| Authors | Mantle Team (BitDAO) |
|---|---|
| Year | 2023 |
| Project | Mantle Network |
| License | MIT |
| Official Source | https://whitepaper.mantle.xyz/ |
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Mantle Network is an Ethereum Layer 2 described in a 2023 technical reference manual by the Mantle team (formerly BitDAO’s engineering arm). Mantle is an OP Stack fork — it uses Optimism’s optimistic rollup architecture — with one key architectural departure: instead of posting transaction data to Ethereum calldata (blobs), Mantle uses EigenDA as its data availability layer.
This makes Mantle one of the first production rollups to use an external DA layer (rather than Ethereum DA), pursuing lower DA costs at the price of additional trust assumptions (EigenDA operator honesty).
> Technical Reference Manual: whitepaper.mantle.xyz
Publication and Context
BitDAO was one of the largest DAOs by treasury assets ($2B+), established through a partnership with Bybit exchange. Bybit committed 0.025% of trading volume to the BitDAO treasury. BitDAO’s governance token (BIT) rebranded to MNT when BitDAO pivoted to building Mantle Network in 2023.
The decision to build an L2 rather than fund existing chains came from BitDAO stakeholders’ desire to create value specifically for the MNT ecosystem. Mantle Network mainnet launched July 14, 2023.
The OP Stack (Optimism’s open-source rollup SDK) was chosen as the foundation because:
- Production-proven security (Optimism main chain)
- Rapid deployment (vs. building a rollup from scratch)
- EVM compatibility (Solidity contracts work unchanged)
OP Stack Foundation
Mantle uses the OP Stack components:
Sequencer: A centralized sequencer (Mantle team-operated) that orders transactions and produces L2 blocks. Transactions are submitted to the sequencer off-chain; only compressed batches are posted to Ethereum/EigenDA.
Fraud Proofs: Mantle uses optimistic execution with a 7-day challenge window (identical to Optimism mainnet). Verifiers can submit fraud proofs during this window if the sequencer produces an invalid state transition.
L1 Settlement: Transaction data is verified and state roots are finalized on Ethereum. The L1 is the ultimate source of truth for Mantle’s state.
EVM Compatibility: Full EVM and Solidity compatibility via the OP Stack EVM.
EigenDA Integration
The key Mantle-specific modification: EigenDA for data availability.
Standard Rollup DA (Ethereum)
Mantle with EigenDA
- Mantle sequencer sends batch data to EigenDA disperser
- EigenDA disperser encodes data using KZG polynomial commitments
- Data chunks are distributed to EigenDA operator nodes (Ethereum restakers)
- Operators sign attestations confirming data availability
- Only the KZG commitment and signature aggregation are posted to Ethereum (not the full data)
Security tradeoff: Data availability security now depends on EigenDA operators (restakers) rather than Ethereum validators. EigenDA operators could theoretically collude to withhold data, preventing fraud proofs. This is a weaker DA guarantee than Ethereum DA, partially mitigated by EigenDA’s slashing mechanism.
Cost benefit: EigenDA data costs are significantly lower than Ethereum calldata or EIP-4844 blobs at comparable throughput.
MNT Token
MNT (formerly BIT) serves dual purposes:
- Gas token: Transaction fees on Mantle are paid in MNT (not ETH)
- Governance: MNT holders vote on DAO proposals and network upgrades
Gas in MNT (not ETH): Most EVM L2s (Arbitrum, Optimism, zkSync) use ETH as their gas token. Mantle’s choice of MNT creates native demand for MNT from network users — every transaction requires holding MNT.
Treasury backing: Mantle’s DAO controls a multi-billion dollar treasury in MNT and other assets (ETH, USDC, BTC), providing funds for ecosystem grants, liquidity mining, and development.
Key Technical Properties
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Rollup type | Optimistic (OP Stack fork) |
| Challenge window | 7 days |
| Data availability | EigenDA (not Ethereum) |
| EVM compatible | Yes (full) |
| Gas token | MNT |
| Sequencer | Centralized (Mantle team) |
| Finality on Ethereum | ~7 days (optimistic) |
| Mainnet launch | July 2023 |
Reality Check
Mantle achieved meaningful adoption quickly, partly due to BitDAO’s ecosystem resources:
- Mantle deployed substantial liquidity incentives to attract DeFi protocols
- MNT TVL and transaction count grew to top-10 L2 by some metrics within 6 months of launch
Honest limitations:
- EigenDA trust assumption: Using EigenDA for DA adds a trust assumption not present in Ethereum-native rollups. If EigenDA operators withhold data, fraud proofs cannot be submitted and user funds could be at risk. EigenDA’s restaking-based security is newer and less battle-tested than Ethereum consensus.
- Centralized sequencer: The Mantle sequencer is centralized, creating liveness and censorship risks. Decentralized sequencer plans exist but were not implemented at launch.
- MNT gas token: Requiring MNT for gas creates friction for Ethereum users accustomed to ETH-denominated fees; bridges and wallet software must handle MNT explicitly.
- OP Stack complexity: Mantle inherits OP Stack’s slow finality (7-day exits); the EigenDA optimization reduces costs but does not improve finality speed.
Legacy
Mantle demonstrated that the OP Stack can be forked and deployed by well-resourced DAO ecosystems without deep rollup engineering expertise. The EigenDA integration is an early production example of modular DA applied to an optimistic rollup — a design that may become more common as EigenDA matures. BitDAO’s treasury strategy (using protocol revenue to fund blockchain development) is a notable DAO operational model.
Related Terms
Research
- Mantle Team. (2023). Mantle Network Technical Reference Manual. whitepaper.mantle.xyz.
— Primary documentation; describes OP Stack architecture, EigenDA integration, MNT gas token mechanics, and treasury governance structure.
- Tian, S., et al. (EigenLabs). (2023). EigenDA: Hyperscale Data Availability for Rollups. EigenLabs.
— EigenDA whitepaper; describes the DA system Mantle uses; covers KZG polynomial commitments, restaking-based security, and the operator model.
- Buterin, V., et al. (2022). EIP-4844: Shard Blob Transactions. EIPs.ethereum.org.
— Proto-danksharding; the Ethereum-native DA approach that Mantle chose to replace with EigenDA; understanding EIP-4844 contextualizes Mantle’s DA cost comparison.