Manta Network recovers from cyber attacks as money laundering claims surface

Manta Network has successfully resumed normal operations after overcoming technical issues, as reports of money laundering involvement emerge.

On Jan. 18, the Manta network experienced a DDoS attack that temporarily disrupted its operations. The attack, which began at 9:30 AM UTC, coincided with the network’s Token Generation Event (TGE). It’s noteworthy that the incident follows closely after the network reported an RPC (Remote Procedure Call) flood, raising the possibility that the earlier RPC flood could have been a precursor or part of the DDoS attack.

The DDoS attack was both “aggressive” and “timed”, as reported by Kenny Li, co-founder of P0xeidon Labs, with Manta Network reporting over 135 million requests hitting their RPC nodes. Despite the attack, Manta Network assured its users that the blockchain itself remains secure, with block production and fund safety unaffected. However, the attack severely hampered communication between applications and the blockchain, leading to a significantly degraded user experience.

According to Li, the network’s RPCs are now fully operational. He confirmed that the blockchain is running safely and that product production has resumed as normal.

Li also advised that as network access returns, users might still encounter minor connectivity issues with some applications. These are expected to be temporary, and users experiencing such issues are encouraged to retry later.

As of the last update, Manta Network reported an accumulation of a large queue of transactions, leading to longer transaction times and impacts on gas fees.  However, the project added that the team is actively working to address these issues and restore normal network performance.

The development comes as Manta Network is facing allegations of money laundering following a post by X user Definalist in South Korea. The controversy revolves around a transfer of about 2 million MANTA tokens to the personal wallet of the network’s Korean Business Development representative on the day MANTA was listed on Binance.

Subsequently, an equivalent amount of MANTA tokens was deposited into a Bithumb wallet, significantly influencing the exchange’s total circulation volume. This was followed by a sharp increase in MANTA’s price on Bithumb and the alleged sale of all 2 million tokens by the Korean BD at a premium.

In response to these allegations, Manta Network issued a statement clarifying the transaction as part of their operational strategy. They explained the allocation of community funds to the Korean BD was in line with their token economic model, emphasizing their objective to establish a branch in South Korea. Manta Network also announced plans to expand its presence in Asia with a new branch in Hong Kong.