diff --git a/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/admin.rs b/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/admin.rs
index 03a755ba..b88ad545 100644
--- a/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/admin.rs
+++ b/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/admin.rs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ use crate::events::{
 use crate::fee_router;
 use crate::storage;
 use crate::types::{FeeConfig, PerAssetFeeConfig, Role};
-use soroban_sdk::{Address, Env, Vec};
+use soroban_sdk::{Address, Bytes, Env, Vec};
 
 /// Initialize the contract with an admin address.
 ///
@@ -129,11 +129,16 @@ pub fn set_admin(env: &Env, caller: Address, new_admin: Address) -> Result<(), Q
 }
 
 /// Set the paused state (**Admin or Operator only**).
-pub fn set_paused(env: &Env, caller: Address, new_state: bool) -> Result<(), QuickexError> {
+pub fn set_paused(
+    env: &Env,
+    caller: Address,
+    new_state: bool,
+    reason: Bytes,
+) -> Result<(), QuickexError> {
     require_any_role(env, &caller, &[Role::Admin, Role::Operator])?;
 
     storage::set_paused(env, new_state);
-    publish_contract_paused(env, caller, new_state);
+    publish_contract_paused(env, caller, new_state, reason);
     Ok(())
 }
 
diff --git a/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/events.rs b/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/events.rs
index 4ffc5634..24310a32 100644
--- a/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/events.rs
+++ b/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/events.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-use soroban_sdk::{contractevent, Address, BytesN, Env};
+use soroban_sdk::{contractevent, Address, Bytes, BytesN, Env};
 
 /// Canonical event schema version.
 ///
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ use soroban_sdk::{contractevent, Address, BytesN, Env};
 /// History:
 ///   v1 – original schema (no version field)
 ///   v2 – added `schema_version` to every event payload (this release)
-pub const EVENT_SCHEMA_VERSION: u32 = 2;
+pub const EVENT_SCHEMA_VERSION: u32 = 3;
 
 /// Testnet event topic namespace used as topic[0] for every QuickEx event.
 #[allow(dead_code)]
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ pub const EVENT_SCHEMAS: &[EventSchema] = &[
     EventSchema {
         name: "ContractPaused",
         topics: &[EVENT_TOPIC_ADMIN, "ContractPaused", "admin"],
-        payload_keys: &["paused", "schema_version", "timestamp"],
+        payload_keys: &["paused", "reason", "schema_version", "timestamp"],
         schema_version: EVENT_SCHEMA_VERSION,
     },
     EventSchema {
@@ -333,15 +333,17 @@ pub struct ContractPausedEvent {
 
     pub schema_version: u32,
     pub paused: bool,
+    pub reason: Bytes,
     pub timestamp: u64,
 }
 
 #[allow(dead_code)]
-pub(crate) fn publish_contract_paused(env: &Env, admin: Address, paused: bool) {
+pub(crate) fn publish_contract_paused(env: &Env, admin: Address, paused: bool, reason: Bytes) {
     ContractPausedEvent {
         admin,
         schema_version: EVENT_SCHEMA_VERSION,
         paused,
+        reason,
         timestamp: env.ledger().timestamp(),
     }
     .publish(env);
diff --git a/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/lib.rs b/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/lib.rs
index d5a35fc6..a8f83b36 100644
--- a/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/lib.rs
+++ b/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/lib.rs
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ impl QuickexContract {
         timeout_secs: u64,
         arbiter: Option<Address>,
     ) -> Result<BytesN<32>, QuickexError> {
-        if storage::is_emergency_mode(&env) {
+        if !storage::is_feature_allowed_in_emergency(&env, storage::PauseFlag::Deposit) {
             return Err(QuickexError::ContractPaused);
         }
         if admin::is_paused(&env) {
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ impl QuickexContract {
         timeout_secs: u64,
         arbiter: Option<Address>,
     ) -> Result<(), QuickexError> {
-        if storage::is_emergency_mode(&env) {
+        if !storage::is_feature_allowed_in_emergency(&env, storage::PauseFlag::DepositWithCommitment) {
             return Err(QuickexError::ContractPaused);
         }
         if admin::is_paused(&env) {
@@ -677,7 +677,20 @@ impl QuickexContract {
         if storage::is_emergency_mode(&env) {
             return Err(QuickexError::ContractPaused);
         }
-        admin::set_paused(&env, caller, new_state)
+        admin::set_paused(&env, caller, new_state, Bytes::new(&env))
+    }
+
+    /// Pause/unpause with an explicit reason string (Admin only).
+    pub fn set_paused_with_reason(
+        env: Env,
+        caller: Address,
+        new_state: bool,
+        reason: Bytes,
+    ) -> Result<(), QuickexError> {
+        if storage::is_emergency_mode(&env) {
+            return Err(QuickexError::ContractPaused);
+        }
+        admin::set_paused(&env, caller, new_state, reason)
     }
 
     /// Check if the function is currently paused.
diff --git a/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/storage.rs b/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/storage.rs
index 3665fb2c..cecc020b 100644
--- a/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/storage.rs
+++ b/app/contract/contracts/quickex/src/storage.rs
@@ -192,6 +192,22 @@ pub fn is_emergency_mode(env: &Env) -> bool {
     env.storage().persistent().get(&key).unwrap_or(false)
 }
 
+/// Check whether a given feature is permitted while emergency mode is active.
+///
+/// During emergency mode most operations should be blocked. A small set of
+/// safe entrypoints (e.g. withdrawals, refunds) are allowed so users can
+/// recover funds. This helper centralises that allowlist.
+pub fn is_feature_allowed_in_emergency(env: &Env, flag: PauseFlag) -> bool {
+    if !is_emergency_mode(env) {
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    match flag {
+        PauseFlag::Withdrawal | PauseFlag::Refund => true,
+        _ => false,
+    }
+}
+
 // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Escrow helpers
 // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------