Mantle (MNT): Comprehensive overview of a full-stack on-chain banking infrastructure

Background on Mantle

Mantle’s (MNT) story is closely tied to BitDAO, one of the leading decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). It is notably known for the size of its 2021 fundraising, its central role in the BIT token, and the scale of its current treasury.

Incubated by BitDAO, Mantle is the first Layer 2 solution ever launched by a DAO. The project maintains close ties with centralized exchange Bybit: Bybit (along with Founders Fund, Pantera, and Dragonfly) participated in BitDAO’s private funding, held around 60% of the initial BIT supply, and committed a share of trading revenue to the treasury.

Mantle began as a modular Ethereum Layer 2 based on Optimistic Rollups, aiming to attract decentralized application developers by offering an alternative to existing sidechains, which forced a tradeoff between security and performance.

In early 2023, Mantle’s development reached a critical point. The introduction of Proto-Danksharding with EIP-4844, and especially Ethereum data blobs, was a major catalyst for Layer 2 growth. Mantle chose to migrate to a new Data Availability solution: MantleDA, a simplified version of EigenDA developed in collaboration with the EigenLayer team.

In May 2023, the BitDAO community approved a governance proposal to merge the BitDAO and Mantle brands under one banner. As a result, BitDAO became Mantle Governance, while BIT was converted 1:1 into MNT in June 2023. The new Mantle governance treasury thus inherited about $300 million in stablecoins and 270,000 ETH.

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Overview of Mantle Network

Mantle Network is an Ethereum Layer 2 built using OP Stack Bedrock and leveraging EigenDA for its Data Availability layer. Practically, this architecture improves scalability at lower cost, with the capacity to support more throughput and smart contract deployments.

The March 19 hard fork activated the network’s migration to EigenDA, replacing the former MantleDA, with a notable scale-up: bandwidth reportedly increased by a factor of 234 and throughput to around 15 MB/s. The upgrade also introduced RETH and REVM, delivering up to 2x improvements over Ethereum’s widely used Geth client.

With Helios, Mantle also separated the execution layer from the consensus layer. The goal is to treat consensus as a lighter process while preserving security: succinct, multichain validity checks rather than re-executing every transaction.

The positioning remains pragmatic: the MNT token is used for gas fees and governance (voting rights on proposals). The ecosystem aggregates diverse use cases including restaking, gaming, DeFi, and NFTs, where MNT is used as collateral, liquidity, and a liquid-staking asset. The whole stack is designed for value capture, with accrual flowing back to the ecosystem and MNT holders.

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Mantle’s Core Building Blocks

Treasury

At the heart of Mantle is a community-owned treasury inherited from BitDAO, used to actively fund new products and facilitate partnerships to grow the ecosystem. This treasury is currently estimated at $5 billion and continues to grow through protocol revenues.

After reducing its stablecoin exposure, Mantle’s treasury now holds more than $4.6 billion in its own token, MNT. These assets support incentives focused on retention rather than short-term, opportunistic acquisition. Examples include partnerships with USDe, USDY, AUSD, and EigenLayer to provide better yield and liquidity options.

This heavy concentration in MNT is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it signals “skin in the game,” aligning incentives with Mantle’s long-term success. On the other, it means the project’s resources are tightly linked to MNT’s price performance, which is risky in a market downturn.

mETH

Through the Mantle Liquidity Staking Protocol (LSP), Mantle issues its own Ethereum liquid staking token. mETH is an ERC-20 whose value increases with staking rewards and works simply: users deposit ETH and receive mETH in return, representing staked principal plus accumulated rewards.

Launched on January 16, 2024 under the name Mantle LSP and rebranded to mETH in August 2024, the protocol now exceeds $1 billion in TVL. It is one of Mantle’s foundational bricks: it improves ecosystem-wide liquidity and reinforces MNT’s utility via network fees.

Mantle then introduced cmETH, a unified, omnichain liquid restaking token built on top of mETH. Holders can swap mETH for cmETH to access restaking without the opportunity costs of un-staking ETH, with enhanced yields. “Methamorphosis” incentive seasons and the launch of the COOK governance token accelerated adoption.

Function (ƒBTC)

Formerly known as Ignition, Function is a decentralized solution that aims to make Bitcoin (BTC) truly productive in DeFi by turning it into a composable, yield-bearing asset. This includes restaking via Babylon, using ƒBTC as collateral in lending markets, deploying it into vaults (e.g., on Solv Protocol) to earn yield, and accessing cross-chain, liquid BTC.

For institutions and protocols seeking to integrate BTC into on-chain strategies, ƒBTC acts as a practical standard: it smooths flows and turns Bitcoin into a liquid, useful financial asset beyond a mere store of value.

ƒBTC is already live on Mantle, Arbitrum, and Layer 1s like Berachain and Sonic. On Mantle, the Bybit integration bridges CeFi and DeFi: via Bybit’s On-Chain Earn program, users can stake ƒBTC and simplify BTC yield generation while remaining within Mantle’s ecosystem.

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Mantle 2.0: the banking blockchain

Presentation of Mantle 2.0

With the end of its first development phase, Mantle 2.0 presents itself as a “liquidity chain,” designed to accelerate the convergence of DeFi, CeFi, and TradFi, with the MNT token as the backbone.

Mantle’s strategy is to build blockchain-native solutions that address structural limitations in traditional finance while responding to growing demand from these players for safe, regulated alternatives.

More and more concepts from traditional finance are now extending into on-chain finance, while some fintechs are exploring launching their own blockchains and various crypto players already offer banking-like services (payment cards, credit). The timing is strategic, and Mantle aims to capture this emerging market.

That said, centralized crypto platforms still suffer from a genuine credibility and trust deficit. Mantle intends to address this by putting security and regulatory compliance at the center of its strategy.

Take stablecoins as an example: they do provide permissionless access to dollars and cheaper cross-border transfers, but everyday spending remains limited. Converting to local fiat is complex and depends on brokers, exchanges, or service providers that are often heavily regulated or outright banned in some countries.

This is the context for Mantle Banking, defined by the team as a real “on-chain neobank”: a platform where anyone can open an account without friction, technical barriers, or the need for crypto expertise. Over the past year, Mantle has multiplied initiatives in this direction, with Asia as the first target market.

The acquisition of ReserveOne is a strong signal: this digital asset management firm, built for institutional investors and planning a Nasdaq listing, serves as a bridge to traditional financial markets.

Mantle articulates this vision around six innovation pillars that make up its future full-stack banking ecosystem. Three are already live: Mantle Network, mETH, and Function (ƒBTC). The other three, now rolling out, are designed to complete the stack: MI4, an institutional crypto fund; UR, an integrated banking offering; and MantleX, a division dedicated to AI and its application to decentralized finance.

Mantle Index Four (MI4)

Launched in Q2 2025, MI4 is the fourth step in Mantle’s strategy to build a true “on-chain bank.” Backed by Mantle’s treasury as anchor investor, the fund received governance approval and was allocated $400 million, making it the largest non-Treasury bill tokenized fund to date.

MI4 is designed as a crypto “S&P 500” tailored to institutional standards. The fund is managed by Mantle Guard, with Securitize as the tokenization partner. Practically, MI4 investors can convert their fund stakes into tokens via Securitize’s infrastructure, making the investment liquid and programmable.

The fund offers investors a simplified, yield-enhanced crypto index with an initial allocation of 50% BTC, 28% ETH, 7% SOL, and 15% USD. Yield is enhanced because assets are held in mETH, Bybit’s bbSOL, or Ethena’s sUSDe.

The fund is rebalanced quarterly and assets are self-custodied using institutional-grade infrastructure (multisigs, Fireblocks, with qualified custodians planned to further strengthen security).

MI4’s ambition is clear: fill the gap between traditional financial products (ETFs) and native DeFi yields, offering a familiar product to institutional investors while integrating on-chain yield. Finally, Mantle positions MI4 as a gateway to a broader ecosystem: attracting traditional liquidity into tokenized markets and strengthening credibility versus traditional asset managers.

UR

Announced in Q3 2025 (currently in beta), UR is the fifth brick in Mantle’s banking strategy. It is the missing piece that finally unifies the modular components (mETH, ƒBTC, MI4) into a coherent experience. The goal is to revolutionize value transfer with fast, efficient solutions suited to both on-chain and real-world use.

Built on Mantle Network, UR is a borderless “smart money” application that lets users move smoothly between traditional banking and crypto. It offers a Swiss-backed multi-currency account, a Mastercard debit card, global banking rail access, and, over time, crypto-collateralized credit and DeFi yield.

UR makes Mantle the first Layer 2 to offer integrated banking access through a unified account structure that bridges fiat and crypto. KYC-verified users can open Swiss IBAN accounts supporting EUR, CHF, USD, and RMB, with deposits backed 1:1. Instead of managing separate fiat and crypto wallets, they can spend directly worldwide with a Mastercard debit card.

All UR accounts are offered by a Swiss-regulated financial institution, with core infrastructure integrating tokenized deposits and NFT-based identity. At launch, UR supports fund transfers over traditional rails (SWIFT, SEPA, SIC) and crypto rails via Mantle. Fiat deposits are tokenized 1:1 on Mantle and securely managed via omnibus accounts, and payments can be received in fiat or directly through ERC-20 addresses.

Benefits for MNT holders

It is clear that Mantle is actively building and connecting products that create value for MNT holders and beyond. This is reinforced by developer grants, ecosystem incentive programs, and distribution platforms, including the UR app and Rewards Station.

MNT Reward Booster Season 3 is live at the time of writing: token holders can lock MNT for up to 300 days and earn rewards that scale directly with the lock duration.

All economic activity within the Mantle ecosystem contributes to value creation for MNT holders, paving the way for more sustainable and innovative yield sources for stakers:

• On-chain activity: network fees + token utility
• DeFi yield and RWA products: value-accruing services anchored on Mantle
• UR adoption: expanded transaction volumes settled via Mantle’s ecosystem
• Ecosystem partnerships: new user flows and sustained demand for Mantle infrastructure

Thanks to the partnership with Bybit, MNT is also widely adopted in CeFi, creating several opportunities.

• MNT holders are eligible to participate in Bybit Launchpool projects.
• Bybit’s Earn and OTC trading products also support the MNT token.

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Strategic alliance with Bybit

The ties between Mantle and Bybit

The launch of Mantle 2.0 coincided with the appointment of two Bybit executives, Helen Liu (Co-CEO) and Emily Bao (Head of Spot Trading), as strategic advisors to Mantle Network in August 2025. Their arrival reflects Bybit’s deep commitment to the Mantle project, of which it was an early backer at the time of BitDAO three years earlier.

This alliance aims to accelerate the convergence of DeFi and CeFi by aligning Mantle’s and Bybit’s roadmaps. While Mantle remains formally governed by token holders under the DAO model, Bybit’s influence is now significant. Together, they have moved MNT integrations on centralized exchanges beyond consumer-grade toward institution-ready. New use cases have been enabled:

• Enhanced leverage access: institutions pledging MNT unlock higher leverage on Bybit products
• Extended fixed-rate loan terms: longer maturities by pledging more MNT
• Trading fee payment: use MNT to offset fees with exclusive discounts
• VIP Acceleration program: use MNT to unlock Bybit VIP perks

Financial performance since the announcement

Q2 2025 was disappointing for Mantle: daily active addresses fell 67.7% quarter-over-quarter (to 12,207) and daily transactions dropped 35.5% (to 252,418). Despite initiatives such as Rewards Station S3, Kaito Yapper, Lightning Grants, and Games Fest, activity did not hold. Treasury value declined from $2.6 billion to $2.3 billion (-15.9%).

But in August 2025, Mantle staged a dramatic reversal, bucking the broader crypto market. The MNT token was driven by fundamental catalysts centered on the Bybit alliance: it moved from $0.74 to over $1.40. Today it trades around $1.79, a 201% performance year over year.

This 138% rise in 30 days reflects a strong return of confidence in Mantle’s ecosystem, clearly fueled by the Bybit relationship and a strategic re-rating of the project. The market already appears to be pricing in the prospects offered by Mantle’s ambitious roadmap.

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Future catalysts for Mantle

Mantle is expected to double down on its strategy centered on institutional and banking products, with the objective of bridging Web2 and Web3, notably with Bybit’s support. Several catalysts have already shipped, but other key steps deserve highlighting:

• Mantle v1.3.1 (Skadi Hardfork)

The Skadi upgrade, finalized on August 27, 2025, marks a major step forward for the network. It brings full support for the Ethereum Prague upgrade (as part of the Pectra roadmap), including optimizations for transaction fee suggestions and a new API for faster zero-knowledge proof generation.

Aligned with the latest Ethereum developments, this release reduces gas costs, improves smart contract efficiency, and boosts overall network performance.

• Lightning Grants

Lightning Grants is a funding program to support early-stage developers and builders in the Mantle ecosystem. It is part of Mantle’s broader grants strategy and aims to accelerate time-to-production for projects on Mantle Network.

• Chainlink

In February 2025, Mantle joined Chainlink SCALE, enabling Chainlink Data Feeds and Data Streams on the network. This supports secure DeFi markets with real-time (sub-second) data. Note also Chainlink’s integration with the U.S. Department of Commerce to bring macroeconomic indicators on-chain, reinforcing Mantle’s RWA strategy.

• CeFi adoption

In 2025, MNT saw increasing integration on centralized exchanges, a key vector for broader investor adoption. Coinbase listed MNT in spot and perpetuals, while Bitfinex also listed it. As the Mantle-Bybit synergy grows, some observers see a potential BNB/Binance-style trajectory, making Mantle and MNT a must-watch.

• MantleX

MantleX is a research and incubation arm at the intersection of AI and blockchain. It is Mantle’s sixth innovation pillar and a real bet on AI, in a context where agents are expected to be the next big shift in how users interact with crypto.

Mantle’s approach isn’t purely speculative: it explores how AI can unlock new possibilities in DeFi by creating intelligent systems that optimize decision-making, automate workflows, and enhance user experience.

Led by Jordi Alexander, MantleX publishes research that simplifies complex AI topics. The team has released studies on large language models (LLMs) and DeFi Agents, while fostering strategic partnerships with established AI startups through incubation initiatives.

• OP Succinct deployment

Mantle plans to integrate OP Succinct’s SP1, a zkVM introducing validity and fraud proofs to OP Stack rollups without a full transition to ZK rollups. This is significant because it brings advanced features to developers and, ultimately, users: rapid (one-hour) finality, smoother withdrawals, and lower operational costs via integrated prover fees.

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The thesis with Mantle 2.0

With regulatory clarity comes mass adoption, institutional participation, and faster growth. Mantle is positioning directly on both axes: aiming for broad adoption and leveraging its Bybit alliance to attract institutions.

Our thesis is that MNT represents a reflexive call option on the growth of Mantle’s ecosystem. In a risk-on market, downside appears limited while upside looks more attractive. The Q3 roadmap announcement is a solid argument that this may be a timely moment to position ahead of a potential market rebound.

Even though MNT has already reached an all-time high, it is likely that new buying opportunities will emerge at levels materially lower than the current price.

Of course, concerns remain about Bybit’s growing influence and Mantle’s autonomy in governance. This can be seen as a tradeoff that nudges the project in a specific direction. In return, Mantle’s integration into Bybit’s infrastructure brings concrete advantages:

• more trading pairs on Mantle,
• using MNT for fee discounts,
• integrating the token into VIP programs.

These use cases directly increase MNT demand from Bybit’s large user base, strengthening the foundation for the project’s future growth.

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Conclusion

Mantle has positioned itself as a pioneer at the convergence of TradFi, CeFi, and DeFi, with the ambition to build a full-stack financial ecosystem. With a modular Layer 2, a treasury of nearly $5 billion, and core bricks like mETH, ƒBTC, MI4, UR, and soon MantleX, the project has the foundations to connect traditional finance and on-chain finance.

This full-stack model rests on three pillars: institutional-grade security, regulatory compliance, and solutions that are accessible to users. That is what distinguishes Mantle from most other Layer 2s, which remain focused on purely technical approaches.

The strategic alliance with Bybit is a major amplifier: it extends MNT’s utility beyond DeFi, strengthening institutional adoption through new integrations (trading, lending products, fee discounts, VIP programs).

With a clear roadmap targeting mass adoption and institutional participation, Mantle appears well placed to capture growing demand for secure, scalable, and interoperable financial solutions. In a context of clearer regulation and gradually opening markets, Mantle’s ecosystem and the MNT token present a credible opportunity for investors seeking exposure to the future of on-chain finance.