Many investors on social media likened the collapse to the LUNA and FTX crises, calling it a potential rug pull. After a wave of speculation, the Mantra team finally broke its silence.

Mantra Team: “This Was Not Us”

In an official statement, Mantra tried to reassure its community:

“Today’s price action was triggered by reckless liquidations unrelated to the project. We want to be clear: this was not our team. We are investigating and will share more details as soon as possible.”

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Mantra’s CEO also made a statement:

“Guys, I just woke up and I’m trying to figure out what happened. A major OM investor’s position was massively liquidated on an exchange. We’re still sorting out the details, but we’re here and working on solving the issue. Thanks for your understanding.”

Massive Tokenization Projects in the Middle East

Ironically, the OM token crash came shortly after Mantra’s announcement of a $1 billion tokenization deal in January 2025. The agreement with Dubai-based DAMAC included real estate, data centers, and other physical assets to be tokenized on the Mantra blockchain.

Mantra also obtained a Virtual Asset Service Provider license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in February 2025.

This license allows Mantra to legally operate in the United Arab Emirates, offering crypto exchange, brokerage, management, and consulting services.

Why Did OM Crash?

Mantra co-founder Patrick Mullin said the crash was triggered by the liquidation of a large investor’s position on an undisclosed exchange. However, details such as the exchange’s name, the identity of the investor, or the trade volume have not yet been clarified.

While the team continues to investigate the chain of events, investors are growing concerned about the sustainability of the Mantra ecosystem.

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The post Mantra (OM) Crashes: 90% Value Loss in 24 Hours! appeared first on Coin Engineer.

Under SB1797, any digital asset business serving Illinois residents must register with the state’s financial regulator. It also mandates clear and advance disclosure of all user fees.

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“A person shall not engage in digital asset business activity […] unless registered in this State by the Department,” the bill reads.

Memecoin Scams Spark Regulatory Crackdown!

The bill follows a string of memecoin scams, including the infamous Libra token, where insiders allegedly pulled over $107 million in liquidity. The token price crashed 94%, erasing nearly $4 billion in market value.

Anastasija Plotnikova, CEO of Fideum, commented: “These activities are not only unethical but also clearly illegal, with case law to support enforcement.”

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Memecoins: Transformation from Community-Driven Digital Assets to Investor Traps

Initially viewed as community-driven digital assets, memecoins are increasingly becoming traps targeting retail investors. A rising number of scams and failed celebrity-backed tokens are raising regulatory concerns.

The $4 billion collapse of the Libra (LIBRA) token, supported by Argentine President Javier Milei, delivered a major blow to the sector, after eight insider wallets cashed out $107 million in liquidity, causing a 94% price drop within hours of launch.

The growing number of memecoin-related scams presents significant regulatory challenges. Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum, stated:

“Memecoins have evolved from community-driven social experiments to a chaotic space focused on value extraction from retail investors. Insider trading rings, pump-and-dump schemes, and sniper groups have replaced the organic, collectible nature of original memecoins, creating an unhealthy playing field.”

Scandals and Crypto Regulations

Investors must distinguish between memecoins that are genuine “collectibles” and “outright fraudulent activities” like rug pulls, which are “unethical and clearly illegal,” Plotnikova emphasized, adding, “These activities should be under the jurisdiction of law enforcement agencies.”

After the collapse of Libra, new revelations emerged, notably that Libra was an “open secret” in memecoin insider circles, and some members of the Jupiter decentralized exchange knew about the token launch two weeks in advance.

Memecoin Scandals Unlikely to Affect US Crypto Legislation

Despite the recent memecoin meltdowns negatively affecting investor sentiment, they are unlikely to impact long-term cryptocurrency regulations. Dmitrij Radin, founder of Zekret and CTO of Fideum, explained that crypto legislation is shaped with a “long-term perspective,” not based on recent events.

He also pointed out that the Libra rug pull is different from the launches of the Trump (TRUMP) and Melania Meme (MELANIA) tokens. These two tokens are unlikely to trigger regulatory responses in the US, Radin said, adding:

“US crypto czar David Sacks mentioned that memecoins are more of a collectible. So, they shouldn’t be regulated as securities or anything like that.”

“That’s why I believe Trump and Melania coins will be treated differently from Libra,” he concluded.

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Recently, numerous memecoins have been launched on the Solana network. These coins have gained massive attention, especially from investors looking for quick profits. However, along with this rising demand, some negative effects have started to emerge on the network.

Rug Pull Risk: The Dangerous Side of Memecoins

The rapid rise of memecoins has led to the occurrence of rug pull scams, where malicious actors withdraw all liquidity and abandon the project. This causes significant losses for investors. The Solana network has frequently seen rug pull incidents due to the fast growth and sudden collapse of memecoin projects. This can damage investor trust and have a negative impact on the network’s reputation.

Trump Coin and Investor Reactions

Another major development is the launch of Trump Coin by former US President Donald Trump. The introduction of Trump to the memecoin space has caused great excitement among investors, but it has also raised concerns in some circles. The fact that Trump Coin is hosted on the Solana network has increased interest in memecoins, but it has also created security concerns. Projects like Trump Coin can be appealing to some users, but others view these projects as speculative and risky. Memecoins are highly volatile, so investors can face sudden price fluctuations.

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The future of Solana in the face of the memecoin explosion is being shaped by several risks. The network’s capacity could be strained due to the huge demand for memecoins, potentially affecting its stability. Investors need to be aware of the potential rug pull scams that come with these coins. It’s expected that Solana will need to strengthen security measures and ensure that only reliable projects are chosen to launch on the network.

The World of Memecoins and What Investors Need to Pay Attention to

Interest in memecoins brings along high risks. The future of Solana, in terms of these projects, is likely to be shaped by rug pull risks and security concerns. Investors need to be cautious and only invest in trustworthy projects. Moreover, the rising interest in speculative projects like Trump Coin is prompting investors to be more careful.

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The LIBRA Memecoin Scandal Escalates!

The founder of the Solana-based Pump.fun platform emphasized the necessity of new regulations for token launch platforms. On February 18, Alon expressed his “great discomfort” over the LIBRA memecoin launch, calling it an “insider scam” in a post on X.

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LIBRA was introduced as the official token of Argentina by President Javier Milei on February 15. However, shortly after, certain wallets siphoned $107 million from the token’s liquidity pool, and Milei deleted his post endorsing the token. This resulted in LIBRA losing $4.4 billion in market capitalization in just six hours.

Alon: “New Measures Must Be Taken!”

Pump.fun founder Alon argued that token launch platforms should implement stricter rules to enhance security and protect investors.

According to Alon:

• Users should be educated on how to create coins safely and ethically.
• Platforms should be made more user-friendly for new investors.
• The visibility of tokens showing suspicious trading patterns or ownership structures should be restricted.

Resignation Shock at Meteora!

Meanwhile, Meteora co-founder Ben Chow announced his resignation due to “poor judgment” on certain critical matters within the project.

Meow, the founder of Jupiter, denied allegations that their teams were directly involved in the LIBRA token launch, stating that no insider information was used for personal gain. Chow also assured that neither he nor the Meteora team engaged in any illegal transactions regarding LIBRA.

Finally, Meow revealed that they had hired Fenwick & West, a law firm, to conduct an independent investigation into the situation and release a detailed report.

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TRUMP Token Loses 38%

The controversial memecoin of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump dropped 38% after his wife, Melania Trump, launched her own token. The memecoin, named MELANIA, reached a market cap of $6 billion in just two hours.

Melania Trump promoted MELANIA on X (formerly Twitter) on Jan. 19, and the post was also shared by Donald Trump.

Data from DEXScreener shows that over 45,000 wallets purchased the token, pushing its total market cap to $6.14 billion shortly after its launch.

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Meanwhile, Trump’s TRUMP token saw $5 billion wiped off its market cap, dropping in price from $74.6 to $45.9 within 40 minutes, according to CoinMarketCap.

MELANIA Token’s Distribution

According to the MELANIA token website shared by Melania Trump:

• 35% is allocated to the team,
• 20% to treasury and community,
• 15% for public sale,
• 10% for liquidity.

However, blockchain analytics platform Bubblemaps claimed in a Jan. 19 post that nearly 90% of the supply resides in a single wallet, contradicting the stated distribution.

Rug Pull Unlikely

Coinbase executive Conor Grogan said that MELANIA is unlikely to be a rug pull but noted it appears less professionally managed compared to TRUMP.

Grogan pointed out that MELANIA’s creator wallet was funded via the Solana memecoin launchpad pump.fun.

Anonymous crypto developer “cygaar” added that the MELANIA website was created on Jan. 18, lacks cybersecurity measures, and features poorly written frontend code.

The intellectual property rights to melaniameme.com, used to launch MELANIA, are held by MKT World LLC, a company Melania Trump established in 2021. The firm shares an address with the Trump International Golf Club, according to Florida Department of State records. The memecoin launches occurred just one day before Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 Presidential Inauguration.

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What is Kick Streaming?

Kick Streaming is a popular live-streaming platform, especially for video games and entertainment content. Launched in 2022, Kick was developed as a competitor to Twitch. It offers content creators a better revenue-sharing model and more flexible streaming rules.

Details of the Incident

Hackers took control of Kick Streaming’s official X account (@kickstreaming) and shared the contract address of a token on the Solana network. The post attracted investors and led them to purchase the token. After the token’s value quickly spiked, the hackers executed a rug-pull (fraud) by draining all the liquidity, leaving investors at a loss.

In the crypto world, always be cautious of scams. Avoid suspicious token shares and untrusted links. Check announcements from official accounts, protect your wallet, and enable two-factor authentication (2FA). Always do your research before investing.

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On November 1, Judge Brodie ruled that Michel, a French citizen, should not be sentenced to more time in prison, considering the time he spent in custody in New York for a month. Federal prosecutors had sought a 37-month prison sentence for Michel, but defense attorneys Ira Sorkin and Adam Brody argued that the losses incurred in the scam were exaggerated. The attorneys argued that Michel should be spared prison time because NFT buyers receive value as “digital works of art.” Judge Brodie said the amount of the loss was unclear, adding, “It is unclear what the value of that is.”

Mutant Ape Hacker Michel Admits to Social Media “Rug Pull”

Michel was arrested in New York in January 2023 for allegedly scamming investors out of $2.9 million. According to the Department of Justice, Michel admitted to committing a “rug pull” (defrauding investors to withdraw from the project) via social media. Michel confirmed the fraud by saying, “We did not intend to rug pull, but the community became too toxic.”

The collection of 6,797 NFTs was released on the Ethereum network in January 2022 and sold for 567 Ethereum, but the average selling price has dropped significantly since its launch.

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On November 15, 2023, Michel pleaded guilty to defrauding investors. Prosecutors said Michel and his associates intentionally failed to deliver on the rewards and benefits they promised to members of the NFT collection community. It was stated that Michel left investors with “disappointment and losses.”

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Gemholic, the team behind the GemSwap decentralized exchange on the Ethereum Layer 2 network ZkSync, faced rug pull accusations after locked funds were unlocked with the ZkSync network upgrade, and their social media assets appeared to have been deleted. In April 2023, The Block’s research director, Eden Au, was the first to notice that 921 ETH collected by Gemholic had been accidentally locked due to a technical difference between ZkSync’s Era network and the Ethereum mainnet.

ZkSync developers reported at that time that they had found a solution to unlock funds. These funds, which were worth approximately $1.7 million at the time, reached a value of $3.4 million with the increase in the Ethereum price. The funds appear to have opened yesterday after ZkSync recently implemented the v24 upgrade on its mainnet.

Gemholic had initially promised to continue the project once funds became available. Last April, the project wrote on the now inaccessible .”

However, after the funds were recovered, X users noticed that the funds had been moved to the Ethereum mainnet, and Gemholic’s X and Telegram accounts suddenly became inaccessible, presumably deleted by the Gemholic team. X user Nahnah64 compiled a list of wallet addresses reflecting $3.4 million in recently opened funds.

“Today, $3.5 million was stolen by Gemholic. They made false promises to their investors for a year and then pulled the rug when the funds opened,” wrote X user NSerec, founder of zkMarkets, on the X platform.

Gemholic had received know-your-consumer (KYC) and smart contract verification from blockchain security provider SolidProof, and the project was issued a certificate of compliance.

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Furthermore, it appears that those responsible for SwirlLend rug pull, have executed the transfer of a significant volume of cryptocurrency from the Base blockchain to the Ethereum blockchain. To be precise, they have moved around $289.5K worth of various cryptocurrencies, encompassing 140.68 ETH and 32.6K USDC, from the Base platform to Ethereum. Additionally, they still retain approximately 92 ETH on the Base blockchain.

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Interestingly, even though Coinbase’s Base blockchain launched just a week ago with relatively limited secured capital, it has already experienced a collection of fraudulent activities and security breaches. SwirlLend, a lending protocol active on both Base and the recently established Linea chain, swiftly drained a combined total of $460,000 from these two chains right after its initiation, subsequently erasing its presence from social media platforms.

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