In-Depth Analysis of Manta Pacific's TVL Surge
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In-Depth Analysis of Manta Pacific's TVL Surge
Introduction to Manta Network's blockchain advantages and early-stage opportunities.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Lucky, Core Contributor at Biteye
Editor: Crush, Core Contributor at Biteye
Originally published on January 2, 2024
01 Introduction to Manta Pacific
The highly anticipated Blast recently saw its futures price on Aevo surge from a low of $3.5 to $15.5 within just one week as TVL continued to rise, before pulling back to $7—clearly indicating that the market is beginning to recognize the native yield-focused L2 model.
Can Manta, which has also recently launched its own native yield initiative through New Paradigm with backing from New Paradigm Capital, surpass Blast? Let’s first examine what advantages Manta holds and where early adopters may find greater收益 opportunities compared to Blast. 👇🏻
Manta Network is a modular blockchain designed for zero-knowledge (ZK) applications, founded by an experienced team from prestigious institutions such as Harvard University and MIT.
Manta Network has secured investments from numerous top-tier Web3 funds, including Binance Labs and Polychain Capital.
Manta Pacific is an Ethereum Layer 2 specifically built for ZK applications. Currently based on the OP Stack, it is fully compatible with the EVM environment and Solidity programming language.
In the future, Manta Pacific will transition to zkEVM using Polygon CDK, leverage Manta's universal circuits to deliver ZK-as-a-Service, and utilize Celestia’s modular data availability layer to achieve lower gas fees.
Manta Pacific offers an ideal environment for supporting ZK applications. Solidity developers can integrate ZK functionality into their existing applications via SDK or API calls—no cryptography expertise or new languages required.
(Note: Manta’s Universal Circuits are a library of zero-knowledge proof (ZK) circuits designed for general-purpose use cases. They provide ZK-as-a-Service for Solidity developers, enabling ZK features in existing apps—such as compliant DeFi payments, Web3 social identity verification, and provably fair in-game shuffling—with just a few lines of code. Developers can easily deploy EVM-native ZK applications on Manta Pacific using these universal circuits.)
Manta Pacific launched its mainnet Alpha version on September 12, 2023, and is currently the third-largest OP Stack L2, behind only Optimism and Base. Once fully transitioned to zkEVM, Manta Pacific could become the largest L2 network based on Polygon zkEVM.
Manta Pacific’s development roadmap consists of four distinct phases:
(1) Manta Pacific Alpha (Ethereum L2)
In its current form, Manta Pacific operates as an Optimistic Rollup on Ethereum, leveraging Ethereum’s data availability (DA).
It uses Manta Network’s Universal Circuits, allowing developers to quickly build and deploy ZK-enabled applications using Solidity and the Universal Circuits SDK.
As a result, all existing Ethereum smart contracts can be seamlessly ported to Manta Pacific while unlocking new use cases powered by ZK, such as verifiable DID/KYC, fully on-chain ZK games, and synergies between DeFi and decentralized identity.
(2) Manta Pacific Alpha II (+Celestia DA)
In this phase, Manta Pacific will integrate Celestia’s modular data availability (DA) layer to scale data throughput, significantly reducing gas costs for users interacting with dApps in the ecosystem.
Celestia’s cost scales sub-linearly with Ethereum gas prices, making it far cheaper than Ethereum’s current DA costs.
(3) Manta Pacific Beta (+Transition to zkEVM)
This phase involves Manta Pacific transitioning fully to zkEVM, utilizing Polygon’s ZK prover technology.
The final architecture will incorporate Manta’s Universal Circuits to enable built-in ZK features for broad ZK application support, combining Validium mode, Celestia DA, zkEVM, and Polygon CDK for maximum scalability.
(4) Manta Pacific Production Mainnet I (+Universal Circuits 2.0)
In the final stage, Manta Pacific will officially launch its production-level mainnet. The Universal Circuits will be further upgraded to reduce gas costs even more and unlock novel ZK-powered applications through innovative ZK techniques.
According to its roadmap, Manta Pacific aims to become the first zkEVM L2 to transition from Optimistic Rollup to Validium, enabled by Polygon CDK. This design drastically reduces gas fees via Celestia DA while enhancing security through cryptographic proofs anchored in Ethereum consensus and on-chain activity—making it one of the most forward-thinking L2s today.
02 New Paradigm Campaign
Recently, Manta launched New Paradigm—a liquidity incentive program across its ecosystem—similar to Blast by Blur. Users stake assets to earn potential future token airdrops.
However, compared to Blast, New Paradigm offers richer ecosystem integration and a much shorter payback period. Participants could receive airdrops as early as January 2024, whereas Blast’s airdrop may not arrive until May. As a result, capital efficiency in New Paradigm is significantly higher than in Blast.
(1) Expected Rewards Include:
New Paradigm offers five sources of returns: fixed yield, NFT incentives, and composability-driven叠加 yields unique to the L2 DeFi ecosystem.
1. After bridging ETH or USDC into the Manta ecosystem, users earn approximately 5% interest—even if the assets remain idle, similar to Blast;
2. Staking assets qualifies participants for future $MANTA token airdrops;
3. Interacting with projects within the Manta ecosystem grants eligibility for potential project-specific airdrops;
4. Using Stone (from ETH) and wUSDM (from USDC) in Manta-based protocols like lending platforms generates additional yield;
5. Optional stETH restaking (to be added depending on whether Eigenlayer lifts its restaking cap) provides additional yield.
(Note: Deposited ETH becomes Stone; deposited USDC becomes wUSDM. For subsequent interactions requiring gas, users can save on fees by using third-party bridges like MiniBridge to transfer to Manta Network.)
To qualify for mystery box fragments, deposits must be made through the official campaign page. However, gas for follow-up interactions on Manta can be bridged via third-party solutions: https://minibridge.chaineye.tools/
(2) Participation Steps:
1) Bridge ETH or USDC to Manta Pacific and deposit to earn yield and mystery box fragments. Deposit period open until January 2024;
2) Within 24 hours of deposit, users receive STONE and wUSDM on Manta Pacific. Earliest $MANTA airdrop redemption available in January 2024 via NFT;
3) After 69 days from the $MANTA distribution, users can redeem ETH and USDC using STONE and wUSDM;
For a detailed guide to maximize收益, see Biteye’s 【Best Strategy Guide for Manta New Paradigm 📚】
The New Paradigm deposit campaign is now entering its final sprint. Interested users can use our Biteye referral code.
(Note: Joining Biteye’s group unlocks exclusive rewards: 1. Half of referral rewards go to group members; 2. 25%-50% of the 25,871 $MANTA granted to Biteye will be distributed to group members as incentives.)
03 StakeStone and Mountain Protocol
In the New Paradigm campaign, ETH staking yield comes from StakeStone, while USDC yield originates from Mountain Protocol. Below is an introduction to these two key protocols in the Manta ecosystem:
(1) StakeStone
StakeStone is a cross-chain Liquid Staking Token (LST) protocol focused on building a decentralized, all-in-one staking solution and a cross-chain liquidity market for LSTs. Backed by Hashkey Capital and audited by Secure3Audit.
https://github.com/Secure3Audit/Secure3Academy/blob/main/audit_reports/StakeStone/StakeStone_final_Secure3_Audit_Report.pdf
Users deposit ETH to receive STONE. For example, if User A deposits 100 ETH for STONE, and after one year 1 STONE equals 1.04 ETH, they can redeem 104 ETH using 100 STONE from StakeStone.
Upon deposit, users instantly receive STONE. The deposited ETH enters a vault contract and waits for deployment. Once deployed, the ETH is sent to Lido for stETH, which is then held in StakeStone’s strategy vault.
In the future, sETH may be restaked via Eigenlayer to generate additional yield for STONE holders.
The total ETH deposited into StakeStone continues to grow steadily, reaching 225,498 ETH (~$515M).
(https://dune.com/HolyMoon/stakestone)
(2) Mountain Protocol
Mountain Protocol is an institutional-grade, compliant stablecoin yield protocol, backed by Coinbase Ventures and audited by OpenZeppelin and other leading firms.
Its issued stablecoin, USDM, is backed by U.S. short-term Treasury bills—one of the safest asset classes globally.
USDC and USDT are also primarily backed by U.S. Treasuries. According to Bluechip, a stablecoin risk rating agency, USDM shares the same risk rating as DAI. Thus, Mountain Protocol combines both safety and regulatory compliance.
During New Paradigm, when users deposit USDC, they automatically receive wUSDM (Wrapped USDM) on Manta Pacific—similar to Lido’s wstETH.
During the campaign, users can consider "yield farming" wUSDM in other protocols. Like any ERC20 token, wUSDM can interact freely with various smart contracts, dApps, and wallets on the L2.
According to DefiLlama, USDM’s issuance has reached $136M—significantly boosted by its collaboration with Manta.
(https://defillama.com/protocol/mountain-protocol)
04 Ecosystem Data and Key Projects
According to L2 Beat, Manta’s TVL has reached $559M, surpassing popular L2s like Linea and Starknet, ranking sixth overall.
On-chain metrics show nearly 7 million transactions on Manta, with over 446,454 unique wallet addresses. Daily active users have seen significant growth over the past three months.
(https://analytix.web3go.xyz/layout/dashboardDetail/3a6f41b3-bb1c-43b1-a1e8-bd1158033e31)
Currently, Manta Pacific hosts over 200 ecosystem projects, most of which have not yet launched tokens. With New Paradigm attracting a large influx of new users and substantial capital being locked on-chain, this capital will circulate actively within the ecosystem, driving engagement and fostering loyal user adoption.
Below are highlights of some key Manta ecosystem projects:
1. QuickSwap: The highest-volume DEX on Manta and one of the largest and most well-known DEXs in the Polygon ecosystem.
2. iZUMi Finance: A multi-chain DeFi protocol offering one-stop liquidity-as-a-service (LaaS), featuring an innovative discrete liquidity AMM model. Raised over $50M from investors including IOSG Ventures, Distributed Global, Hashkey Capital, and BIXIN Ventures.
3. LayerBank: The largest lending protocol on Manta, audited by Peckshield, with TVL reaching $265M. Also deployed on Linea and Scroll, but currently holds most of its TVL on Manta.
4. Symbiosis: A cross-chain DEX and liquidity protocol, raised $2M from DWF Labs, Shima Capital, Binance Labs, Dragonfly, and Amber Group.
5. PacificSwap: A DEX protocol using the ve(3,3) model based on PancakeSwap, employing the innovative CLAMM algorithm.
6. AsMatch: A ZK-powered online dating app where users swipe left or right to match. Users can input their zkSBT ZK Proof Key to verify on-chain behavior and identity—falling under the Social category on Manta.
7. Orbiter Finance: A decentralized rollup bridge for transferring native Ethereum assets, serving as critical infrastructure for Layer 2. One of the largest cross-chain bridges, raised $3.2M from Starkware and Amber Group.
8. Minibridge: A cross-chain bridge optimized for small transfers, offering low fees and fast settlement. Rated as users’ favorite bridge on dappsheriff and offering 50% fee discount during New Paradigm. Winner at EthGlobal Shanghai 2023.
05 Conclusion
With the anticipated $MANTA token launch approaching in 2024, the upcoming airdrop is poised to boost attention around L2 narratives in Q1. Combined with Manta’s next-phase integration with Celestia, the dual advantages of modular blockchain architecture and ZK-EVM position Manta uniquely.
Given that most ecosystem projects have not yet launched tokens, coupled with strong backing from Binance and significantly less on-chain competition compared to chains like zkSync, actively participating in Manta’s ecosystem presents a high-return opportunity—boosting asset收益 while positioning for future project airdrops. This makes it a highly strategic move at this stage.
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