1. Overview of Mantle

1.1 Project Introduction

Overview

The Layer 1 blockchain race has always been the core battleground of Web3. Since the inception of Ethereum, numerous challengers have emerged. Building upon Ethereum, the competition has evolved into a clash of Layer 2 scaling solutions, ushering in an era where hundreds of L2 solutions vie for dominance. As this landscape unfolds, it’s becoming clear that technical innovation and high performance alone are insufficient. A blockchain network resembles a digital kingdom—it needs a thriving ecosystem and strong consensus among developers and users to ensure a steady influx of “revenue.”

In this fiercely competitive arena, Mantle has emerged as a dark horse. Since launching its mainnet in July 2023, it has quickly risen to become the fourth-ranked Layer 2 network by Total Value Locked (TVL) in just over a year. With an enormous $2.6 billion treasury, Mantle has solidified its position as a leading L2 solution and is poised to join the ranks of top-tier Layer 1 blockchains.

But how did Mantle achieve its remarkable rise, and what does its future hold? This article will provide an in-depth exploration of these questions.

Key Milestones

1.2 Tokenomics

The $MNT token serves as both the governance and utility token within the Mantle ecosystem, with a total supply of 6.219 billion tokens. As a governance token, $MNT grants voting rights in Mantle’s decision-making processes. As a utility token, it is used to pay gas fees on the Mantle network and serves as a primary reward asset.

This dual-purpose design sets Mantle apart from other L2 networks, as the use of $MNT for gas fees creates upward pressure on its value.

According to Mantle’s official snapshot from July 7, 2023, the initial distribution of $MNT is as follows:

Source: Mantle

The distribution chart reveals that nearly half of the $MNT tokens are held by the Mantle Treasury, rendering them “non-circulating.” The allocation of these tokens is subject to Mantle’s governance process, with budgets, fundraising, and distribution adhering to strict procedural guidelines. After the initial allocation, the Mantle Treasury’s $MNT tokens are replenished through third-party contributions and gas fee revenue from the Mantle mainnet.

The core budget of Mantle is primarily allocated in $MNT for the following expenses and rewards: workforce, general and administrative costs, marketing, ecosystem and builder programs, as well as infrastructure and security.

In the recently passed MIP-31 in September 2024, Mantle outlined its new budget plan for the second budget cycle (from July 2024 to June 2025), with major allocations directed toward: research and development & growth (15 million $USDx and 20 million $MNT), and marketing (12 million $USDx and 20 million $MNT). Mantle has already partnered with various marketing agencies and research entities, including well-known media outlets and research organizations such as Bankless, Unchained Podcast, Delphi Digital, and Messari, as well as influential thought leaders, all of whom have reported on Mantle.

Mantle’s Budget Breakdown; Source: Mantle

1.3 Key Data Overview

Project Metrics

Let’s explore Mantle’s growth over the past year using a range of comparative data points. Mantle launched its mainnet on July 17, 2023. After a stabilization period, the project experienced explosive growth in early 2024.

As of early February 2024, Mantle’s Total Value Locked (TVL) stood at just over $400 million. Over the next four months, it surged more than 300%, reaching a peak of nearly $1.5 billion by April. At the time of writing, Mantle’s latest on-chain TVL is $1.38 billion, ranking fourth among Layer 2 networks. As a key indicator of L2 development, TVL reflects valuable insights into user participation, market confidence, and ecosystem health. Rapid TVL growth often signifies user trust and adoption, further demonstrating Mantle’s ability to provide strong liquidity.

Mantle TVL Data; Source: l2beat, 2024/10/31

In terms of in-dApp TVL, the DeFiLlama dashboard offers a clear visualization of Mantle’s ecosystem composition. Notably, core contributors include DeFi sectors such as DEXs, lending, and restaking. The rapid growth of DEX-related TVL underscores DeFi as a primary focus for Mantle.

Mantle Ecosystem TVL; Source: DeFiLlama, 2024/10/24

After reviewing the TVL fundamentals, let’s take a look at Mantle’s on-chain activity. As more L2 solutions emerge, it’s like building highways that take a lot of time and effort, but with few cars on the road due to a lack of demand—this is a common issue faced by most L2 projects: the absence of high-quality applications. Therefore, measuring the prosperity of an L2 through user numbers, transaction volume, and other metrics is more meaningful. What we’ve seen in Mantle’s growth data reflects impressive user engagement.

In terms of total users, Mantle had around 330,000 users in December 2023, and by October 15, 2024, the total user count had surpassed 4.42 million—an increase of 13 times in less than a year, indicating that more and more users are entering the Mantle ecosystem.

Mantle User Data; Source: Dune, 2024/10/24

Daily Active Users (DAU): Mantle saw a significant increase in monthly active users by late April 2024, maintaining a higher average thereafter. Currently, monthly active users are around 40,000—a nearly threefold increase compared to September 2023 levels.

Mantle DAU Data; Source: Dune, 2024/10/24

Transaction Volume: By October 23, 2024, Mantle’s total on-chain transaction volume exceeded 150 million, with a daily peak of over 2.2 million transactions. This high level of activity reflects strong network engagement. Additionally, increased on-chain transactions correlate with higher network fee revenue, indicating enhanced self-sustainability for the network.

Mantle Transaction Data; Source: Dune, 2024/10/24

Social Media Metrics

As of October 24, 2024, Mantle has amassed over 800,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter). Its Telegram and Discord communities are highly active, with over 200,000 members participating in discussions, AMA sessions, and project updates. Notably, Mantle’s Discord community boasts nearly 440,000 members, with over 10,000 daily active participants, making it one of the most popular engagement channels.

In addition to frequent updates and interactions on social media, Mantle has hosted over 120 AMAs through official and ecosystem channels. These sessions, led by KOLs and project team members, include initiatives like Mantle Ecowaves and Mantle Showcase Radio, which have been instrumental in fostering user participation and adoption.

Mantle’s global presence extends to offline events, with more than 50 in-person gatherings held worldwide to date.

1.4 Technical Architecture Principles

Layer 2 (L2) rollups generally fall into two categories: Optimistic Rollups (OP Rollups) and Zero-Knowledge Rollups (ZK Rollups). Mantle Network is built on OP Rollup technology for its L2 scaling solution while independently developing a modular Data Availability (DA) layer.

Modular Design Reduces Transaction Costs

When discussing modular blockchains, it is important to first understand the concept of a Monolithic Blockchain. Taking Ethereum as an example, a mature monolithic blockchain can typically be divided into four main layers: Execution Layer, Settlement Layer, Data Availability (DA) Layer, and Consensus Layer, each with its own unique function and role. In simple terms, Mantle’s modular design distributes these four key functions across different layers, rather than handling them all on a single network layer like most monolithic blockchains. These four functions are as follows:

• Transaction Execution: This occurs on Mantle’s EVM-compatible
• Execution and Settlement Layer. Mantle’s sequencer generates blocks on the L2 Execution Layer and submits state root data to the main blockchain.
• Consensus and Settlement: Handled by the Ethereum L1 network.
• Data Availability: The Data Availability layer is independently developed using Eigen DA, allowing Mantle to submit only the necessary state roots to the Ethereum mainnet for storing callback data that would typically be broadcast to L1.
• Data Retrieval: Other nodes can access transaction data from Mantle’s DA layer via DTL services, where the data is verified and confirmed.

In traditional OP Rollup architecture, high calldata costs are incurred when submitting all transaction data to Ethereum’s DA layer. As transaction volumes grow, these costs can account for 80–95% of total expenses, severely limiting cost efficiency. Mantle Network’s modular DA layer reduces these operational costs and simplifies the integration of new technologies.

Decentralized Sequencers Eliminate Centralization Risks

Sequencers play a critical role in L2 solutions by collecting and ordering transactions, calculating states, and producing blocks. They are vital to the network’s security. However, traditional rollup solutions often rely on a single, centralized sequencer node, which is prone to failures, manipulation, or censorship. Mantle replaces centralized sequencers with a permissionless cluster of decentralized sequencers, delivering several key advantages:

It improves the network's availability, eliminating the risk of single points of failure and ensuring the continuous operation of the network.


It enhances the reliability of network consensus, preventing manipulations or censorship by sequencers, and ensuring fairness and transparency in transactions.


It boosts the network’s incentive compatibility, driving sequencers' compliant behavior through reward mechanisms, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the network. In contrast, centralized sequencers face the public goods dilemma.

1.5 Competitive Landscape

The congestion on Ethereum has set the stage for one of blockchain’s most significant narratives. In his article “The Three Transitions,” Vitalik Buterin outlined three critical technological shifts Ethereum must undergo:

1. Transition to Layer 2 scaling, where everyone adopts rollups.
2. Transition to wallet security, with widespread adoption of smart contract wallets.
3. Transition to privacy, enabling private and secure fund transfers.

Buterin emphasized that without Layer 2 advancements, Ethereum risks failure due to its prohibitively high transaction costs.

Against this backdrop, the Layer 2 (L2) space is experiencing explosive growth. According to L2Beat, there are currently 110 L2 or L3 scaling solutions in operation. However, only a handful have achieved mainstream recognition, attracting significant Total Value Locked (TVL) and user bases. As of October 24, 2024, the total TVL of L2 scaling solutions reached $37.62 billion, tripling over the past year and demonstrating robust growth and demand.

Source: l2beat, 2024/10/25

Mantle Compared to Leading L2 Solutions

From a TVL perspective, the top three L2 solutions—Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism—collectively command over 73% of the market share. Mantle, a relative newcomer, has swiftly risen to become the fourth-largest Layer 2 within just one year of its launch.

L2 TVL Rankings (Source: L2Beat, October 31, 2024)

From the Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) perspective, Mantle ranks third with an FDV of $3.58 billion, trailing only Optimism and Arbitrum. In terms of the MC/FDV ratio, Mantle leads the pack at 54.1%, indicating relatively low sell pressure for MNT in the future.

Source: CoinMarketCap, October 26, 2024 (Compiled by Klein Labs)

In terms of revenue and profitability, Base surpassed Arbitrum in March this year to become the most profitable L2. Mantle consistently holds a top-five position.

Source: Dune, October 26, 2024

Mantle vs. Exchange-Backed Chains

Mantle’s early backers include Bybit, the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, giving it a distinct advantage. In this section, we compare Mantle with other Layer 2 solutions backed by exchanges.

When discussing exchange-supported blockchains, notable examples include Binance’s BNB Chain and opBNB, Coinbase’s Base, and OKX’s X Layer. Most recently, on October 24, Kraken announced plans to launch its own L2 network, Ink, slated for mainnet release in early 2025.

Before diving into the specifics of these L2 solutions, it’s essential to understand the exchanges behind them. According to CoinMarketCap rankings, Binance, Coinbase, and Bybit are the top three cryptocurrency exchanges, with OKX and Kraken ranking fourth and sixth, respectively. This means five of the top six exchanges have supported at least one blockchain. This move reflects a strategic pivot for exchanges.

The move of exchanges into the blockchain space is not only an expansion of their service boundaries but also an exploration of the shift from “off-chain” to “on-chain.” This trend will guide a larger scale of users and assets to gradually migrate from centralized exchanges (CEX) to decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, driving the trading ecosystem towards decentralization. Both public blockchains and exchanges share a fundamental similarity: they both require new assets to be issued and traded on them, thereby generating revenue. The exchanges’ rich experience in asset operations and their high-quality industry resources are also key competitive advantages for such public blockchains.

1.5.2.1 BNB Chain

BNB Chain (formerly Binance Chain) was launched in 2019, marking the migration of the utility token BNB—originally introduced in 2017—from the Ethereum network to BNB Chain. BNB Chain was later renamed from Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Although BNB Chain is a Layer 1 blockchain, it deserves a brief mention here due to its strong backing from Binance.

Currently, BNB Chain has a TVL of $4.7 billion. Leveraging Binance’s exchange background and financial support, BNB Chain has successfully established DeFi as one of its core strengths, with PancakeSwap being its most prominent project.

While Binance’s funding and technical resources are undeniable advantages, its close ties to the exchange raise concerns about decentralization. For instance, during the 2022 hack incident, Binance requested all validators to suspend transactions on BNB Chain to quickly mitigate the situation. This centralized response highlighted the limited number of on-chain validators at the time and indicated that most nodes were directly or indirectly controlled by Binance.

A critical challenge for exchange-backed blockchains like BNB Chain lies in balancing the utilization of exchange resources while progressively achieving independent on-chain governance and embodying the decentralized ethos of Web3.

In Q2 2023, BNB Chain also introduced opBNB, an EVM-compatible Layer 2 scalability solution based on the OP Stack. According to DeFiLlama, opBNB currently has a TVL of $21.6 million and is still in its early stages of development.

1.5.2.2 Base

Base is a Layer 2 blockchain on Ethereum incubated by Coinbase. Due to Coinbase being regulated by the SEC, Base is unable to issue its own token, leaving it without the natural tokenomics-based incentives that other L2s enjoy.

Despite this limitation, Base has achieved remarkable success within a year of its launch. Its TVL experienced two explosive growth phases in April and September this year, now exceeding $2.4 billion. Base has also become a platform for innovation, with notable projects such as Friend.tech.

The top five projects contributing to Base’s TVL are all from the DeFi sector. Notably, Aerodrome Finance, ranked first, contributes nearly 54% of Base’s TVL with $1.3 billion. Aerodrome, an AMM-based DEX, launched on Base on August 28, 2023.

1.5.2.3 Cronos zkEVM

Cronos was launched in November 2021 as an Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 blockchain by Crypto.com, the 13th largest cryptocurrency exchange. However, since its launch, Cronos’s TVL has struggled to grow significantly. Later, Cronos Labs, the development team behind Cronos, collaborated with Matter Labs to launch Cronos zkEVM, a zk-based Layer 2 network that went live on mainnet in August this year.

Currently, Cronos zkEVM’s TVL hovers around $17 million, indicating it is still relatively small compared to the leading chains.

1.5.2.4 X Layer

X Layer is a zk-rollup-based Layer 2 blockchain jointly launched by OKX and Polygon Labs in April this year. X Layer utilizes OKB as its native token, which can be used to pay for gas fees. Future plans for X Layer include further technical optimizations and scalability improvements, such as decentralizing its sequencer. Currently, X Layer has a TVL of $9.3 million.

In terms of TVL, Base is relatively ahead, followed by Mantle in second place. Cronos zkEVM and X Layer remain smaller in scale compared to their peers.

Source: DeFiLlama, 2024/10/26

1.6 Preliminary Valuation

By horizontally comparing with other Layer 2 networks, we can intuitively assess the ecosystem’s vitality and its valuation, which helps better evaluate the development potential of Layer 2 networks.

Before the comparison, it’s important to note that, unlike other Layer 2 networks that use ETH as the gas token, MNT is used as the gas token on the Mantle network. This should be taken into consideration when comparing with other Layer 2 networks. We primarily calculated the following metrics:

Data Comparison, Source: Dune, DeFiLlama, Klein Labs, 2024/10/26

As seen, compared to other OP Rollup-based Layer 2 networks, Mantle’s ecosystem is still in its early stages. However, more than 50% of the native MNT token is already in circulation, which reduces the potential selling pressure in the future compared to other blockchains. Furthermore, Mantle has achieved impressive milestones in TVL, on-chain revenue, and other core data metrics within a short period. We believe that as the Mantle ecosystem continues to grow and thrive, its competitive position in the Layer 2 space will keep rising to new heights.

2. Mantle Ecosystem

As Vitalik Buterin has stated, the ecosystem of a public chain is its killer feature. A rich and diverse ecosystem not only attracts more new users but also motivates existing users to engage more frequently and diversely within the ecosystem. From this perspective, Mantle’s growth has been significantly driven by the expanding ecosystem, with the market cycle playing a positive supporting role.

According to the latest data, Mantle’s ecosystem now hosts over 240 dApps, including 89 DeFi projects, 96 infrastructure projects, and 20 GameFi projects. DeFi and infrastructure dominate, reflecting the importance and prosperity of DeFi as the backbone infrastructure of Mantle’s public chain.

Source: Mantle, 2024/10/24 \
Next, we will analyze some key projects within these major categories:

2.1 DeFi track

DeFi serves as the foundation for any public chain, and the maturity of DeFi infrastructure significantly impacts the overall potential and ceiling of the ecosystem. Mantle has 36 DeFi projects in its ecosystem, including DEXs, lending, and re-staking protocols. Below are some of the projects in this space:

2.1.1 Agni Finance

Project Overview: Agni Finance, founded in 2023, is Mantle’s native AMM-based DEX, currently holding the highest TVL on Mantle ($121 million) with a total trading volume of $3.92 billion. Agni offers 6 currencies and 20 trading pairs, with the most active trading pair being METH/WETH. As of the latest data from CoinGecko, Agni’s 24-hour trading volume is $4.36 million.

After experiencing a 2x surge in TVL in July 2023, Agni’s TVL has stabilized at over $100 million, representing a 2x growth from Q2.
X: @Agnidex

2.1.2 INIT Capital

Project Overview: INIT Capital, founded in 2023, is a platform for dApp and user interactions, providing permissionless access to unified liquidity pools and efficient yield management. As a DeFi liquidity infrastructure, INIT supports various activities, including lending and yield strategies. INIT is currently live on both Mantle and Blast networks. As of the latest data, INIT Capital’s market size stands at $110 million, with over $24 million in loans issued.

INIT Capital completed a $3.1 million seed round in February 2024, with Electric Capital and Mirana Ventures leading the investment.

X: @InitCapital_

2.1.3 Merchant Moe

Project Overview: Merchant Moe, launched in 2024, is a DEX under Trader Joe, designed specifically for the Mantle ecosystem and community. It launched on the mainnet in January 2024, with the $MOE token also going live. Merchant Moe currently offers 14 currencies and 22 trading pairs, with the most active pair being METH/USDT.

According to MIP-28, Merchant Moe will receive liquidity support from the Mantle Treasury. Additionally, Merchant Moe has secured seed funding from the Mantle EcoFund.

X: @MerchantMoe_xyz

2.1.4 Ondo Finance

Project Overview: Ondo Finance is a financial protocol focusing on the Real-World Asset (RWA) track. Its primary business is to tokenize high-quality assets, such as U.S. Treasury bonds and money market funds, within a compliant framework for blockchain-based investment and trading. The RWA U.S. bond track, where Ondo operates, has experienced a sixfold increase in TVL over the past year, making it a major driving force in the RWA sector. Since April 2024, Ondo Finance’s TVL has grown rapidly, currently ranking third in the RWA space. It holds a first-mover advantage and is expected to have strong future growth potential. Ondo Finance supports 8 chains, with its Mantle TVL ranking third, surpassing Aptos, Arbitrum, and Sui.

X: @OndoFinance

2.2 Wrapped assets

Technically, Wrapped Assets belong to the DeFi category, but given the significant achievements that Mantle has made in this area, along with its continued focus and recent developments, we will analyze this segment separately.

On October 23rd, Bybit launched cmETH and announced plans to introduce mETH’s governance token, COOK, which quickly gained widespread attention. Before delving into cmETH and COOK, it’s important to first understand what mETH is.

2.2.1 mETH

mETH is a permissionless, non-custodial ETH liquid staking protocol that allows users to stake ETH and receive mETH in a 1:1 ratio. Currently, mETH has 15,025 validators and over 480,000 ETH staked. \
As Mantle’s native LSD protocol, mETH has experienced rapid growth since its launch on December 4, 2023. Within less than a year, its TVL reached $1.22 billion, making it the fourth-largest Ethereum LSD product.

Looking back at the context of mETH’s creation, Ethereum successfully transitioned from PoW to PoS in June 2023, and Lido Finance had already established a market-leading position with a TVL of $13 billion. Competing products, such as Rocket Pool’s rETH, made the liquid staking (LSD) space highly competitive. For mETH, which had just begun its first round of discussions in the Mantle governance forum, there was no first-mover advantage.

However, after thorough community governance discussions and technical preparation, the ETH liquid staking protocol officially launched on December 8, 2023 (initially as Mantle LSP). Thanks to its strong performance, mETH quickly emerged in the fiercely competitive LSD space as a “new player.”

According to DeFiLlama, within one week of launch, Mantle LSP’s TVL surpassed $100 million. It continued to grow, reaching a peak of nearly $2.2 billion in March 2024, and currently maintains a TVL of over $1.2 billion, making it the fourth-largest Ethereum LSD product. Furthermore, official data shows that mETH has more than 8,000 wallet users on Ethereum and 26,000 wallet users on the Mantle network, with impressive user numbers and activity.

![](https://s3.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com/gimg.gateimg.com/learn/3832250a8ed6c86e7d5e94eff908cb880a245dd3.png

Source: DeFiLlama, 2024/10/25

mETH holders can access various DeFi platforms for liquidity pools, yield farming, and other financial activities without needing to unstake their ETH. Here are some dApp examples available to users:

For trading, Bybit offers mETH/USDT and mETH/ETH pairs, while NativeX provides mETH/WETH pairs and other exchange options.


For lending, INIT Capital allows users to deposit/borrow ETH positions, Timeswap uses ETH as collateral, and MYSO Finance offers zero-fee swaps and custom zero-liquidation loans.


For liquidity, Merchant Moe offers various liquidity pools, while Butter.xyz allows users to add liquidity to any available token, including ETH and MNT.

This highlights mETH’s unique advantage: backed by Mantle’s rich and mature ecosystem, mETH benefits from a broader range of liquidity scenarios, creating more diverse earning opportunities and stronger demand. This virtuous cycle further drives the continued growth and success of mETH.

2.2.2 cmETH

At the end of May 2024, six months after the official release of mETH, MIP-30 governance proposal was approved, introducing cmETH as the new liquid re-staking token (LRT). Specifically, while mETH is a liquid staking token that allows users to stake ETH and receive mETH, cmETH serves as a liquid re-staking token, where users can stake mETH and receive cmETH on a 1:1 basis. \
Like mETH, cmETH is highly composable within the Mantle ecosystem (including EigenLayer, Symbiotic, Karak, Zircuit, etc.), allowing users to explore additional yield opportunities while retaining the benefits of mETH through L2 and decentralized applications and protocols.

The key advantage of cmETH over mETH is that, in addition to basic staking rewards, it covers more yield opportunities, including rewards from major re-staking programs (airdrop expectations), re-staking AVS yields, and more.

In short, cmETH is a higher-risk, higher-reward option compared to mETH, making it more suitable for users who wish to seek higher returns within a certain risk range. Additionally, alongside the launch of cmETH, MIP-30 also previewed the issuance of $COOK, the governance token for mETH.

We also want to mention Mantle’s major “Methamorphosis” campaign, which began in July 2024: In this 100-day event, mETH leveraged its ecosystem advantages and officially announced 23 partners, including well-known projects such as EigenLayer, Symbiotic, Karak, Zircuit, and Pendle. Users could earn rewards by holding mETH and interacting with partners, with Power tokens being redeemable for COOK in the future.

Source: Mantle

Although the first season of Methamorphosis has concluded, on October 23, mETH announced that Season 2 of Methamorphosis is about to launch, signaling that Mantle’s ecosystem is poised for another wave of explosive growth.

2.2.3 FBTC

Mantle’s Wrapped Assets are not limited to ETH. In its ecosystem, FBTC, launched in collaboration with Antalpha, represents another important form of liquidity asset. Bringing BTC into the Ethereum ecosystem has been done successfully with WBTC, but occasionally it has faced trust issues. In this case, FBTC offers a better alternative.

FBTC is a cross-chain Bitcoin asset, pegged 1:1 to BTC, and provides cross-chain bridging and trading functionality on both Ethereum and Mantle networks, enhancing Bitcoin’s accessibility and utility. By introducing FBTC, Mantle not only enriches the variety of on-chain liquidity assets but also creates new cross-chain trading options for users, optimizing the overall user experience.

Together with mETH and other products, FBTC forms part of Mantle’s multi-dimensional approach to liquidity and cross-chain strategies, helping to build a DeFi yield ecosystem on-chain. Thanks to the support of the Mantle ecosystem, this multi-chain asset strategy will drive Mantle to become a powerful competitor in the Layer 2 and cross-chain liquidity space.

2.3 Game

The head of Mantle’s gaming division is Grant Zhang, who has a wealth of experience in the gaming industry. He has previously led the release teams for games such as League of Legends and Game of Thrones, with the projects he has been involved in accumulating over 500 million downloads.

Mantle’s approach to gaming is quite distinct from most other ecosystems, with this difference largely stemming from the team itself. In other ecosystems, the development of the gaming segment is often led by prominent investors, whereas Mantle’s gaming team is predominantly composed of industry veterans with expertise in game publishing and operations. This structure enables Mantle to provide more substantial support to its gaming partners, including tokenization design, economic models, game publishing, funding, and user acquisition.

Despite having one of the largest treasuries in the Web3 space, Mantle remains very selective in the games it supports. Unlike other ecosystems that may try to introduce hundreds of games by casting a wide net, Mantle has chosen to establish deep, meaningful partnerships with only around 7-8 games, offering real, tangible support. As a result, these selected games receive far more robust funding and assistance.

Here, we introduce some of the core gaming projects:

2.3.1 Catizen

Catizen is a cat-themed mini-game built on the Telegram mini-program, where players slide to feed cats and earn rewards. According to a tweet from Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, as of July 30, 2024, Catizen has attracted over 26 million players, a remarkable figure given that the game launched just four months earlier on March 19, 2024.

Catizen Example, Source: Catizen
In April 2024, Catizen formed a strategic partnership with Mantle. However, the collaboration between Mantle and Catizen and its publisher, Pluto Studio, actually dates back to August 2023. Mantle has provided comprehensive support across various aspects, including game design, token economics, user acquisition, and even collaborations with TON. As mentioned earlier, Mantle’s unique team structure allows it to offer professional and practical support, which can significantly drive the success of projects—something other ecosystems may not be able to achieve.

For Mantle, games like Catizen and Tap to Earn, which are super-casual and well-suited for attracting users, represent just the beginning. These games can leverage Telegram’s massive user base to introduce large numbers of users to casual games. Mantle’s future plans involve further development alongside the Telegram mini-game ecosystem, continually launching suitable game products at each stage of evolution.

As of the time of writing, Catizen has over 600,000 users on the Mantle blockchain. CATI, the game’s token, has a market value of $76.63 million, making it the top-ranked asset by Natively Minted Value on Mantle.

X: @CatizenAI

2.3.2 MetaCene

MetaCene is a large-scale multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that integrates Web3 elements. It combines NFTs, blockchain mechanics, and AI technology with classic game features such as PvP battles and land management. MetaCene was founded by Qunzhao (Alan) Tan, an experienced game developer.

As a complex MMORPG, MetaCene has more intricate requirements in terms of cost, rules, and economic model design. Mantle, with its teams from Game7, Hyperplay, Yeeha, and Community Gaming, is able to provide comprehensive support across areas such as user acquisition, engagement, wallet infrastructure, access points, and security, thus offering MetaCene the practical support it needs.

It is worth noting that the founder of a leading blockchain gaming guild, after a deep experience with MetaCene, praised the game for its well-designed depth and international player base, further validating its playability. \
As of the time of writing, MetaCene has more than 510,000 users, with daily active users peaking above 360,000.

X: @MetaCeneGame

2.3.3 Funton.ai

Funton.ai is a new addition to the Mantle ecosystem in October 2024. As a leading modular multi-platform in the TON ecosystem, Funton.ai is dedicated to creating a decentralized GameFi ecosystem that combines artificial intelligence and gaming, offering a one-click game generation service. By July 2024, it had already surpassed 350,000 monthly active users. Its partnership with Mantle will help attract millions of Telegram users into the Mantle ecosystem. Funton.ai also created Flappy MNT, a game where users can earn $MNT and FUN Points by connecting a wallet containing $MNT and playing the game.

Notably, Funton.ai recently partnered with several organizations, including Gate Exchange and OKX Wallet, to conduct an airdrop for its $FUN token, further expanding its market influence and user base. Funton.ai has also entered Web3Labs and KuCoin Labs’ accelerators, gaining recognition from mainstream Web3 institutions.

X: @funton_ai

2.4 Other Ecosystem-Related Initiatives

Mantle has always invested significant effort into ecosystem support, setting an example for other public blockchains. Below are some key ecosystem initiatives and activities:

2.4.1 EcoFund

The Mantle EcoFund is a $200 million ecosystem fund provided by the Mantle Treasury, aimed at promoting the adoption of developers and dApps on the Mantle network. The fund prioritizes investments in teams building high-quality and innovative projects within the Mantle ecosystem and will increase funding for potential standout projects when appropriate.

According to the official website, the EcoFund has already funded over 13 projects, including INIT Capital, Catizen, and Merchant Moe, which have all grown into core contributors within the Mantle ecosystem.

2.4.2 Mantle Grants

To further stimulate the ecosystem’s vitality, Mantle has created two incentive programs:

Mantle Scouts Program: Launched in April 2024, this program authorizes 16 industry leaders to grant $1 million in MNT tokens to high-quality projects within the ecosystem, supporting innovation. The program provides mentorship, networking resources, and financial support to accelerate projects’ success within the Mantle ecosystem.

Public Grants Funding: Mantle offers grants (up to $20,000 in MNT) to early-stage projects, fostering a vibrant developer community.

2.4.3 Game 7

As gaming is a key focus for Mantle’s ecosystem development, Mantle has partnered with Game7 to launch a game accelerator program. Based on the Mantle Network infrastructure, Game7 provides game developers with essential tools, including an NFT marketplace, cross-chain bridging, and game DAOs. The collaboration aims to provide superior user experiences and ecosystem interconnectivity, driving the development of permissionless and interoperable game worlds.

2.4.4 Sozu Haus

In terms of developer engagement, Mantle has sponsored and hosted 26 global hackathons, as well as numerous technical seminars and online AMAs. Over 900 projects were submitted to the hackathons. Mantle has also organized six exclusive Sozu Haus events, which are part of Mantle’s mini accelerator and maker space program. Additionally, Mantle has hosted large global crypto events to attract top founders and developers.

2.4.5 Other Ecosystem Partners

Beyond its own extensive ecosystem, Mantle actively collaborates with other industry partners. These partners not only support the expansion of the Mantle ecosystem but also provide valuable resources in areas such as capital support, user traffic, developer resources, market trust, industry endorsements, and developer education.

For example, Mirana Ventures has continuously provided funding and resource support for the Mantle ecosystem. Mirana Ventures was also ranked among the Top 100 Investment Institutions in the 2023 RootDada awards. Their fund, with a management scale in the tens of millions of dollars, has established and incubated multiple projects. Notable investments include TON, Morpho, Zircuit, and Story Protocol. Additionally, Mantle is Eigenlayer’s exclusive technical partner.

In terms of the developer community, Moledao is also a strong supporter of Mantle’s ecosystem. Moledao focuses on providing resource matching and support for early-stage Web3 projects and developers. Through a series of Web3 educational courses, hackathons, and other offline events, Moledao has helped Mantle connect with and attract numerous excellent blockchain projects and developers. As a developer community, Moledao continues to provide Mantle with technical innovation support and talent resources, assisting in the rapid development and refinement of its blockchain ecosystem.

2.4.6 Ecosystem Incentives

Mantle’s large treasury (almost $3 billion, the second-largest globally) is a major source of its confidence and strength. The PoS interest revenue from the treasury is directly passed back to users, for example, through Eigenlayer’s restaking rewards, which serve as ecosystem incentives. This reward mechanism effectively increases user engagement in the ecosystem. Through interaction within the ecosystem or staking, users not only support ecosystem development but also share in the treasury’s revenue, contributing to a more dynamic and self-sustaining ecosystem.

3. Key Highlights

Over the past year, Mantle has demonstrated its strong competitive edge in the Layer 2 (L2) space through impressive growth metrics. For users at this stage, with the continued integration of the ecosystem and the arrival of cmETH and COOK, Mantle’s growth trajectory remains strong. In light of this foreseeable growth, we have the following key observations:

Strong Endorsement from Bybit: Thanks to the close relationship between Mantle and Bybit, outstanding projects within the Mantle ecosystem will have the opportunity to be listed on Bybit and gain exposure to a wider investor base through Bybit’s recommendations. For dApp development teams, this represents an incredibly attractive resource and exposure channel.


Support from the Largest Treasury: With nearly $3 billion in the Mantle Treasury, this fund is a powerful backing for projects built on the Mantle Network, providing a strong foundation for ecosystem development. Mantle is creating a more rewarding financial and consumer-focused on-chain application center, where the interest earnings from the treasury can provide additional subsidies to users as feedback.


Technological Architecture Advantages: Mantle’s modular design offers significant scalability and cost optimization advantages, making the network more flexible and open to innovation. 


Fourth Largest Ethereum LSD Product: Mantle’s top four TVL contributors are all from the DeFi space. Achieving liquidity integration, which is a key goal of DeFi, is critical. Mantle is dedicated to solving liquidity fragmentation and has made significant investments in the liquid staking domain. With advanced underlying design and strong ecosystem support, mETH has quickly grown into the fourth-largest Ethereum LSD product.


Thriving Gaming Ecosystem: To date, Mantle’s gaming sector has launched seven flagship products, with projects like Catizen and MetaCene excelling in their respective niches. Mantle plans to gradually release all its gaming products in the coming quarters, further accelerating ecosystem growth.


Comprehensive Support for Developers and Founders: The Web3 industry requires more innovation and cryptocurrency use cases. Mantle has implemented a variety of developer incentive programs, such as the Sozu Haus Hacker House and the $200 million EcoFund, actively scouting and supporting top-tier developer talent. For talented, creative, and passionate developers, Mantle is an ideal platform for growth.

As a cost-effective and future-proof Layer 2 project, Mantle has the potential to lead the development of on-chain transactions and applications, providing an ideal ecosystem for DeFi and decentralized applications. We should focus on Mantle’s potential as a Layer 2 solution and compare it within the broader public blockchain space. Its performance, ecosystem, TVL, and other metrics already surpass most Layer 1 projects. Given its short growth history, the strong backing of its treasury, and its commitment to “doing the right thing,” there is every reason to expect Mantle to bring exciting innovations to the Web3 world.

Perhaps, the next paradigm-shifting innovation will occur on Mantle?

References:

• L2Beat TVL Breakdown
• Cointelegraph: Increasing Ethereum Network Use
• Coinness News
• Mantle EcoFund
• Coinness News
• TokenPost: Mantle Network Blockchain for Scaling Ethereum
• Coinness News

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