- MANTRA announced major team reductions following a difficult 2025.
- The restructuring aims to improve capital efficiency and refocus the organization on core business operations.
- The native OM token was trading around $0.076 at the time of writing.
MANTRA, a layer-1 blockchain focused on tokenizing real-world assets (RWA), has revealed plans for a significant restructuring that includes large-scale layoffs across the team.
The decision, announced by MANTRA’s CEO and founder John Patrick Mullin, comes as the project seeks to recover after a challenging year.
Mullin described the move as one of the most difficult in the company’s history. At the time of the announcement, the OM token was trading near $0.076, having fallen sharply from highs of $8.50 in February 2025.
MANTRA looks to 2026 recovery with a targeted restructuring
According to Mullin, the restructuring will primarily affect support functions such as business development, marketing, human resources and other non-core roles.
The layoffs are part of a broader organizational overhaul that will also reassess operations, resource allocation and other strategic moves.
“As part of this strategic shift for MANTRA in 2026, we aim to be more flexible overall, streamline operations, focus our resources and commit to disciplined execution,” he said.
The company cited several factors behind this difficult choice, including “extremely unfortunate and, frankly, unfair events” that unfolded in April 2025.
At that time, the OM token experienced a dramatic price collapse of more than 90% in a rapid sell-off that erased billions in market value, driven in part by forced liquidations on centralized exchanges.
Issues related to market manipulation and rapid sales amid low liquidity compounded the project’s challenges.
“A prolonged market downturn, rising competition and shifting market dynamics made our cost structure unsustainable relative to short-term realities,” Mullin noted.
MANTRA’s potential and path forward
Despite these setbacks, Mullin emphasized that the team remains optimistic and committed to building on past achievements.
In his public comments, he expressed confidence that the MANTRA chain can drive innovation and adoption in the real-world asset market.
By streamlining operations, cutting non-essential spending and reallocating resources toward core priorities, MANTRA aims to deliver more disciplined execution.
The objective is to continue shipping products while charting a path toward profitability and long-term sustainability.
Reactions to the announcement were mixed: some community members praised the transparency, while others voiced open concern.
Mullin stated he is not stepping away from the project and said the team will provide more detail on its simplified priorities and operational cadence in the coming weeks.
The native token, which reached an all-time high of $9.04 in February 2025, was trading intraday around $0.082 on January 14, 2026, reflecting the continued volatility in the market.