“A full forensic investigation, akin to what we saw post-FTX, would be needed to substantiate claims of calculated exploitation,”
Newson mentioned.
Her assertion got here after Mantra CEO John Mullin introduced an $80 million OM token burn to handle the fallout. The workforce additionally requested centralized exchanges to help in figuring out the trigger.
Personal OTC Transactions Complicate OM Crash Investigation
Newson highlighted the problem of tracing over-the-counter (OTC) crypto offers. These transfers are usually not public, making them onerous to trace utilizing blockchain instruments.
“Public activity is not the full story,”
she famous.
Throughout an interview with Coffeezilla on April 15, Mullin admitted that Mantra engaged in OTC gross sales totaling $30 million. These transactions bypass conventional exchanges and stay off-record.
One pockets acquired about 100 million OM tokens. CertiK believes this was seemingly by market purchases, not direct involvement from Mantra. Nonetheless, with out data, the true supply stays unclear.
Blockchain Platforms Cannot Affirm Insider Exercise
Mullin denied insider dumping, stating that analytics agency Arkham mislabeled pockets addresses. He disputed the declare that Mantra insiders triggered the price drop.
Newson defined that blockchain analytics platforms like Arkham and Nansen have limits. They present motion however not the context behind transactions.
“To confirm coordinated insider behavior, it would likely require more than just basic wallet tracing,”
she mentioned.
“Without offchain agreements and centralized exchange records, conclusions remain speculative.”
Mullin mentioned on April 16 that Mantra is contemplating a forensic audit. No outdoors agency has been employed as of now.
Whale Alert co-founder Frank Weert additionally addressed the complexity.
“There are ways to get data from the node, but it does not seem to be easy to get a full history,”
he mentioned.
Up to now, Arkham has not responded to a number of requests for remark.