MANTRA Token Crashes 90% as Rug Pull Fears Escalate

The token of Layer 1 blockchain MANTRA collapsed by 90% within 90 minutes on Sunday, wiping $5+ billion from its fully diluted valuation and sparking accusations of a coordinated exit. The price of $OM dropped from $5.21 to under $0.50, with one wallet reportedly linked to the project sending large volumes of tokens to Binance during the crash.

Community lead Dustin McDaniel denied any wrongdoing, saying “I do not know anything until the team has had time to look into [the price drop],” before MANTRA's Telegram group was abruptly made inaccessible. Speculation accelerated after posts on X alleged insider profit-taking, mass blacklisting during a prior airdrop, and a “cabal team” holding 90% of supply.

Co-founder John Patrick Mullin has previously dismissed float-manipulation concerns on X, writing, “OM has been in circulation since August 2020. Longer than most of these people have been in crypto.” He recently highlighted a partnership with DAMAC Group to tokenize $1 billion in Dubai real estate, calling it proof of the project’s real-world relevance.

Despite those claims, investors pointed to a mismatch between MANTRA's $13 million in TVL and its $9.5 billion FDV as a glaring red flag. X sentiment compared the collapse to Luna’s implosion, with users warning against trading $OM until a transparent explanation emerges from the team or exchanges.

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CZ Denies Cooperating with DOJ Against Justin Sun

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao denied claims he cooperated with the DOJ against Justin Sun in exchange for a lighter sentence. The Wall Street Journal reported CZ provided evidence as part of a plea deal following Binance's $4.3 billion settlement in 2023. CZ responded online, calling the article a smear campaign and asserting he never sought a presidential pardon.

Sun, founder of TRON, also dismissed the allegations, calling Changpeng Zhao a mentor and affirming cooperation with U.S. authorities. The WSJ report added that Binance may soon list Trump-backed stablecoin USD1 and is lobbying the Treasury to lift one of its monitorships. CZ previously served four months in prison for violating the Bank Secrecy Act but disputes being labeled a witness.

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Trump Repeals Controversial IRS Crypto Broker Rule

President Donald Trump signed a resolution on April 10 repealing a controversial crypto tax rule introduced during the Biden administration. The rule required custodial brokers, including some DeFi interfaces, to collect and report user data to the IRS. The repeal was backed by lawmakers like Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Mike Carey and received bipartisan support in Congress.

The DeFi Education Fund and industry advocates praised the repeal as a shift toward privacy and innovation. The rule’s reporting mandates were widely criticized for potentially harming developers and pushing projects offshore. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the finalized rule applied to "front-end service providers" that interact "directly with customers,"

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Ethereum Developers Push for Default Privacy Features

Ethereum developers are discussing new proposals to make the network private by default, following the lifting of Tornado Cash sanctions in March. Researcher Pascal Caversaccio called for an encrypted mempool and confidential transaction formats to protect users from surveillance. Vitalik Buterin also shared a privacy roadmap, including using separate addresses for each app.

The discussion revives long-standing concerns about Ethereum’s transparency, where all account balances and transfers are public. Developers argue privacy shouldn’t be optional and want changes included in future network upgrades like Fusaka. The proposed changes come ahead of Ethereum’s next scheduled upgrade, Pectra, which is not focused on privacy.

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Data of the Day

Crypto gaming and gambling campaigns are the most expensive way to attract users with wallets, according to new data from Web3 firm Addressable. These sectors showed a median cost per wallet (CPW) of $8.74; more than triple the rate for DeFi and CeFi ads. Analysts link the high cost to speculative behavior and user churn.

In contrast, DeFi and CeFi ads have a median CPW of $2.79 and are more effective at targeting existing users. Addressable tracked over 200 campaigns across 70 firms, observing rising costs in Western markets during downturns. Emerging regions like Latin America offer cheaper wallet acquisition but with greater volatility.

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More Breaking News

• North Carolina lawmakers introduced a bill that would let residents use qualifying digital assets for tax payments and other economic transactions.
• Michael Saylor hinted Strategy may soon buy more Bitcoin, following a $7.69B Q1 spree that brought its total holdings to over 528,000 BTC.
• Binance and the SEC and requested another 60-day pause in their case, citing productive talks influenced by the agency’s new crypto task force.
• Ripple and the SEC have filed to suspend appeals as they pursue a resolution, confirming an agreement-in-principle is awaiting final approval.
• An NFT trader pleaded guilty to underreporting $13M in CryptoPunk profits, potentially facing six years in prison for tax fraud charges.
• McDonald’s will not consider a Bitcoin treasury plan proposed by conservative shareholders, with the SEC approving the company's dismissal.
• Lomond School in Scotland will begin accepting Bitcoin for tuition this fall, the first UK school to do so as it integrates BTC into education.
• Senate Democrats slammed the DOJ’s decision to disband its crypto crimes unit, calling the move dangerous and “nonsensical” amid rising threats.

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