Real-world asset blockchain MANTRA announced staff reductions on Wednesday as CEO John Patrick Mullin cited an unsustainable cost structure following market pressure. The restructuring affects multiple teams, with business development, marketing, and human resources experiencing the largest impacts.
Mullin stated that events from April 2025, combined with prolonged market downturns and increased competition, made the company's operating expenses untenable. The CEO took full accountability for decisions leading to the layoffs, acknowledging the impact on affected employees and their families. He emphasized that the move represents a broader strategic reset rather than a narrow cost reduction.
Token Performance and Ecosystem Decline
The announcement follows steep declines in MANTRA's OM token, which reached an all-time high of $8.99 on Feb. 23, 2025, before collapsing to $0.59 by April 15. The token currently trades approximately 99% below its previous peak and roughly 90% below pre-April 2025 values, with a market capitalization of about $92.4 million.
Total value locked in MANTRA's DeFi ecosystem now stands at $864,857, representing an 81% decline from a peak of $4.51 million, according to DefiLlama data. The layer-1 blockchain has experienced stark contraction as market conditions deteriorated. Mullin linked the April crash to aggressive leverage policies on centralized exchanges, warning that liquidation cascades posed systemic risks to crypto projects.
Previous Measures and External Tensions
The company implemented governance and transparency measures following the collapse, including validator decentralization efforts, a real-time tokenomics dashboard, and burning 150 million staked Mantra tokens to reduce supply. Despite these actions, prolonged downturns continued to weigh on project finances. Tensions with crypto exchange OKX emerged in December when Mullin urged Mantra holders to withdraw tokens, alleging inaccurate information related to token migration. OKX disputed the claims and cited evidence suggesting coordinated market activity before the April crash.
New Stablecoin and Token Migration
MANTRA recently launched mantraUSD, a stablecoin backed by short-term U.S. Treasury bills and redeemable 1:1. The company describes it as the required on-chain currency for accessing RWA products within its DeFi ecosystem. The project has reminded users that the ERC-20 version of the $OM token will be deprecated, requiring migration to the native token on MANTRA Chain before Jan. 15, 2026.
Future Outlook and Strategic Focus
Mullin expressed continued belief in MANTRA Chain and its RWA ecosystem, stating the company will emerge stronger with focused execution. Detailed priorities and a new operating rhythm will be disclosed in the coming weeks as the company transitions to a more capital-efficient structure. The CEO noted that they are prioritizing their layer-1 chain, mantraUSD, and Mantra Finance while doubling down on core RWA strategy.