The first quarter of 2024 has been a period of exceptional growth and innovation for Mantle, reflecting our commitment to redefining the DeFi landscape. Join us as we round up some on-chain metrics, significant milestones, and strategic developments that have marked an extraordinary start to the year.

Key On-Chain Metrics

Mantle Network Sets New TVL ATH

Since the launch of Mantle Network Mainnet Alpha, we've seen a consistent rise in total value locked (TVL), placing Mantle amongst the leading layer-2 (L2) solutions in the space. The end of 2023 marked a significant milestone, with Mantle achieving a TVL of $340 million. Throughout the first quarter of 2024, this growth trajectory continued, fueled by the development within Mantle Ecosystem. By March 12, 2024, Mantle Network achieved an all-time high in TVL of $917 million, representing a 168% increase from the start of the year.

Mantle LSP TVL

Mantle's Liquid Staking Protocol (LSP) also reached new all-time highs in TVL, and is currently the fourth-largest LSP. As of March 21, 2024, the TVL in Mantle LSP has increased by 422% since the beginning of the year.

Visit Mantle LSP here to stake your ETH to receive $mETH, a value-accumulating and permissionless ERC-20 receipt token that can easily be adopted by applications.

MNT Growth

The growth of Mantle Network's native token, $MNT, has also seen a significant uptick, driven by an expansion in its use cases across Mantle Ecosystem and increased user activity.

All three metrics shown in the table above have consistently increased throughout the first quarter. Notably, there’s been a substantial increase in the number of $MNT holders across both L1 and L2 platforms — rising by 71% to surpass the 1 million mark.

Ecosystem Analysis

Decentralized applications (dApps) within Mantle Network have also shown signs of strength throughout the first quarter. As of March 20, 2024, the top 10 dApps by TVL are as follows.

INIT Capital Leads dApp TVL

Leading the TVL leaderboard on Mantle Network is INIT Capital, a liquidity hook money market that launched at the beginning of Q1 2024. After a successful launch, the lending platform achieved a TVL peak of $75.32 million on March 12, 2024. This milestone highlights the traction the platform has gained over the first quarter.

INIT Capital is currently in Phase 2: Liquidity Hook, which allows users to leverage the active hook strategies available on its platform. The featured hook strategies include the $mETH looping hook and the 1delta hook. The upcoming Phase 3, titled “$INIT Distribution”, will mark the third and final stage of its launch. To start accumulating INIT points, visit INIT Capital now.

Mantle DEX Volume Continues to Rise

DeFi volume experienced notable growth, with the average daily DEX (Decentralized Exchange) volume increasing by 175.56% quarter-over-quarter to $31,518,861. Leading the way in DEX TVL are Agni Finance, Merchant Moe, and FusionX Finance.

Mantle Ecosystem Additions

Throughout 2023, Mantle welcomed several valuable additions to its ecosystem. And the first quarter of 2024 is no exception. Here is an updated Mantle Ecosystem map featuring the latest additions.

Explore the entire range of Mantle Network Ecosystem dApps here.

EcoFund Update

Mantle has continued on its journey to provide financial and strategic support to projects building on Mantle Network by continuing to deploy Mantle EcoFund. Here are some of the most recent projects that the EcoFund has invested in.

• IntentX - Intent-based DEX offering perpetual futures trading.
• Metacene - Next-gen blockchain post-apocalyptic MMORPG homeland for players.
• Lagrange State Committee - Lagrange’s state committee acts as a light client for optimistic rollup state that can be safely consumed by cross-chain applications without waiting for the seven day finalization window to conclude.

New Products & Offerings

As part of Mantle's mission to establish itself as a DeFi Paradise, our aim is to reward ecosystem participants and expand the use cases for Mantle's native assets, such as $MNT. This ambition led to the introduction of the Mantle Reward Station. Towards the end of the first quarter, we unveiled the Mantle Rewards Station, featuring the Mantle Sharding with ETH ena event. In this event, users can lock their $MNT on Mantle Network to unlock 2.5 billion Ethena Shards.

• Event Period
  • Warm-Up Phase: March 25, 2024, 10AM UTC - March 27, 2024, 9:59AM UTC
  • Official Lock-In Period: March 27, 2024, 10AM UTC - April 25, 2024, 10AM UTC

Lock Now

Please visit here for more information about the Mantle Sharding with ETH campaign.

Network Enhancements

One of Mantle's most significant milestones during Q1 was the Mainnet v2 Tectonic Upgrade, which brought many enhancements to Mantle Network. Here's a quick overview of the changes.

EIP-1559 Support

The integration of EIP-1559 into Mantle v2 Tectonic improves transaction fee price auctions, stabilizes block utilization, and bolsters network security.

Removal of Redundant Components

Mantle v2 Tectonic has helped streamline Mantle Network by removing redundant components, including the Data Transport Layer and Threshold Signature Scheme.

Predictable Block Time

The block generation of L2 is now transaction-independent and follows a fixed schedule, generating blocks every two seconds. This adjustment significantly enhances node performance and ensures consistent, predictable block times.

Block State Tagging

Mantle v2 Tectonic now incorporates the same tagging of blocks and block header states as OP Stack-based chains.

Migration of Native Tokens in L2

The flow of MNT tokens in L2 will no longer use the ERC-20 contract, meaning MNT will be a native Mantle Network L2 asset. This feature enhances the flow of MNT tokens within L2, providing a more integrated and efficient token ecosystem.

Meta Transaction

Mantle v2 Tectonic introduces Meta Transactions, designed to facilitate the payment of transaction fees on behalf of the users, effectively reducing the barriers to user participation.

Fee Optimization Strategy

Mantle v2 Tectonic enhances its fee optimization strategy by utilizing the tokenRatio parameter, which adjusts the impact of using $MNT for transaction fees. In addition, the estimateGas function has been refined to offer users an estimate of the total transaction cost directly.

Following the Mantle v2 Tectonic upgrade, there has been a significant reduction in fees across the network. To benefit from these lower fees, we remind users to adjust the priority fee settings in MetaMask.

Security Enhancements

To ensure maximum security and optimum network health, the Mantle v2 Tectonic upgrade underwent a series of audits. These audits were conducted by OpenZeppelin, Secure3, and Sigma Prime to ensure everything was in order. Additionally, a public bug bounty program powered by Secure3 was initiated on March 4, 2024.

Security is of utmost importance for Mantle Network as it contributes to a more robust network. This allows Mantle to maintain its record of experiencing no network outages, even when the network faces high transactions per second (TPS).

Major Events

This quarter has been eventful for Mantle, with our participation in many events, and it's just the beginning. We plan to maintain a strong presence in many more throughout the year. Here's a recap of some of the events we've attended so far.

• Crypto2030, Switzerland
• Blockchain to Government Conference (B2GC), Thailand
• Web3 Lunar New Year Meet-Up, Singapore
• ETHDenver, Denver
• ETHVietnam, Vietnam

Community

Besides connecting with the community at various events, Mantle has actively engaged with them by hosting and participating in several AMAs on X/Twitter with ecosystem collaborators. This has been part of our ongoing effort to inform the community about the latest developments of Mantle Network. If you haven't managed to catch all of them, head over to our blog to find our AMA recaps.

The first quarter concluded with our inaugural Community Townhall, providing us with the opportunity to discuss Mantle's latest and upcoming developments. Additionally, we offered listeners opportunities to win prizes, vote for their favorite projects, and engage directly in the conversation through an open discussion with some of the listeners.

To ensure you don't miss another AMA or Community Townhall, make sure you're following Mantle across all our social media channels:

• X/Twitter
• Discord
• Telegram

Sneak Peak Into Q2

As Mantle looks to carry this momentum into the remainder of 2024, here's a quick preview of what to expect as we move into the next quarter.

Mantle Rewards Station

The official lock-in period for the Mantle Sharding with ETH event ends on April 25, 2024, 10AM UTC, so there is plenty of time to get involved at the start of Q2. Also, stay tuned for further updates and campaigns we have in store for you.

Mantle Game Fest

Stay tuned for updates on Mantle’s Game Fest. We have some exciting developments in store for this event, so whether you're a gaming enthusiast or just curious about the GameFi landscape, you won't want to miss this.

Metaverse Gaming Platform Deployment on Mantle

While we’re discussing gaming, we have something exciting in store for you as we plan to deploy a Metaverse Gaming Platform on Mantle Network. Make sure to follow our social media channels closely for upcoming updates on this topic.

Mantle Missions

We’ve got an exciting community event coming up called Mantle Missions. This initiative invites you to get involved in a variety of activities, including games, contests, giveaways, social quests, and more. There are loads of cool prizes up for grabs, so make sure to stay updated on this one.

Upcoming Launches/ Deployments

The second quarter brings along with it many anticipated launches such as:

• Ethena will launch on the Mantle Network. Additionally, Ethena's token, $ENA, will be listed on selected centralized exchanges. Users will have the ability to swap Ethena shards for $ENA starting April 2, 2024.
• BEGINS≠YOUTH, a fictionalized depiction inspired by BTS’ “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life'', will be available on Mantle Network with Fingerlabs launching Xclusive.
• Explore yield opportunities with Pendle Finance as it joins the Mantle Network.
• Dive into the next-generation blockchain MMORPG with Metacene as Alpha 3 goes live.
• Participate in WLF Last Generation for a chance to win a share of $10,000 dedicated to Season Alpha.
• IntentX is set to launch on the Mantle Network, with its token, $INTX, being deployed simultaneously.
• Vertex Protocol, an orderbook DEX, will also make its debut on the Mantle Network.
• The second quarter will also see the deployment of MancakeSwap, an all-in-one DEX with permissionless pools on Mantle Network.

Q2 Events

Q2 is shaping up to be Mantle's busiest period in terms of events. Here are some you won't want to miss. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at these events.

• European Joint Conference on Theory and Practice of Software (ETAPS), Luxembourg
• Hack.Summit 2024, HK
• New Trends Summit, HK
• Blockchain Life 2024, Dubai
• Global Blockchain Show, Dubai
• Token2049, Dubai
• SEA Blockchain Week, Thailand
• Consensus 2024, US