Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has reacted to the recent OM token fallout, reiterating Cardano’s consistency amid transparency concerns in the Mantra ecosystem.
The Cardano founder weighed in on the Mantra token dump in an X post. While some expected his expert thoughts on what actually happened, Hoskinson focused on Cardano’s consistency over the years despite widespread criticism.
Hoskinson Slams Anti-Cardano Preachers
Per the tweet, the Input Output Global CEO seemed to taunt key opinion leaders (KOL) who branded Cardano a “dionchain” or “ghost chain” and touted a dollar-cost average (DCA) into the “next big thing” like Mantra. He references the recent occurrence as proof of Cardano’s consistency.
The Cardano network is not new to widespread criticisms. Several comments have branded the layer 1 network a ghost chain with outdated technology.
One such comment came from a 2021 CoinDesk report, which sparked a reaction from Hoskinson. The media described Cardano as a vaporware network with fading relevance in the blockchain industry.
Furthermore, Macro Investor Global’s CEO, Raoul Pal, previously argued that Cardano is dead, advising crypto enthusiasts to divest from “cults” like ADA and XRP to newer tokens with better potential. Nonetheless, the ecosystem has remained generally bullish despite this, with many other such analysts redressing their steps later on to acknowledge Cardano’s giant strides.
The Cardano founder had this in mind while taunting prominent market players whose call to DCA into tokens like Mantra has backfired.
What Happened with Mantra?
The layer 1 network’s native token, OM, was in the news over the weekend over transparency issues, which saw its token crash by over 90%. The OM token plummeted from $6.35 on Sunday to $0.37 in a few hours, reliving the Terra Luna capitulation in 2022.
While market participants have made several claims, the most recurring in their statements has been massive sell-offs due to skepticism from the transparency of the Mantra team.
For context, prominent market watcher Gordon stated that the crash occurred amid speculations that the Mantra team had a larger supply of the OM token and dumped them, steering holders to flee to caution.
Specifically, research analyst Choze alleged that the team held 90% of the asset’s 1.81 billion circulating supply and sold them all, sparking the token’s sharp fall. Furthermore, other alleged occurrences, like the team deleting the project’s official Telegram handle, contributed to the over $6 billion wipeout.
Mantra’s Team Reacts
Meanwhile, through its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Mantra has attempted to clarify things. A late Sunday tweet insisted that the project is “fundamentally strong,” tying the downside to reckless liquidation rather than rumors that the team rug-pulled investors.
MANTRA community – we want to assure you that MANTRA is fundamentally strong. Today’s activity was triggered by reckless liquidations, not anything to do with the project. One thing we want to be clear on: this was not our team. We are looking into it and will share more details…
— MANTRA | Tokenizing RWAs (@MANTRA_Chain) April 13, 2025
Mantra’s co-founder, JP Mullin, also fronted similar claims. In a parallel tweet, he claimed that the team neither sold their token allocation nor deleted their official Telegram account, sharing a wallet address to back his assertion.
— JP Mullin (🕉, 🏘️) (@jp_mullin888) April 14, 2025
Furthermore, he blamed the massive sell-off on an uncalculated account closure initiated by centralized exchanges on OM. He stressed that its timing on a Sunday evening, marked with low-liquidity supply, showcased the lack of rationale by the involved exchanges.
Nonetheless, OM has continued its downward trend today, correcting 22% to trade at $0.78 at the time of writing. Notably, the Mantra ecosystem recently inked a $1 billion tokenization deal with real estate conglomerate firm DAMAC.
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