TL;DR

Mantra, a top-20 crypto, rug-pulled investors, vanishing with billions in a textbook pump-and-dump scheme. The shocking part? It was predicted, highlighting the dangers of chasing hype over due diligence.

Story

Imagine a glittering skyscraper built on sand. That’s Mantra (OM). It shot up the crypto charts, hitting the top 20 almost overnight—a classic pump-and-dump.‣ Pump-and-dump: A group artificially inflates an asset’s price (the “pump”) before selling off (the “dump”), leaving others holding worthless bags.

The developers vanished after allegedly dumping 90% of OM, pocketing billions. Investors? Left with digital dust. Sounds familiar? It’s the 2008 housing crisis all over again—irrational exuberance meets reckless greed. Like moths to a flame, investors chased promises of quick riches, ignoring the shaky foundation.

One Redditor even called it a Ponzi scheme months ago.‣ Ponzi scheme: An investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds from new investors, rather than actual profit. But who listens to warnings in a gold rush? The allure of “easy money” is too strong.

Just like Enron’s fabricated profits, Mantra’s rapid ascent masked a rotten core. The developers, like skilled magicians, created an illusion of value. And the crowd, blinded by dollar signs, clapped along.

Investors lost life savings, retirement funds—gone in a flash. The human cost of these scams is rarely discussed. It’s more than money; it’s shattered dreams, broken trust, and a lingering fear of the financial world.

There are claims that YouTubers shilled this token, which has happened so many times in the past, which makes it even more important to learn lessons from this.

This isn’t just a crypto problem. It’s a human problem. Greed, FOMO (fear of missing out), and blind faith can lead to financial ruin. Always remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

Advice

DYOR (Do Your Own Research) isn’t a meme, it’s a survival strategy. Don’t trust influencers. Verify everything. If something feels off, walk away.

Source

https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/1jygalc/mantra_just_got_rugpulled/