DWF Labs announced today that it invested $25 million into Trump Family-backed World Liberty Financial and is planning to open an office in New York City. It hopes to use this office to drive new relationships with regulators, financial institutions, and more.
Although this partnership would potentially create more liquidity opportunities for the US crypto market, previous allegations against DWF have raised some concerns about political misconduct.
“The US is the world’s largest single market for digital asset innovation. Our physical presence reflects our confidence in America’s role as the next growth region for institutional crypto adoption. Moreover, the USD1 stablecoin and forthcoming global DeFi solutions align with our broader mission to improve financial services,” claimed Managing Partner Andrei Grachev.
DWF’s statement includes a few key details about its new relationship with WLFI. It essentially boils down to two key points: the firm has already purchased $25 million in WLFI tokens, and it plans to open a physical office in New York City.
On a positive note, this partnership could be significant for the overall US crypto market. DWF Labs has a portfolio of over 700 crypto projects.
So, physically setting up a hub in New York will give me regulatory freedom and the opportunity to invest directly in the local crypto market. This would potentially open up more liquidity for upcoming Web3 projects and startups in the US
DWF Labs just dropped $25M on World Liberty Financial!@worldlibertyfi is a DeFi platform with ties to Trump and this marks DWF’s first major move into the U.S., with a new NYC office on the way.
Although DWF Labs is a popular market maker, it has been at the center of major controversies. Last year, it was accused of wash trading and market manipulation, and Binance allegedly shut down its internal investigation due to financial incentives.
Also, one of its partners was dismissed back in October over allegations of drugging a job applicant. So, the firm’s credibility and reputation have been shaky in recent times.
This is to say that the crypto community has reasons to worry about a deal between DWF and World Liberty Financial. A report from late March determined that most WLFI revenues go directly to Trump’s family.
WLFI owners are unable to actually trade their tokens, and the stated governance use of the assets seems unclear. In other words, there isn’t a clear reason why anyone would invest.
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continued their inflow streak on Monday, raking in over $500 million in fresh capital and marking seven consecutive days of positive flows.
The sustained momentum reflects the resurgence in investor appetite for BTC exposure through regulated investment vehicles, even amid broader market volatility.
BTC ETFs See Steady Inflows
On Monday, BTC spot ETFs attracted fresh investor demand, recording $591.29 million in net inflows and extending their winning streak to a seventh consecutive day. This happened as the leading coin sought stable support above the $94,000 price.
Total Bitcoin Spot ETF Net Inflow. Source: SosoValue
Once again, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led the charge, recording the largest inflow among its peers. The fund saw inflows totaling $970.93 million, bringing its total cumulative net inflows to $42.17 billion.
ARKB, the BTC spot ETF managed by Ark Invest and 21Shares, recorded the largest net outflow yesterday. On Monday, $226.30 million exited the fund. Despite this setback, ARKB’s total historical net inflow remains at $2.88 billion.
Rising Open Interest and Bearish Options Sentiment Set the Stage
Open interest across BTC’s futures market has risen by 2% over the past day, signaling an increase in outstanding futures contracts. The coin’s price has noted a modest 0.14% uptick during the same period.
A rise in open interest indicates that more traders are opening new positions rather than closing existing ones. This bullish signal can strengthen BTC’s price rally in the short term.
Meanwhile, as of this writing, BTC’s funding rate is 0%, indicating a balanced market between long and short positions. A neutral funding rate like this suggests no immediate dominance by bulls or bears in the coin’s perpetual futures market.
This reduces the likelihood of sudden liquidations, meaning any major price movement would likely need fresh momentum rather than being triggered by leverage-driven squeezes.
However, the sentiment among BTC options traders is clear. Today’s high demand for puts indicates a more cautious or bearish outlook among BTC options traders.
The growing interest in these bearish contracts suggests that many investors anticipate a potential pullback in BTC’s price, despite the recent inflows into Bitcoin ETFs.
Until a clear breakout or breakdown occurs, BTC may continue to consolidate within the narrow range.
Smart Money wallets have been aggressively offloading TRUMP, BNKR, and PWEASE in the last seven days, raising red flags for these trending tokens. TRUMP has faced the heaviest pressure, with over $380,000 in net outflows, as its price remains stuck in a sharp downtrend.
BNKR, despite posting strong weekly gains, has also seen large traders liquidating their positions, signaling potential profit-taking. Meanwhile, PWEASE is experiencing similar bearish flows as larger wallets continue to trim exposure despite the recent buzz around the meme coin.
This steep correction has coincided with notable smart money activity, as key wallets have been heavily exiting their positions. In the last seven days alone, smart money wallets sold $382,660 worth of TRUMP while only buying $1,240, resulting in a sharp net outflow of $381,420.
This imbalance suggests that larger, more informed investors are losing confidence in TRUMP’s short-term prospects, contributing to the downward momentum.
If this corrective trend persists, TRUMP could fall further and retest its next key support level, $9.54. Failure to hold this level may expose the asset to deeper losses.
However, if TRUMP manages to reverse its current bearish trend and regain bullish momentum, it could attempt to challenge resistance at $12.51.
A successful breakout above this level may open the door for a move towards $13.88. If buying pressure strengthens further, TRUMP could rally back up to $17.75, reclaiming levels closer to where it was trading before the recent downturn.
BankrCoin (BNKR)
BNKR has surged by 19% over the past week, positioning itself as one of the top-performing AI coins and one of the most talked-about assets on the Base chain.
This recent rally has drawn significant attention, helping BNKR stand out in a competitive market. However, despite the price increase, smart money wallets have shown mixed behavior—while they purchased $75,700 worth of BNKR in the last seven days, they also offloaded $213,730, resulting in a net outflow of $138,000.
This suggests that although BNKR is trending, larger investors may be capitalizing on the recent rally to secure profits.
If this selling pressure persists, BNKR could lose its recent momentum and slip below key support levels at $0.00019 or even $0.00018, marking its lowest levels since mid-February.
On the other hand, if BNKR manages to reignite the bullish sentiment that fueled last week’s gains, it could retest resistance at $0.000225.
A breakout above this level could pave the way for a further move toward $0.000282, signaling a strong continuation of its upward trend.
PWEASE
PWEASE, a Solana meme coin satirizing US Vice President JD Vance, has been drawing attention amid volatile market conditions.
Over the past seven days, smart money wallets have shown a bearish stance. They purchased $166,720 worth of PWEASE but sold $291,000 in the same period, resulting in a net outflow of $124,320.
This suggests that while the token has gained some traction, larger investors are currently leaning towards reducing their exposure, adding selling pressure to the coin.
If this corrective trend continues, PWEASE could move lower and test the key support at $0.0125. If that level fails to hold, a deeper decline toward $0.0059 may follow.
However, should PWEASE manage to attract renewed buying interest and reverse the downtrend, it could push up to challenge resistance at $0.0295.
A breakout above this level could open the door for further upside toward $0.040, signaling a potential shift back to bullish momentum for the meme coin.
The collapse of the MANTRA (OM) token has left investors reeling, with many facing significant losses. As analysts comb through the causes of the collapse, many questions remain.
BeInCrypto consulted industry experts to identify five critical red flags behind MANTRA’s downfall and reveal strategies investors can adopt to steer clear of similar pitfalls in the future.
MANTRA (OM) Crash: What Investors Missed and How to Avoid Future Losses
On April 13, BeInCrypto broke the news of OM’s 90% crash. The collapse raised several concerns, with investors accusing the team of orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme. Experts believe that there were many early signs of trouble.
In addition, the project adopted an inflationary tokenomic model with an uncapped supply, replacing the previous hard cap. As part of this transition, the total token supply was also increased to 1.7 billion.
However, the move wasn’t without drawbacks. According to Jean Rausis, co-founder of SMARDEX, tokenomics was a point of concern in the OM collapse.
“The project doubled its token supply to 1.77 billion in 2024 and shifted to an inflationary model, which diluted its original holders. Complex vesting favored insiders, while low circulating supply and massive FDV fueled hype and price manipulation,” Jean Rausis told BeInCrypto.
Moreover, the team’s control over the OM supply also raised centralization concerns. Experts believe this was also a factor that could have led to the alleged price manipulation.
“About 90% of OM tokens were held by the team, indicating a high level of centralization that could potentially lead to manipulation. The team also maintained control over governance, which undermined the project’s decentralized nature,” said Phil Fogel, co-founder of Cork.
Phil Fogel acknowledged that a concentrated token supply isn’t always a red flag. However, it’s crucial for investors to know who holds large amounts, their lock-up terms, and whether their involvement aligns with the project’s decentralization goals.
Moreover, Ming Wu, the founder of RabbitX, also argued that analyzing this data is essential to uncover any potential risks that could undermine the project in the long term.
“Tools like bubble maps can help identify potential risks related to token distribution,” Wu advised.
2. OM Price Action
2025 has been marked as the year of significant market volatility. The broader macroeconomic pressures have weighed heavily on the market, with the majority of the coins experiencing steep losses. Yet, OM’s price action was relatively stable until the latest crash.
OM vs. TOTAL Market Performance. Source: TradingView
“The biggest red flag was simply the price action. The whole market was going down, and nobody cared about MANTRA, and yet its token price somehow kept pumping in unnatural patterns – pump, flat, pump, flat again,” Jean Rausis disclosed.
He added that this was a clear sign of a potential issue or problem with the project. Nevertheless, he noted that identifying the differentiating price action would require some technical analysis know-how. Thus, investors lacking the knowledge would have easily missed it.
Despite this, Rausis highlighted that even the untrained eye could find other signs that something was off, ultimately leading to the crash.
Strategies to Protect Yourself
While investors remained optimistic about OM’s resilience amid a market downturn, this ended up costing them millions. Eric He, LBank’s Community Angel Officer, and Risk Control Adviser emphasized the importance of proactive risk management to avoid OM-style collapses.
“First, diversification is key—spreading capital across projects limits single-token exposure. Stop-loss triggers (e.g., 10-20% below buy price) can automate damage control in volatile conditions,” Eric shared with BeInCrypto.
Ming Wu had a similar perspective, emphasizing the importance of avoiding over-allocation to a single token. The executive explained that a diversified investment strategy helps mitigate risk and enhances overall portfolio stability.
“Investors can use perpetual futures as a risk management tool to hedge against potential price declines in their holdings,” Wu remarked.
Meanwhile, Phil Fogel advised focusing on a token’s liquidity. Key factors include the float size, price sensitivity to sell orders, and who can significantly impact the market.
3. Project Fundamentals
Experts also highlighted major discrepancies in MANTRA’s TVL. Eric He pointed out a significant gap between the token’s fully diluted valuation (FDV) and the TVL. OM’s FDV reached $9.5 billion, while its TVL was only $13 million, indicating a potential overvaluation.
“A $9.5 billion valuation against $13 million TVL, screamed instability,” Forest Bai, co-founder of Foresight Ventures, stated.
Notably, several issues were also raised regarding the airdrop. Jean Rausis called the airdrop a “mess.” He cited many issues, including delays, frequent changes to eligibility rules, and the disqualification of half the participants. Meanwhile, suspected bots were not removed.
“The airdrop disproportionately favored insiders while excluding genuine supporters, reflecting a lack of fairness,” Phil Fogel reiterated.
The criticism expanded further as Fogel pointed out the team’s alleged associations with questionable entities and ties to questionable initial coin offerings (ICOs), raising doubts about the project’s credibility. Eric He also suggested that MANTRA was allegedly tied to gambling platforms in the past.
Strategies to Protect Yourself
Forest Bai underscored the importance of verifying the project team’s credentials, reviewing the project roadmap, and monitoring on-chain activity to ensure transparency. He also advised investors to assess community engagement and regulatory compliance to gauge the project’s long-term viability.
Ming Wu also stressed distinguishing between real growth and artificially inflated metrics.
“It’s important to differentiate real growth from activity that’s artificially inflated through incentives or airdrops, unsustainable tactics like ‘selling a dollar for 90 cents’ may generate short-term metrics but don’t reflect actual engagement,” Wu informed BeInCrypto.
Finally, Wu recommended researching the background of the project’s team members to uncover any history of fraudulent activity or involvement in questionable ventures. This would ensure that investors are well-informed before committing to any project.
4. Whale Movements
As BeInCrypto reported earlier, before the crash, a whale wallet reportedly associated with the MANTRA team deposited 3.9 million OM tokens into the OKX exchange. Experts highlighted that this wasn’t an isolated incident.
“Large OM transfers (43.6 million tokens, ~$227 million) to exchanges days prior were a major warning of potential sell-offs,” Forest Bai conveyed to BeInCrypto.
Ming Wu also explained that investors should pay close attention to such large transfers, which often act as warning signals. Moreover, analysts at CryptoQuant also outlined what investors should look out for.
“OM transfers into exchanges amounted to as much as $35 million in just an hour. This represented an alert sign as: Transfers into exchanges are below $8 million in a typical hour (excluding transfers into Binance, which are typically large given the size of the exchange). Transfers into exchanges represented more than a third of the total OM transferred, which indicates a high transfer volume into exchanges,” CryptoQuant informed BeInCrypto.
Strategies to Protect Yourself
CryptoQuant stated that investors need to monitor the flows of any token into exchanges, as it could indicate increasing price volatility in the near future.
Meanwhile, Risk Control Adviser Eric He outlined four strategies to stay up-to-date when it comes to large transfers.
Chain Sleuthing: Tools like Arkham and Nansen allow investors to track large transfers and monitor wallet activity.
Set Alerts: Platforms like Etherscan and Glassnode notify investors of unusual market movements.
Track Exchange Flows: Users need to track large flows into centralized exchanges.
Check Lockups: Dune Analytics helps investors determine if team tokens are being released earlier than expected.
He also recommended focusing on the market structure.
“OM’s crash proved market depth is non-negotiable: Kaiko data showed 1% order book depth collapsed 74% before the fall. Always check liquidity metrics on platforms like Kaiko; if 1% depth is below $500,000, that’s a red flag,” Eric revealed to BeInCrypto.
Additionally, Phil Fogel underlined the importance of monitoring platforms like X (formerly Twitter) for any rumors or discussions about possible dumps. He stressed the need to analyze liquidity to assess whether a token can handle sell pressure without causing a significant price drop.
Interestingly, experts were slightly divided on how CEXs contributed to OM’s crash. Forest Bai claimed that CEX liquidations during low-liquidity hours worsened the crash by triggering cascading sell-offs. Eric He corroborated this sentiment.
“CEX liquidations played a major role in the OM crash, acting as an accelerant. With thin liquidity—1% depth falling from $600,000 to $147,000—forced closures triggered cascading liquidations. Over $74.7 million was wiped in 24 hours,” he mentioned.
“Analyzing the open interest in the OM derivatives market reveals that it was less than 0.1% of OM’s market capitalization. However, what’s particularly interesting is that during the market collapse, open interest in OM derivatives actually increased by 90%,” Wu expressed to BeInCrypto.
According to the executive, this challenges the idea that liquidations or forced closures caused the price drop. Instead, it indicates that traders and investors increased their short positions as the price fell.
Strategies to Protect Yourself
While the involvement of CEXs remains debatable, the experts did address the key point of investor protection.
“Investors can limit leverage to avoid forced liquidations, choose platforms with transparent risk policies, monitor open interest for liquidation risks, and hold tokens in self-custody wallets to reduce CEX exposure,” Forest Bai recommended.
Eric He also advised that investors should mitigate risks by adjusting leverage dynamically based on volatility. If tools like ATR or Bollinger Bands signal turbulence, exposure should be reduced.
The MANTRA (OM) collapse is a powerful reminder of the importance of due diligence and risk management in cryptocurrency investments. Investors can minimize the risk of falling into similar traps by carefully assessing tokenomics, monitoring on-chain data, and diversifying investments.
With expert insights, these strategies will help guide investors toward smarter, more secure decisions in the crypto market.
