The highly anticipated Manta Network has been surrounded by controversy since its airdrop and listing on exchanges. Definalist, a prominent Korean crypto KOL, revealed that the BD (Business Development) team of Manta received 2 million MANTA tokens on the day of listing and exchanged them for over 2,000 ETH at a high price, raising suspicions of money laundering or dumping.
(Prior information:
MANTA surged to $3.3 on its opening day! The front-end of the website was suspected of being attacked, and users are temporarily unable to claim the airdrop.)
(Background information:
MANTA trading is open on Binance at 6 pm! Users can claim the airdrop first.)
Manta Network gained significant attention due to its staking airdrop activity, New Paradigm, and being selected as the 44th “New Coin Mining” project on Binance. However, after the airdrop claim was opened, it triggered a lot of dissatisfaction among the community, such as the inability to actually claim the airdrop and the airdrop rewards being lower than expected.
Manta team suspected of dumping/washing on Bithumb
Surprisingly, Definalist, a Korean crypto KOL, exposed on X that the Manta team was suspected of dumping or washing on the day of listing on the Bithumb exchange.
According to him, Manta’s BD in Korea received up to 2 million MANTA tokens in their personal wallet on that day. These MANTA tokens were subsequently deposited into Bithumb, accounting for over 75% of the total circulating supply on the exchange.
As a result, the price of MANTA skyrocketed to $230 per token within less than five minutes of listing. The BD then exchanged these 2 million MANTA tokens for 2,094.7 ETH, worth approximately $5.162 million, at a price 50 to 100 times higher and transferred them to their personal wallet.
CoinGecko data shows that the total trading volume of MANTA in the past 24 hours is nearly $800 million, with 23% of it happening on Bithumb, making it the largest exchange for MANTA trading volume. Currently, its price on Bithumb is $2.35, with an 8% premium compared to the average price.
Expanding into major Asian markets: Korea and Hong Kong
Amidst the controversy, the official Manta X account posted stating that “the team is expanding its business in Asia, focusing on the development and investment in the Korean and Hong Kong markets.”
Although this is not a direct response to Definalist’s accusations, the community generally believes that it could be an indirect explanation for the 2 million MANTA tokens held by the Korean BD. However, such an explanation does not completely eliminate concerns about the Manta team’s dumping or washing activities.
As for the specific focus on Hong Kong and Korea as their major expansion markets, Manta explained in a Medium article that “the Korean market is of crucial importance to Manta. Most of the TVL (Total Value Locked) and on-chain activities of the network are driven by Korean-led projects, highlighting the region’s vital role in ecosystem growth. To deepen connections with the local community, Manta is establishing a subsidiary in Korea to better understand and meet the needs of the Korean market and seamlessly integrate with the local web3 ecosystem.”
Hong Kong, on the other hand, is seen as a new growth area for Manta Network. The region has an active web3 community and an open attitude towards innovation and technological progress, providing significant expansion potential for Manta Network. The company plans to establish a subsidiary in Hong Kong to collaborate with local developers, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts in creating and supporting projects that meet the needs and visions of the local web3 community.
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