diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 169375f5f..7ef2b7b1d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -53,6 +53,8 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
   handler to add a maximum commission rate of 25% for validators.
 * [#1616](https://github.com/NibiruChain/nibiru/pull/1616) - fix(app)!:
   Add custom wasm snapshotter for proper state exports
+* [#1617](https://github.com/NibiruChain/nibiru/pull/1617) - fix(app)!:
+  non-nil snapshot manager is not guarantted in testapp
 
 ### Improvements
 
diff --git a/app/app.go b/app/app.go
index a6c690b44..4bd5cf1ed 100644
--- a/app/app.go
+++ b/app/app.go
@@ -206,17 +206,15 @@ func NewNibiruApp(
 	app.SetAnteHandler(anteHandler)
 	app.SetEndBlocker(app.EndBlocker)
 
-	snapshotManager := app.SnapshotManager()
-	if snapshotManager == nil {
-		panic("mistakes were made: snapshot manager is nil")
-	}
-	if err = snapshotManager.RegisterExtensions(
-		wasmkeeper.NewWasmSnapshotter(
-			app.CommitMultiStore(),
-			&app.WasmKeeper,
-		),
-	); err != nil {
-		panic("failed to add wasm snapshot extension.")
+	if snapshotManager := app.SnapshotManager(); snapshotManager != nil {
+		if err = snapshotManager.RegisterExtensions(
+			wasmkeeper.NewWasmSnapshotter(
+				app.CommitMultiStore(),
+				&app.WasmKeeper,
+			),
+		); err != nil {
+			panic("failed to add wasm snapshot extension.")
+		}
 	}
 
 	if loadLatest {