Crypto investor sentiment took a notable downturn this week following a dramatic drop in the value of Mantra’s OM token, which plummeted by more than 90% in just a few hours on Sunday, April 13. This incident has drawn immediate parallels to previous market crises, such as the collapse of Terra-Luna. Additionally, a recent report from Coinbase targeting institutional investors has raised alarms, suggesting that the cryptocurrency market may remain in a bearish phase until a potential recovery is observed in the third quarter of 2025.
### Mantra OM Token Crash Unveils Critical Liquidity Concerns in Crypto
The sudden decline of Mantra’s token serves as a stark reminder of the liquidity challenges faced within the cryptocurrency sector. The OM token’s price fell from approximately $6.30 to below $0.50 on April 13, leading to allegations of market manipulation from frustrated investors, as reported by Cointelegraph. While experts analyze the underlying factors contributing to this crash, Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, emphasized that the incident reveals systemic issues prevalent in the broader crypto landscape. “The OM token’s plunge highlighted critical problems regarding wealth concentration, opaque governance, and the extreme volatility that can occur during low liquidity periods,” Chen stated during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction show.
### Coinbase Report Indicates Bear Market with Possible Rebound in Q3
A monthly analysis released by Coinbase, a publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange based in the United States, indicates that while the crypto market has faced significant contraction, there are signs suggesting it may rebound in the upcoming quarter. The report dated April 15 reveals that the market capitalization of altcoins has decreased by 41% from its peak of $1.6 trillion in December 2024, dropping to around $950 billion by mid-April. Data from BTC Tools further shows that this figure fell to a low of $906.9 billion on April 9, before recovering slightly to $976.9 billion at the time of writing. Furthermore, venture capital investments in crypto projects have reportedly declined by 50% to 60% since 2021. David Duong, Coinbase’s global head of research, pointed out that current market indicators could suggest the onset of a new “crypto winter,” exacerbated by negative sentiments tied to global tariffs and potential escalations in economic tensions.
### Manta Founder Reveals Zoom Phishing Attempt by Lazarus Group
Kenny Li, co-founder of Manta Network, disclosed that he fell victim to a sophisticated phishing attempt via Zoom, orchestrated by the North Korean state-sponsored hacker group Lazarus. The attackers utilized live video feeds of familiar individuals to persuade him to download malware. Although the meeting appeared authentic, the absence of sound and a prompt to download a script raised suspicions, prompting Li to exit the call. He later attempted to verify the impersonator’s identity through Telegram, but the attacker quickly deleted their messages and blocked him. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Li speculated that the visuals used in the call were likely derived from past recordings of real team members, as they did not appear to be AI-generated.
### AI Tokens and Memecoins Dominate Crypto Trends in Q1 2025
The cryptocurrency market continues to revolve around familiar narratives, with few new trends emerging to replace the leading themes from prior quarters. A quarterly report by CoinGecko reveals that artificial intelligence (AI) tokens and memecoins were the most significant focal points for investors in the first quarter of 2025, collectively accounting for 62.8% of market interest. AI tokens commanded 35.7% of the attention, surpassing the 27.1% share held by memecoins. Bobby Ong, co-founder and COO of CoinGecko, noted that the persistence of these trends indicates a lack of fresh narratives, stating, “It seems we are still caught up in the same old trends, and many are growing weary of their repetition.”
### Crypto Lending Experiences 43% Decline from 2021 Peaks, DeFi Borrowing Surges
The size of the crypto lending market has significantly contracted from its peak of $64 billion, reflecting a decrease of over 43%. Conversely, decentralized finance (DeFi) borrowing has rebounded dramatically, recovering by more than 900% from previous lows. Crypto lending allows borrowers to leverage their cryptocurrency holdings as collateral for loans, while lenders earn interest on their assets. According to a research report from Galaxy Digital, the current size of the crypto lending market stands at $36.5 billion, down from its all-time high in 2021. Zack Pokorny, a research associate at Galaxy Digital, attributed this decline to the collapse of several centralized finance (CeFi) lenders, such as Genesis and Celsius Network, which filed for bankruptcy amid falling crypto valuations. This chain reaction led to a staggering 78% decrease in the lending market.
### Overview of DeFi Market Developments
Recent data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView indicates that most of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization experienced gains over the past week. Among these, the decentralized exchange Raydium’s (RAY) token rose by over 26%, marking it as the week’s leading performer, closely followed by the AB blockchain (AB) utility token with a 19% increase. The total value locked in the DeFi sector continues to evolve.
Thank you for reading our recap of the most significant developments in the DeFi space this week. Join us next Friday for further insights and updates in this rapidly changing industry.
