Mantra Token Experiences 90% Drop in 24 Hours

Mantra, recognized as the second major real-world asset (RWA) token after Chainlink, has seen a dramatic decline of over 90% in value within the last 24 hours. This sharp downtrend has shaken confidence in the token and raised significant concerns in the cryptocurrency community.

Mantra’s Rapid Fall

Just days ago, Mantra was boasting impressive growth, with a reported 640% gain over the past 12 months. However, its market cap has now plummeted from approximately $6 billion to about $485 million. This unexpected drop has left investors questioning the token’s stability and future prospects.

Mantra’s Ambitious Plans

Patrick Mullin, CEO of Mantra, has publicly described the company as a fully compliant, end-to-end ecosystem for RWA tokenization and trading. Mantra recently secured a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), positioning itself to legally operate as a virtual asset exchange. The recent downturn, however, raises uncertainty about whether these plans will proceed as intended.

Introduction of the Mantra Ecosystem Fund

Mantra had recently launched the Mantra Ecosystem Fund (MEF), designed to support RWA and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects globally for over four years. Through OM-token grants and capital investments, the company aimed to focus on lending, borrowing, trading, asset management, derivatives, and infrastructure development.

Among its initiatives, Mantra inked a $1-billion tokenization deal with DAMAC Group, covering sectors such as real estate, hospitality, and data centers. Despite these ambitious projects, recent developments have raised doubts about the company’s stability.

Community Concerns and Criticism

The crypto community has expressed skepticism about the token’s performance. Some critics have drawn comparisons between Mantra’s fall and the infamous collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May 2022. One research analyst, Choze, commented:

“Welcome to Terra Luna V.2.”

Choze further alleged that the Mantra team sold off their entire token allocation, leading to 90% of the circulating supply being wiped out. Additionally, they claimed that Mantra’s official Telegram group was deleted, with $3.5 billion in market capitalization disappearing overnight.

Another community member, TrimBot, labeled the situation as β€œpure market manipulation,” further fueling concerns about transparency and trust within the Mantra project.

MEF’s Strategic Vision

Despite the turmoil, Mullin had previously emphasized the significance of the MEF in fostering blockchain innovation. In a statement, he said:

“With the MEF, we’re not just writing checksβ€”we’re building a strategic on-ramp for the next wave of blockchain innovation.”

The fund was designed to provide founders with access to capital, infrastructure, and regulatory support. Supported by a coalition of global capital partners, including Laser Digital, Shorooq Partners, Brevan Howard Digital, Valor Capital, and others, the MEF aimed to serve as a catalyst for growth in blockchain and RWA projects.

Unanswered Questions

Attempts to contact Mantra or its capital partners, including Three Point Capital, have been unsuccessful. The company’s website appears to be either down or inaccessible for media inquiries, leaving investors and analysts in the dark regarding the next steps for the project.

This is a developing story, and the cryptocurrency community is closely monitoring the situation for further updates. Investors are advised to exercise caution and stay informed about ongoing developments.