Mantle rolls out liquid staking protocol on Ethereum mainnet

DAO-led blockchain developer Mantle MNT -2.69% has launched a liquid staking protocol on the Ethereum mainnet.

The protocol will allow users to deposit ETH and participate in network staking through validator nodes. Originating from a proposal in 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.

Governed by the Mantle decentralized autonomous organization, the protocol represents Mantle’s expansion following its deployment of a Layer 2 network. 

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

Diversifying liquid staking solutions

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

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

Mantle DAO, following the approval of governance proposal MIP-25 in August, has elected to stake ether from its treasury using its own protocol. This move supplements the DAO’s existing $80 million in ETH staked with Lido Finance, the largest liquid staking protocol by assets under management.

Having merged with BitDAO in May 2023, Mantle holds one of the most significant community treasuries in the cryptocurrency space. According to DeepDAO, this includes assets of $470 million in ether and over $200 million in stablecoins.