Manta Network Reports DDoS Attack During Token Generation Event

Layer-2 blockchain Manta Network has reported a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack today during its much-hyped Token Generation Event (TGE). 

According to Kenny Li, P0xeidon Labs co-founder, the team behind Manta Network, the attack saw over 135m requests hit the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) nodes which he adds: "indicates that this is a very aggressive and timed attack".

He was quick to reassure his 36.1 followers on

DDoS Attack Update on @MantaNetwork
Hey everyone, we are experiencing a calculated DDoS attack on the network. This happened at 9:30AM UTC, exactly the same time as our TGE event. Since that time, we have seen over 135m requests hit the RPC nodes, which indicates that this is a… pic.twitter.com/EgjUiOvRl0

— 🤓Kenny.manta (@superanonymousk) January 18, 2024

that "the blockchain is running safely... product production is happening normally... funds are safe".

Fake zombie requests

Li adds: "A distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) attack is an attempt to block people from communicating with the blockchain (or other services) by flooding the Internet traffic with fake zombies requests. It's like going into a building; if a bunch of people block the door, then it becomes hard for other people to get in. This is why you are having a slow, limited or completely inaccessible experience when interacting with the chain's apps currently, including New Paradigm and Into the Blue.

He continued: "We are working around the clock as a team to get through this. We are creating more DDoS mitigation efforts and communicating with partners and service providers to deploy counteractive measures. The attack is much larger than normal and the duration is also much longer than normal, which means the resolution is also taking longer than usual." 

Li also lamented the timing of the attack while thanking the community for their support. He concluded: "Today was supposed to be a time for celebration with the community. The Manta Network team has been working tirelessly to build what we see today, over the past 3 years.

"We have come across many challenges including this one, and we will continue to get through those challenges together as a larger and larger community."

MANTA exchange listings day

The DDoS news comes as the MANTA token has started trading today on exchanges including Binance, Bithumb and KuCoin.

At the time of writing, the MANTA token is moving at $2.12, down 7.15% in the past day. It currently has a market cap of $522,921,787 and a circulating supply of 251,000,000 MANTA, according to CoinMarketCap.