Table of Contents
1. Mantle Network: Layer 2 Scaling Solution Fueled by BitDAO
2. The First Modular Rollup Utilizing EigenDA as a Data Availability Layer
3. What’s Next for Mantle Network?
4. Technical Specifications and Mantle Governance: Competitive Advantage Moving Forward
5. Closing Thoughts
1. Mantle Network: Layer 2 Scaling Solution Fueled by BitDAO
Mantle Network is a Layer 2 Optimistic rollup, and Bybit, a contributor to the BitDAO treasury, serves as one of the strong backups for Mantle. BitDAO receives funding from Bybit, the cryptocurrency exchange sponsor, which contributes to the development and operation of Mantle Network. Initially, Bybit contributed funds to the BitDAO treasury based on a percentage (0.025%) of the futures trading volume on their platform until February 2023. However, with the introduction of BIP-20: Adjustments to Bybit Contributions to the BitDAO Treasury (shortened title), Bybit has committed to supporting BitDAO with 2.7B $BIT (valued at $1.05B as of June 28, 2023) over the next 48 months. This shift aims to reduce BitDAO's reliance on Bybit. Currently, the treasury holds $3.2B, making BitDAO one of the largest DAO organizations. The growth of Mantle Network is backed by this substantial support. Mantle Network testnet was launched in January 2023, and the mainnet release is planned for later this year.
Currently, Bybit, BitDAO, and Mantle Network are interconnected through the utilization of $BIT. Both BitDAO and Mantle Network employ $BIT as their governance and native token, respectively. To maintain the token’s price stability, Bybit has taken measures, including token burn events prior to BIP-20 and reducing the circulating supply of $BIT after the introduction of BIP-20. However, this structure is expected to undergo significant changes following the recent adoption of BIP-21: Optimization of Brand, Token, and Tokenomics. BIP-21 proposes the integration of the existing fragmented structure of Bybit, BitDAO, and Mantle Network into a unified Mantle ecosystem. Further details regarding this integration plan will be provided at a later stage.
2. The First Modular Rollup Utilizing EigenDA as a Data Availability Layer
2-1. Limitations of Existing Rollups: High Transaction Data Publication Costs
Rollups offer the advantage of recording transaction data on Ethereum, ensuring data availability (DA), and benefiting from Ethereum's security. However, they also come with certain limitations, particularly the high costs associated with publishing transaction data to Ethereum. These costs can be divided into two main components: 1) the cost of executing the transaction (L2 gas fee) and 2) the cost of publishing the transactions to Ethereum (L1 data publication fee). The latter, in particular, is a significant factor, as evidenced by examples like Arbitrum and Optimism. On average, the cost of publishing transactions to Ethereum accounts for approximately 73% and 79% of the total transaction fees incurred by Arbitrum and Optimism, respectively. These figures can rise above 90% when the Ethereum network experiences congestion (as shown in the figure below). In essence, rollups entail significant transaction data publication costs due to the inherent trade-off between security and cost.
2-2. Mantle Network: Leveraging EigenDA as a Data Availability Layer to Address Security and Cost Concerns
To tackle the limitations of existing rollups, Mantle Network has made the strategic decision to delegate data availability to EigenDA. In this approach, out of the four roles of blockchain, Mantle Network carries out execution while leveraging Ethereum’s settlement and consensus and EigenLayer’s EigenDA for data availability.