MANTRA Halts Blockchain Operations Following Cosmos EVM Module Incident, Token Tumbles to Record Low
MANTRA has suspended its blockchain network after an incident impacted its Cosmos EVM module, a development that sent its native token to an all-time low on August 21. The project’s team stated that two wallet addresses were affected, but no user funds were compromised. A patched release is currently undergoing testing, with a potential network restart anticipated later today.
Network Freeze and Investigation
Initially, MANTRA announced the chain halt as a precautionary measure while investigating the incident. All network endpoints and transactions were frozen, and deposits and withdrawals to and from the MANTRA Chain were temporarily disrupted. A subsequent status update confirmed the network remained halted as developers worked on and tested a remediation solution. Transactions, transfers, and staking operations were unavailable, though MANTRA reiterated that user funds were unaffected by the halt itself.
Root Cause Identified and Remediation Underway
The team has since pinpointed the root cause, confirming the incident was isolated to the Cosmos EVM module and affected two wallet addresses before the threat was contained. “No user funds were exploited,” the team emphasized. They also confirmed that a full network snapshot was taken prior to initiating the restart process. The patched v8.4.0 release addresses the underlying vulnerability and is being tested on the DuKong testnet. The project aims for a coordinated mainnet upgrade and restart later today, contingent on successful testing. Validators have been instructed to keep their mainnet nodes offline until the restart is officially announced.
Token Performance and Historical Context
The native token, formerly known as OM, now trades under the MANTRA ticker. This change followed a 1:4 non-dilutive redenomination and ticker swap in March of this year, where holders received four MANTRA tokens for each former OM token without altering their overall value at the time of conversion. Following the chain halt, the token experienced a significant drop of over 18%, falling from approximately $0.0050 to $0.0041, marking a new all-time low. At the time of reporting, the token had recovered some of its value, trading near $0.0046, but remained approximately 82% below its March 4 all-time high of $0.02627.
This incident echoes a previous significant downturn for the token. In April 2025, OM plummeted from above $6 to below $1 in under an hour, erasing roughly 90% of its market value and triggering liquidations exceeding $70 million. At that time, CEO John Patrick Mullin attributed the collapse to “reckless forced closures” by centralized exchanges. The repercussions continued into January 2026, when MANTRA announced staff reductions across multiple teams, citing rapid expansion in 2024 and early 2025 that had led to an unsustainable cost base following a challenging market period and the token’s prior collapse. Mullin had also pledged to burn 300 million OM tokens after the April 2025 crash, a burn that was completed later that month.
MANTRA has stated that a comprehensive post-mortem analysis will be released subsequently. For the time being, the chain remains paused as the patched software undergoes testing, leaving users with limited information beyond the team’s updates.
