivalent dividends from Mantra’s supposedly decentralized authorized ecosystem?
The incident additionally highlights how hid leverage can accumulate quietly in crypto markets. In distinction to conventional finance, the place some visibility into danger publicity is supplied by regulatory reporting, the decentralized construction of crypto allows collateral for use and reused all through a number of platforms—with out a discernible overview of whole danger.
The collection of liquidation occasions that adopted the fall of $OM present how interwoven the ecosystem had grow to be and how briskly confidence can drain when panic units in. Throughout bullish intervals, liquidity appears plentiful, nevertheless it typically disappears simply when it’s wanted most, which is to say proper after a worth stage will get damaged—completely amplifying the nature of enormous sell-offs.
To forge a approach forward, the Mantra Chain workforce must regain the belief of the group and create a extra sturdy and sustainable worth proposition for the OM token. For the cryptocurrency market at massive, that is one other event to heed a lesson: that having a powerful narrative and good technical qualities is just not in itself dependable insurance coverage in opposition to a token struggling due to subpar tokenomics and dangerous danger administration.
When the mud clears, market brokers should confront some robust however very important questions on tips on how to consider the vitality of tokens, management the quantity of danger they’ve, and create ecosystems that aren’t solely bullish but in addition resilient.
Disclosure: This isn’t buying and selling or funding recommendation. At all times do your analysis earlier than shopping for any cryptocurrency or investing in any companies.
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