In response to the recent Mantra (OM) cryptocurrency collapse, CEO John Patrick Mullin proposed burning the team's OM tokens to restore investor confidence.
The OM token is showing signs of recovery, surging by double digits over the past day.
OM Token Burn, Will It Restore Trust? CEO Mullin's Bold Proposal
Mullin revealed his plan in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter).
"I will burn all team tokens, and if we recover, the community and investors can decide if I deserve to earn them back." – Post
He explained that all team allocations are 300 million OM (16.88% of the total supply of 178 million), locked according to a vesting schedule until April 2027. After the cliff period, tokens will be gradually vested. Full vesting is expected to be completed by October 2029.
However, Crypto Banter founder Ran Neuner expressed concerns about this plan.
"This will be a mistake. We want a team with high incentives. Burning incentives might look like a good gesture, but it will harm the team's motivation in the long run." – Warning
Neuner suggested that the team should continue to work on improving the project and its value. This will naturally restore investor confidence over time.
Nevertheless, Mullin clarified that his plan would initially apply only to his personal tokens. The CEO recently disclosed that he holds 772,000 OM tokens.
"I initially proposed only my allocation." – Mullin mentioned
He also proposed an alternative, which could include allocating tokens to a community-controlled distribution mechanism.
"Anyway, we continue to build." – He added
While the plan is not yet finalized, Mullin stated that the team will share additional details about the proposed OM cryptocurrency token buyback program and supply burn initiative after releasing a comprehensive post-mortem report. This report will cover the background of the OM collapse.
On April 13, BeInCrypto first reported OM's price plummeting from $6.3 to below $0.5. This fatal drop wiped out over $5.5 billion in market capitalization.
The collapse significantly damaged investor confidence. In fact, Mantra faces serious allegations of manipulating pump and dump schemes. Nevertheless, Mullin claims the team was not involved.
In a recent interview, Mantra's CEO confirmed that the team has not sold a single OM token. He explained that the team released a transparency report last week detailing all team wallets and holdings. The team's tokens remain in long-term vesting and have not been moved.
"We do not have leveraged positions on exchanges. We do not do that." – He said.
Importantly, Mullin acknowledged that the Mantra Chain Association conducted $25-30 million in over-the-counter (OTC) trades for business operational funds. However, he detailed that these tokens remain locked, with the vesting period starting at the end of this month.
"None of our OTC sales have actually been executed. So all tokens are still locked." – Mullin mentioned
Meanwhile, the OM cryptocurrency token appears to be recovering from the aftermath of the collapse. According to BeInCrypto data, this altcoin has surged by 30% over the past 24 hours. At the time of reporting, OM was trading at $0.78.
