MANTRA Drops 11% as Team Freezes Chain Transactions Following Reported Incident

MANTRA, an EVM-compatible layer-1 blockchain for real-world assets (RWA), has plunged more than 11% over the past 24 hours. The downtrend follows the MANTRA Chain team’s decision to halt its mainnet after a critical security incident. At the time of writing, transactions, transfers, and staking operations have been frozen.

The Mantra team noted that the incident began when the protocol’s engineering and security teams detected an attacker exploiting a vulnerability in an upstream dependency used by the blockchain. However, the protocol has not confirmed the complete extent of the incident at the time of writing.

We’re aware of an incident affecting MANTRA Chain and have halted the chain as a precaution while we investigate. All endpoints and transactions are currently frozen.

This means deposits and withdrawals to/from MANTRA Chain are temporarily affected. If you’re unsure how this…

— MANTRA | The EVM L1 for RWAs (@MANTRA_Chain) August 21, 2026

Network Remains Frozen Amid Investigation

The team’s decision to halt on-chain operations is a precautionary measure to curb the impact of the exploit. Furthermore, the team noted that they will not resume the network until they are confident enough to do so.  

As the investigation progresses, the team stated it identified the underlying vulnerability and prepared a patched software release, version 8.4.0. However, the patch is not being deployed immediately. It is first undergoing testing and due diligence on DuKong, MANTRA Chain’s testnet.

Alongside the update, the protocol noted that it is tracing the movement of funds, and it also revealed that it is in close contact with exchange partners. As such, the team advises the public to be cautious of anyone offering “recovery or support” assistance.

MANTRA Faces Setback Amid Broader Market Strength

While transactions can no longer be processed, assets cannot move across MANTRA Chain. Deposits and withdrawals of MANTRA tokens have also been paused on affected crypto platforms.

Interestingly, for users, the Mantra team disclosed that the halt has not affected user funds. Before beginning preparations to restart the network, the team took a full snapshot of the network state. This provides a reference point for the coordinated recovery process.

The ongoing action by the Mantra team reflects the seriousness of the incident and how carefully the team is handling it. A coordinated mainnet upgrade and restart is targeted for later today, although the timing remains dependent on the successful testing.

Meanwhile, the latest token drawback came at a time when BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL and other crypto assets are seeing favourable moves. While most traders are still in losses, the recent surge shows that the possibilities in the crypto space cannot be limited.