Mantle rolls out liquid staking protocol on Ethereum mainnet

DAO-led blockchain developer Coat MNT

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has launched a liquid staking protocol on the Ethereum mainnet.

The protocol allows users to deposit ETH and participate in network staking via validator nodes. Originating from a proposal at the Mantle governance forum in July 2023, the protocol allows users to stake ether and receive Mantle-staked ether (mETH) as a token representing their stake.

The protocol is managed by Mantle’s decentralized autonomous organization and represents Mantle’s expansion following the deployment of a Layer 2 network.

Mantle began rolling out the liquid staking protocol (LSP) mainnet contracts in a limited alpha phase in early October. The project has since moved to a non-consent phase, widening access and participation.

Diversification of liquid staking solutions

Liquid staking offers users the benefit of freeing up capital from staked assets. However, its widespread use on Ethereum has led to a concentration of ether interests among major providers such as Lido, Coinbase, Binance and others. The Mantle team claims that it wants to broaden the range of solutions available to address this problem of stake concentration.

“The concentration of ETH staking is the result of a network effect through a feedback loop of increasing brand awareness and use cases,” said Jordi Alexander, Chief Alchemist at Mantle. “By focusing on the adoption of mETH in LSDfi, both in the Mantle ecosystem and beyond, and its capital efficiency in maintaining the highest sustainable yield, Mantle LSP aims to be part of the solution by creating more options for users. ”

Mantle DAO, following the approval of the board proposal MIP-25 chose to withdraw ether from its treasury in August using its own protocol. This move complements the DAO’s existing $80 million in ETH staked at Lido Finance, the largest liquid staking protocol by assets under management.

After merging with BitDAO in May 2023, Mantle owns one of the community’s most important cryptocurrency treasuries. According to DeepDAO this is the case includes assets of $470 million in ether and over $200 million in stablecoins.