MANTRA founder’s 150M OM burn proposal gets 81% support: can it spark a recovery?

• Mantra CEO to burn 150M OM tokens to rebuild trust after the 90% Mantra price crash.
• 81% of the community has backed the burn proposal.
• While some are optimistic about the impact of the token burn, the OM price continues to struggle at $0.50.

After the dramatic 90% Mantra price crash on April 13, 2025, as a result of reckless liquidations, Mantra’s founder and CEO, John Patrick Mullin, has announced a bold plan to burn his personal allocation of 150 million OM tokens.

This move aims to rebuild trust in the Layer 1 blockchain focused on real-world asset tokenization.

While the April 13 crash wiped out over $5 billion in market capitalization in mere hours, Mullin’s commitment to burn tokens valued at approximately $82 million at current prices has stunned the crypto community.

Community overwhelmingly supports Mullin’s proposal

An X poll conducted by John Patrick Mullin has garnered over 8,900 votes, with over 81% of respondents backing the immediate burning of his tokens.

This strong endorsement reflects the community’s desire for decisive action to try and help the OM token recover.

According to the burn proposal, the tokens, currently being unstaked, will be sent to the network’s burn address by April 29, 2025.

The process ensures transparency and adherence to protocol rules.

Mantra is also exploring a larger burn with ecosystem partners, with discussions underway to incinerate an additional 150 million OM tokens.

This would total to 300 million tokens being burned, or 16.5% of the 1.817 billion total supply.

Such a reduction could significantly alter the token’s supply dynamics.

If successful, the total OM token supply would drop to approximately 1.517 billion OM tokens.

Potential impact of the proposed Mantra token burn

The burn is expected to impact Mantra’s tokenomics positively.

It will reduce the bonded ratio from 31.47% to 25.30%. Staked tokens will decrease from 571.8 million to 421.8 million.

This adjustment will boost the staking APR for remaining tokens.

Higher staking rewards could incentivize holders to lock up their OM. Reduced selling pressure might support price stability.

However, despite the announcement, OM’s price has remained stagnant, currently trading at approximately $0.5396, up by only 0.1% in the past 24 hours.

Following the burn announcement, the token saw a slight uptick to an intraday high of $0.5585 before quickly falling back to the $0.50 range.

Presumably, the ongoing unstaking process may be delaying significant price movement, while market skepticism persists after the crash’s shock.

Approximately 4 million OM tokens unlock every few weeks, and with 45% of the supply still locked, selling pressure could counteract the burn’s benefits.

The April 13 crash raised suspicions of foul play, with community members accusing the Mantra team of orchestrating a sell-off, claims that Mullin and investor Laser Digital firmly denied.

Can Mantra’s price recover in case of a burn?

Currently, OM’s price struggles to break above $0.55, especially with the ongoing unlocks and potential liquidations looming large.

Going by this, the market sentiment remains cautious, and the burn’s psychological impact may not fully materialize until it’s complete.

However, in the long term, the burn could lay a foundation for growth.

A 16.5% supply reduction is substantial, and coupled with staking incentives, it could tighten the circulating supply, leading to a normal supply-demand curve that could result in a hike in price.