The recently-launched smart contract platform Manta Network suffered a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on January 18th, the same day its governance token MANTA began publicly trading.
The incident caused network congestion and delayed transactions, but failed to significantly dampen enthusiasm for the privacy-focused blockchain protocol.
TLDR
- Manta Network suffered a DDoS attack on January 18th, the same day its governance token MANTA began trading
- The attack caused network congestion and delays, but funds are reportedly secure
- MANTA price still climbed 25% post-launch to quickly reach a $550 million market cap
- Manta utilizes zero-knowledge proofs for private DeFi and NFT transactions on Ethereum and Polkadot
- Prior to launch, Manta’s layer-2 network saw nearly $1 billion in ETH deposits, partly fueled by airdrop rewards
Manta aims to bring zero-knowledge proofs to decentralized finance and NFTs for concealed on-chain activities. Its modular architecture operates across both Ethereum as a layer-2 network and the Polkadot ecosystem. Strong interest in Manta’s incentive programs prior to launch helped attract close to $1 billion worth of ETH deposits.
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
The flood of sudden transactions from the DDoS attack overwhelmed Manta’s nodes with over 135 million requests. Developers acknowledged the issues in an update, noting that funds remained secure despite the strain on network communication. Work swiftly commenced to resolve the congestion and stabilize services.
Remarkably, investor appetite for Manta’s newly-minted MANTA governance token continued surging despite the incident. The token price climbed 25% in the first day of trading, propelling Manta’s market capitalization above $550 million. The strong debut suggests confidence in the team’s ability to scale privacy-preserving transactions.
Manta utilizes sophisticated zero-knowledge proofs called zkSNARKs to validate transactions without exposing sensitive user details. Its protocol supports private swaps, loans, NFT minting and other DeFi activities across chains. The launch opens up private web3 services to a wider audience through innovations in trusted execution environments.
While the DDoS attack presented an early challenge, investor enthusiasm in MANTA highlights the demand for privacy-enhancing solutions as blockchain adoption advances. Rather than scaring users away, the incident underscored the pressing need for resilience against threats in an increasingly high-value and high-profile ecosystem.
For Manta Network, the successful token debut helps set the stage for real-world adoption despite the attempted disruption. As innovators further decentralized finance, private platforms like Manta’s could emerge as havens for transactions that users prefer to keep concealed from public scrutiny.
