New Public Chain Journey: Token Bridge Steps and Potential Rewards
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New Public Chain Journey: Token Bridge Steps and Potential Rewards
Although the chain is new, the players remain the same old group as before under unchanged macro conditions.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: dt, DODO Research
This summer saw a surge of new blockchains in the crypto world—from Mantle, Linea, and Base launching in July to Sei, opBNB, and Shibarium in early August—alongside Starknet’s “Quantum Leap” upgrade, making this summer exceptionally vibrant in the public chain space. For many on-chain users, new chains mean fresh opportunities, emerging projects, and most importantly, new tokens.
Below we will explore how to bridge assets to these new public chains and examine their current infrastructure and potential opportunities:
Starknet
Starknet previously faced criticism for its extremely slow transaction finality. However, after the Quantum Leap upgrade, user experience has significantly improved, contributing to a substantial rise in Total Value Locked (TVL), peaking at $200M and currently stabilizing around $100M—ranking sixth among all Layer 2 networks.
Users can follow Starknet's official guide to access the network. The ecosystem remains relatively sparse, with only three major DEXs—JediSwap, mySwap, and 10KSwap—leading in TVL. Starknet-based gaming projects also warrant attention, particularly Realms (for Adventurers), which aims to build an open-source, composable multiplayer on-chain game. $LORDS is the project’s utility token and one of the few existing tokens within the Starknet ecosystem. For a deeper dive into Realms, refer to SaulDataman’s "Realms X Bibliotheca Research" article.
Backed by strong investors and significant funding, Starknet is widely anticipated as a potential future airdrop opportunity. Active participation may yield unexpected rewards.
Mantle
Mantle is an Ethereum L2 incubated by BitDAO and closely tied to the Bybit exchange. It announced the opening of its Mainnet Alpha during mid-July’s EthCC conference. Unlike other L2s, Mantle uses its native token $MNT—not $ETH—as gas. $MNT was created via a 1:1 swap from BitDAO’s previous token $BIT. Mantle currently holds approximately $86M in TVL.
Due to its close relationship with Bybit, users can directly withdraw funds from the Bybit exchange to Mantle—a rare advantage for a newly launched chain. Official bridges support cross-chain transfers of $MNT, $ETH, and other mainnet assets, while third-party options include orbiter.finance and Symbiosis.
Mantle has not attracted mainstream DeFi protocols, and no established projects have deployed yet. Among native projects, Agni Finance and FusionX Finance—both DEXs—lead in TVL. Memecoins like $MINU initially gained traction but have since declined significantly.
Unlike many L2s without issued tokens, Mantle launched with a protocol token, resulting in fewer airdrop hunters. Despite this, achieving solid TVL is commendable. Future success hinges on Bybit’s level of support; so far, no native ecosystem tokens have been listed on the exchange.
Linea
Developed by ConsenSys and utilizing ZK Rollup technology, Layer 2 network Linea also opened its Mainnet Alpha to the public during EthCC. Nearly a month later, performance has been underwhelming, with TVL standing at just $34M—ranking 13th among all L2s.
Thanks to its integration with MetaMask—pre-configured by default—users can easily switch to Linea without manually adding network parameters. Assets can be bridged via the official bridge or third-party solutions such as orbiter.finance, rhino.fi, and Symbiosis.
The ecosystem is dominated by DEXs and lending platforms, but due to the lack of oracle integrations, lending offerings remain limited. Only KyberSwap, among established protocols, has deployed. Overall, Linea’s ecosystem appears barren compared to other L2s, largely populated by airdrop farmers rather than real users, and lacks even a notable memecoin.
Base
Launched by Coinbase, Base stands out as the top performer among these new chains. Within less than a month of launch, TVL surpassed $200M and now sits around $250M—ranking fifth among L2s. Built on OP Stack, Base allows seamless migration for many projects. Major DeFi protocols including Uniswap, Compound, and Aave have already deployed or are actively deploying on Base.
Accessing Base can be done through official or third-party bridges. Although Coinbase Exchange does not yet support direct ETH deposits/withdrawals to Base, integration is expected soon. Due to Optimistic Rollup design, withdrawals via the official bridge require a seven-day challenge period, whereas third-party bridges like orbiter.finance, synapse, and aggregator bungee.exchange offer faster alternatives.
Beyond established protocols, Base hosts native innovations such as the highly popular friend.tech. More derivative projects around it are expected to emerge. Additionally, Aerodrome—the upcoming Ve33 DEX developed by Velodrome (the top TVL protocol on OP)—is highly anticipated. Even before launch, it has partnered with cross-chain projects like Thales, Liquity, and QiDAO, signaling strong potential upon release.
Sei
Unlike recent L2 launches, Sei is a high-throughput parallelized Layer 1 blockchain built on Cosmos and was Binance’s latest Launchpool project. On its first day, $SEI debuted on multiple exchanges. Alongside ongoing airdrop campaigns, TVL has risen to approximately $3M.
Sei is currently conducting an airdrop targeting active users from six networks: Solana, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, BNB Chain, and Osmosis. Eligible users who bridge funds to Sei have a chance to receive varying amounts of $SEI tokens. Supported bridges include Cosmos IBC, Wormhole, and Axelar.
opBNB
opBNB is part of Binance’s BNB Chain roadmap and officially opened for use on August 17, 2023. It is an Optimistic Rollup L2 built atop Binance Smart Chain (BSC) using OP Stack technology. Backed by Binance, it attracted initial attention but currently reports a modest TVL of only $840K.
Currently, Binance Exchange does not support direct deposits/withdrawals to opBNB, requiring users to rely on bridges. Due to its use of Optimistic Rollup, the official bridge enforces a seven-day withdrawal window from opBNB back to BSC. Third-party bridges such as rhino.fi and Polyhedra Network provide alternative options.
The ecosystem is primarily composed of DEXs like Binary Swap, with no major BSC-native protocols having migrated yet. While numerous memecoins launched on day one, most have since faded amid cooling market sentiment. Future development depends on Binance’s strategic positioning and potential incentive programs from its ecosystem fund.
Shibarium
Highly anticipated and in preparation for nearly a year, Shibarium—the Ethereum Layer 2 chain developed by the Shiba Inu team—launched on August 17 but immediately encountered issues. Officials reported that traffic exceeded expectations, forcing the network into “fail-safe mode,” causing bridge malfunctions and leaving over $1.7 million in user assets stranded. The chain has since been suspended to ensure fund security.
Cross-chain funds remain inaccessible to users. Lead developers state the network is “almost ready to reopen to the public” and mechanisms have been implemented to prevent future outages, though no specific recovery timeline has been announced.
Author’s View
While the chains are new, the players remain largely the same—especially in unchanged macro conditions. Even project teams are often identical, merely re-launching or migrating across different chains. New public chains essentially represent the same set of users and capital shifting venues to continue their competitive dynamics. Each new chain follows a near-identical SOP: first DEXs, then memecoins, lending protocols, IDO launchpads—the same cycle repeats across chains.
Moreover, because most of these chains launched simultaneously, liquidity has become increasingly fragmented. Competition has shifted from protocol-to-protocol to chain-to-chain. Ultimately, the winner will be determined by superior backing and foundational infrastructure support. In a bear market marked by shrinking liquidity, typically only one chain emerges dominant. Winner-takes-all: deep liquidity attracts whales and strong developers alike.
Only when a breakout project emerges—one beyond the standard SOP playbook (whose moats are too weak to withstand competition from heavyweights like Uniswap or Aave)—can a positive feedback loop begin, spawning derivative projects built around it. Currently, BASE—with backing from Coinbase and the emergence of the viral friend.tech—stands as the clear阶段性 winner.
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