Mantle Network emerged from BitDAO — one of the largest DAOs by treasury during the 2021-2022 cycle, with $4.5B in assets including large BYN and FTX token positions (FTX collapse significantly impacted the treasury). BitDAO voted to rebrand as Mantle in 2023, consolidating governance under the MNT token and launching the Mantle L2 mainnet in July 2023. Mantle’s technical architecture is modular: it separates execution (Mantle Network), data availability (EigenDA, rather than posting all data to Ethereum), and consensus (Ethereum). This reduces cost but introduces a trust assumption on EigenDA’s data availability committee. Mantle’s massive treasury funds ecosystem development, integrations, and emerging AI/gaming verticals.
BitDAO Origins
BitDAO was a decentralized investment DAO funded primarily by Bybit exchange — Peter Thiel and Founders Fund also contributed:
Formation: 2021
Treasury peak: ~$4.5B (BYN + BIT token + FTX tokens + ETH/BTC/stablecoins)
Governance: BIT token (1B supply)
BitDAO initiatives:
- Invested in/incubated: Game7 (gaming), zkDAO (ZK research), Agora Finance, EduDAO (EdTech)
- Large treasury managed by BIT holders via Snapshot voting
FTX collapse impact (2022):
- BitDAO held significant FTX tokens (FTT) in treasury
- FTX collapse destroyed the FTT position; treasury declined significantly
- Net impact: ~$100M+ in losses; not catastrophic for the DAO but a significant setback
Rebrand decision (2023):
- BitDAO community voted to rebrand to Mantle
- BIT token migrated to MNT (1:1 convertible, same supply)
- Consolidated brand around L2 network development
MNT Token
Supply: 6.219 billion MNT (converted 1:1 from BIT)
Distribution (inherited BIT):
- Bybit: ~450M BIT originally (from founding)
- Community: Majority allocated via BitDAO treasury/governance
- Not a VC token — allocated via DAO
MNT utilities:
- Governance: Vote on Mantle protocol and DAO treasury decisions
- Gas token on Mantle L2 (pay transaction fees in MNT, not just ETH — in a hybrid model)
- Staking: Participate in protocol security and earn yield
Treasury:
- Even post-FTX, Mantle DAO controls ~$2.5B+ treasury in ETH, USDC, MNT, and other assets
- Among the 3-5 largest DAO treasuries in crypto
Technical Architecture
Mantle Network uses a modular architecture:
Execution Layer
- Fork of the Optimism OP Stack (same tech as Base, Mode, OP Chains)
- EVM bytecode equivalence: existing contracts deploy without changes
Data Availability Layer (Unusual)
- Transaction data stored on EigenDA’s operator set (150+ restakers)
- EigenDA is much cheaper than posting full data to Ethereum mainnet
- Trust tradeoff: EigenDA’s security relies on EigenLayer restaker honesty, not pure Ethereum security
- Result: Lower gas costs but reduced data availability security vs. native Ethereum calldata
Settlement Layer
- Fraud proof window: 7 days (standard for optimistic rollup)
Why This Matters
Mantle Ecosystem
The ecosystem is made up of the following components.
Mantle LSP (Liquid Staking Protocol)
- Users stake ETH → receive mETH (accrues staking rewards)
- mETH used across Mantle DeFi ecosystem as collateral
- Among the faster-growing LSTs alongside Lido’s stETH and Rocket Pool’s rETH
- Part of Mantle’s “super app” strategy: stake ETH → earn yield → use mETH in DeFi on Mantle
DeFi on Mantle
- Merchant Moe: ve(3,3) DEX (Solidly model)
- INIT Capital: Lending protocol
- Lendle: Aave fork on Mantle
- Mantle treasury regularly votes on ecosystem incentives to attract DeFi TVL
Gaming and AI Focus
- Game7 (from BitDAO era) focuses on gaming infrastructure
- AI inference applications explored: using on-chain economics for AI compute jobs
- Several GameFi projects deployed on Mantle given treasury grants
Mantle DAO Governance
Treasury management:
- DAO votes on how to deploy the $2.5B+ treasury
- Ecosystem grants for protocols deploying on Mantle
- Investments in adjacent projects
- Treasury diversification (ETH, stablecoins, blue chip DeFi)
Governance participation challenges:
- BYN/BIT/MNT concentration in Bybit-related addresses
- Real risk of token holder apathy — few DAO members vote
- Mantle Governance Committee (elected) helps manage day-to-day operations
Comparison to Other OP Stack L2s
| Mantle | Base | Mode | Optimism | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DA layer | EigenDA | Ethereum | Ethereum | Ethereum |
| Gas token | MNT + ETH | ETH | ETH | ETH |
| Backing | BitDAO DAO | Coinbase | Community | OP Foundation |
| Treasury | ~$2.5B DAO | N/A | Small | OP DAO |
| Focus | Gaming/AI | Consumer/DeFi | DeFi | General |
| TVL | ~$100-500M | $1.5B+ | $50-100M | $700M+ |
Mantle’s EigenDA choice differentiates it technically; its DAO treasury gives it funding sustainability that most L2s lack.
How to Use Mantle Network
Bridge:
- Visit bridge.mantle.xyz
- Connect MetaMask
- Bridge ETH from Ethereum to Mantle
Stake ETH for mETH:
- Visit meth.mantle.xyz
- Stake ETH → receive mETH + staking yield
DeFi:
- Use Agni Finance for trading
- Use Lendle for lending/borrowing
- Provide liquidity for MNT incentives
Get ETH at . Secure with .
Social Media Sentiment
Mantle has a mixed reputation. The treasury size (from BitDAO era) is real and provides genuine funding capabilities — Mantle doesn’t need to worry about runway the way most L2s do, which is a meaningful competitive advantage. The OP Stack foundation means EVM compatibility is solid and developer tooling works. The EigenDA choice is technically interesting but adds an additional trust assumption that purists criticize. The MNT token is frequently discussed as having poor price performance relative to the treasury value: if Mantle DAO has $2.5B in assets but MNT market cap < treasury, a "governance attack to liquidate treasury" is theoretically profitable — a known concern that governance structure must address. Overall, Mantle is seen as a well-funded, competent L2 execution that lacks a distinctive narrative to separate it from the crowded OP Stack field.
Last updated: 2026-04
Related Terms
Sources
Kalodner, H., et al. (2018). Arbitrum: Scalable, Private Smart Contracts. USENIX Security.
Al-Bassam, M., et al. (2019). Fraud and Data Availability Proofs. arXiv.
EigenLayer Whitepaper. (2023). EigenLayer: The Restaking Collective.
Hafid, A., Hafid, A. S., & Samih, M. (2020). Scaling Blockchains: A Comprehensive Survey. IEEE Access.
Werner, S. M., et al. (2022). SoK: Decentralized Finance (DeFi). arXiv.