OKX And MANTRA Clash Over OM Token Migration And Transparency

(MENAFN- The Arabian Post)

A public confrontation between cryptocurrency exchange OKX and blockchain project MANTRA has intensified, centring on the migration of the OM token and broader issues of transparency, alleged market manipulation and legal risk as holders await the transition to the upgraded MANTRA token. The dispute has spilt into social media exchanges and official correspondence, leaving investors and market participants grappling with conflicting narratives and uncertainty over timelines and custody arrangements.

MANTRA's chief executive, JP Mullin, has repeatedly pressed OKX to disclose how many OM tokens are held on behalf of users and how many remain on the exchange's own books, arguing that such transparency is critical as the project prepares to deprecate the ERC-20 OM and convert to the native MANTRA token with a 1:4 redenomination. OKX has challenged these calls, questioning the relevance of such disclosures to the migration process and warning that actions perceived to harm the exchange or its users could prompt legal responses.

The clash originates from divergent interpretations of governance and migration timelines. OKX's December 10 letter to the MANTRA team pushed back against public comments from Mullin, asserting that some of his statements risked causing“serious harm” to the platform and its clients. OKX has maintained it supports the migration framework and asked for clarification on a governance measure known as Proposal 26, which underpins the conversion mechanics and schedule.

Mullin has responded on social media by outlining aspects of the upcoming protocol upgrade, including the 1:4 token split and changes in gas unit representation, and emphasised that the migration will occur at the protocol level, eliminating the need for users to interact directly with smart contracts for redenomination. He reaffirmed the importance of clarity from custodians like OKX on token holdings, for compliance and community confidence.

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Overlaying the migration disagreement are broader allegations relating to price behaviour and market conduct. OKX alleges that multiple connected accounts may have manipulated the OM token's price by using it as collateral to borrow USDT, leading to volatile trading patterns that triggered risk controls and account interventions on the exchange. According to OKX, its internal risk team flagged unusual activity, sought corrective action from involved parties and, when that was not forthcoming, took control of certain accounts, absorbing losses through its Security Fund. The exchange has submitted its findings to regulators and law enforcement as part of ongoing scrutiny.

The MANTRA team has rejected any implication that its leadership or employees were involved in manipulation, describing the allegations as mischaracterisations and highlighting that governance rules stipulate when and how the migration can occur. Mullin has stated that the ERC-20 OM cannot be deprecated before 15 January 2026, a point of contention with OKX's earlier publicisation of migration dates. He has advised holders to withdraw tokens from OKX and use official project channels for migration to avoid confusion or unintended consequences.

Market data underscores the difficulties engulfing the OM token. After a spectacular rally into early 2025 that saw significant gains, the token's value collapsed over the course of the year, with declines exceeding 99 per cent from peak levels. The collapse followed the April market events that triggered the exchange's risk protocols, precipitating a broader sell-off across trading venues and fuelling scepticism among holders regarding the robustness of exchange risk management and the fairness of market mechanisms.

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Investors and ecosystem participants are now navigating an environment where technical migration details, governance proposals, legal posturing and risk management narratives intersect. The migration to MANTRA tokens is designed to enhance tokenomics and expand the project's capabilities as it transitions to a Layer 1 network, but the dispute with OKX threatens to overshadow those developments and amplify concerns about centralised exchange coordination in major protocol upgrades.

Arabian Post – Crypto News Network

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