MANTRA Chain has successfully resumed block production after deploying version 8.4.0 to fix a vulnerability in its Cosmos-EVM module. According to the latest project update, block production resumed at approximately 5:30 a.m. UTC on August 22 following a coordinated software update involving MANTRA-operated validators and other network members. The restart involved no blockchain rollback or alteration of the network state, with user balances remaining unchanged throughout the incident. The team took a complete snapshot of the blockchain at the halted state before beginning the restart process, with mainnet remaining stopped at block 17,449,398 while developers reviewed known attack paths and prepared the patch. As per BeInCrypto, the vulnerability was traced to the Cosmos-EVM module, which forms part of MANTRA's system for running Ethereum-compatible smart contracts added in September 2025 alongside CosmWasm.
The MANTRA incident has revealed a broader Cosmos EVM crisis affecting multiple networks simultaneously. According to Cosmos Labs, the company's security and engineering teams have been proactively responding to incidents that have reached multiple networks, urging affected Cosmos EVM chains to request validator halts on August 25. KiiChain reported 148,326,583.15 KII drained through 18 repeated attacks on August 22, 2026, with the attacker bridging part of the assets to BNB Smart Chain through Hyperlane. TAC separately confirmed that an attacker exploited a weakness in the Cosmos EVM precompile layer on August 22, draining one account before validators halted the network at block 24,671,475. Cosmos Labs has not publicly confirmed whether these incidents share the same exact vulnerability or named every chain asked to stop, maintaining that users of the Cosmos EVM module had been affected. As per BeInCrypto, three networks have now disclosed security incidents within days of each other, all naming the Cosmos EVM module as the affected component.
During the incident, the MANTRA token fell from approximately $0.005060 to a record low of $0.004126, representing an 18.5% decline as the network halted. Trading volume rose nearly 600% to approximately $24 million during the initial market reaction, with the low occurring roughly 11:10 p.m. UTC on August 20, minutes before the network's last reported block. The token's decline ran counter to the broader cryptocurrency market, which saw Bitcoin top $75,000 and the total crypto market capitalization rise by nearly 4% over the past day. The project's market capitalization stood at approximately $27.8 million, based on CoinGecko's estimated circulating supply of 6.3 billion tokens.
Later in the investigation, MANTRA traced the vulnerability to its Cosmos-EVM module and said the activity affected two MANTRA-managed wallets before developers contained the threat. The affected Cosmos-EVM component forms part of MANTRA's system for running Ethereum-compatible smart contracts, which the chain added in September 2025 alongside CosmWasm. As per BeInCrypto, the vulnerability was in the shared Cosmos EVM module (cosmos/evm), which KiiChain runs unmodified, rather than in KiiChain's specific code. The project has not released the attack path or named the specific upstream software component responsible for the vulnerability, nor has it disclosed what activity occurred in the two managed wallets or how much value was involved. The incident has drawn attention to a separate critical vulnerability disclosed by Cosmos Labs in March 2026, with neither MANTRA nor Cosmos Labs confirming whether the August incident used the same ICS20 flaw. The March security advisory had warned of incorrect state handling during nested execution that allowed the same token balance to be used repeatedly within one transaction, causing an estimated $7 million loss on SagaEVM in January.
The incident marks the network's second major crisis in 16 months, following the previous crisis when the token, then known as OM, lost nearly 90% of its value in April 2025, wiping out about $5.5 billion in market value in less than an hour. The current MANTRA token followed a March 2026 rebrand and denomination change, completing a 1:4 token split at block 13,000,000, and replacing the former OM ticker without changing holders' proportional value. MANTRA has not disclosed the suspected cause, the block height where the incident began or whether an attacker gained access to funds, maintaining that no stolen, minted or otherwise compromised assets have been reported. The project plans to publish a complete post-incident report in the coming days covering the Cosmos-EVM vulnerability and the network's response, with Cosmos Labs promising a detailed report that should identify the faulty component, affected versions, exploitation timeline and total losses. As per BeInCrypto, KiiChain remains halted and will resume through a coordinated binary upgrade at a predetermined block height, with all validators applying the update simultaneously without requiring on-chain governance.
