MANTRA Cuts Staff to Stay Afloat After Brutal Market Year

Multiple teams at MANTRA are affected by layoffs after a turbulent year.

MANTRA founder and CEO John Patrick Mullin announced a significant restructuring at the company. In a post on X, Mullin confirmed that the company behind the real-world asset-focused Layer 1 blockchain will cut staff across multiple teams as it seeks to reset its cost structure after “the most challenging year” in the firm’s history.

The decision to reduce headcount followed months of internal deliberation and came after efforts to curb spending and streamline operations proved insufficient to match near-term market realities. As per the announcement, the layoffs will affect teams across the organization, including business development, marketing, human resources, and other support functions, among the hardest hit.

Mass Layoffs for “Leaner” MANTRA

Mullin said the staff reductions were not a reflection of individual performance, while describing those impacted as talented contributors who helped build the ecosystem. The exec added that the Layer 1 blockchain had expanded aggressively throughout 2024 and into the first quarter of 2025 in an attempt to scale quickly within the RWA tokenization sector, investing heavily in its blockchain infrastructure, ecosystem development, and go-to-market efforts.

However, a combination of factors, such as the long crypto market downturn, intense competition, and “unfortunate and unfair” events in April 2025, left the company with a cost base that was no longer sustainable. As a result, management concluded that deeper cuts were necessary to preserve runway and refocus the business.

Mullin said the restructuring is intended to make MANTRA significantly “leaner” this year. This is expected to allow the company to concentrate resources on a narrower set of high-priority initiatives while executing with greater discipline.

“I take full accountability for these decisions and for the path that led us here. I know this is an incredibly challenging situation, particularly for those directly impacted, for their families, and for everyone at MANTRA. I’m especially sorry to those leaving us.”

OM Token Crash

MANTRA’s struggles trace back to April 2025, when its native token OM plummeted nearly 90% in a single day. The event triggered massive liquidations and investor panic. In response, Mullin pledged to burn the team’s 300 million OM tokens. This move was aimed at restoring trust.

The burn was executed in late April, which permanently reduced the circulating supply, lowered staking ratios, and sought to stabilize the ecosystem amid intense scrutiny over alleged insider activity and governance concerns.