Over the past day, the utility and governance token for Mantle, an Ethereum layer-2 network, has surged by 4%, outpacing the growth of native tokens from other major layer-2 blockchains. Mantle’s MNT token, which covers gas costs on its network and bestows governance rights to its holders, is now valued at 52 cents. This represents a significant increase from the token’s Monday debut at 48 cents, as per CoinGecko’s data.
In contrast, ARB and OP, native tokens for the competing layer-2 Ethereum scaling systems, Arbitrum and Optimism, respectively, saw a drop in value over the past 24 hours.
What differentiates Mantle from its competitors is its incorporation of EigenLayer’s EigenDA, resulting in a unique three-layer modular blockchain structure, claims Nansen research analyst Sandra Leow. Ethereum manages the settlement and consensus layer in this configuration, EigenDA guarantees data accessibility, while Mantle Network oversees the execution layer.
Notably, Mantle used to be BitDAO, the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) with the largest treasury in the crypto world. In line with a “One brand, One token” model, it rebranded itself and voted to swap its BIT tokens for MNT tokens on May 19.
Support for the token migration has come from exchanges Bybit, MEXC, and Huobi. According to Etherscan, Bybit holds the third-largest cache of MNT, amounting to over 15% of the total supply. In addition, sister companies Jump Capital and Jump Trading have jointly accrued over $5.3 million in MNT tokens after converting BIT to MNT in several transactions.
In a show of faith in the network, crypto users have deposited approximately 4,200 ETH and 14 million MNT tokens (an amount exceeding $15 million) into a liquidity pool on leading DEX, Uniswap.
The mantle of victory in the layer-2 field still remains one to be claimed – a space rife with competition, but still indicating sufficient growth opportunity. Mantle, with its distinctive layering approach and supported token conversion, seems to be setting a precedent in the market. However, the fluctuating prices of governing tokens in this highly liquid ecosystem could well turn the tide in unexpected ways. The verdict on market superiority, for now, remains suspended.
Source: Coindesk
