Mantle, a burgeoning DAO-led web3 ecosystem built around Ethereum layer 2 (L2) Mantle Network, launched Mantle Liquid Staking Protocol (LSP), a permissionless and non-custodial Ether (ETH) liquid staking protocol deployed on Ethereum L1 and governed by Mantle. Mantle LSP is the second core product of Mantle Ecosystem, following Mantle Network L2. Mantle Staked Ether ($mETH) serves as the value-accumulating receipt token of Mantle LSP.
Mantle LSP was first proposed to the Mantle community via a Mantle forum post on July 14, 2023. The staking of Mantle Treasury ETH was authorized consequent to the passage of Mantle Governance Proposal MIP-25 on Aug. 25. Mantle LSP Mainnet contracts were deployed for Permissioned Closed Alpha on Oct. 6, before the Permissionless Mode Mantle LSP was enabled on Dec. 4.
Instant Gratification and Sustainable Rewards: Tapping Ethereum’s PoS Network With $mETH
Users are now able to stake ETH with Mantle LSP to instantly receive $mETH, the value-accumulating receipt token of Mantle LSP that gives access to expanded yield opportunities, or unstake $mETH to reclaim the initially staked ETH and accumulated rewards, with delays synchronized with the estimated Ethereum validator “Exit Queue” wait time. On Mantle LSP, the exchange rate between ETH and $mETH is deterministically calculated, with no slippage impact from the stake or unstake size.
In addition, users will be able to buy and sell $mETH on the secondary market through a growing list of supporting decentralized and centralized exchanges. The price of $mETH on exchanges is determined through price discovery, in which larger trades may experience slippage.
Mantle LSP facilitates the pooling of ETH deposits from stakers, enabling their participation in rewards generated by Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) validation network. Stakers will receive receipt token $mETH, which represents a claim to the underlying staked principal and accumulated rewards. The receipt token can be utilized in other applications. When stakers unstake their ETH from Mantle LSP, they will be able to receive not only the sum of their staked ETH, but also any rewards gained from their staked funds during the staking period. Rewards may include a combination of issuance, priority fees, and maximal extractible value (MEV), and are shared among the stakers, LSP, and node operator (validation service provider).
Potency Through Rigorous Clarity: How Mantle LSP’s $mETH Stands Apart
Synthesizing the lessons and best practices gained by earlier liquid staking explorations, Mantle LSP benefits from the wisdom of hindsight and, through design, decentralization and distribution, distinguishes itself in four important aspects:
Highly Rewarding $mETH Experience
The Mantle LSP aims to maintain the highest sustainable core yield through the exploration of MEV and Treasury yield sharing, while ensuring the wide adoption of $mETH across a diverse range of Mantle L2 decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and core technology partners, and centralized exchange partners.
Simple & Modern Architecture
Following the Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade, the Mantle LSP utilizes a modern design that places an emphasis on the integrity of the ETH : $mETH process on L1, without added complexities from other PoS tokens and chains.
Robust Risk Management
Mantle LSP has been designed to maximize security with non-custodial core smart contracts and off-chain services that enforce sanity bounds and risk limits. As a result, staked ETH remains only within protocol-defined smart contract addresses. It is further fortified by the segregation of roles and permissions between Oracles, Guardians (Pausers), Operators (Mantle Core Engineering), and Mantle Security Council, none of which can access the staked ETH, with validation services performed by tier-1 Node Operators.
A Mantle Core Product
As a Mantle Core Product, Mantle LSP shares synergies with Mantle Ecosystem products and applications, leverages Mantle Core Contributor Engineering and Growth capabilities, adheres to Mantle Governance process and has access to Mantle Treasury resources.
Mantle LSP Supercharging the Mantle Yield Powerhouse
Following the introduction of Mantle LSP, efforts will go into $mETH adoption through the exploration of potential integrations of $mETH to expand the use cases of this capital-efficient ETH staking token in Mantle Ecosystem and beyond. Furthermore, alongside the separation of roles and completed audits, Mantle LSP Bug Bounty Program will soon kick in to put Mantle LSP through a stress test and find any vulnerabilities.
“We are thrilled to offer $mETH to users who are looking for instant and sustainable rewards, while injecting more decentralization in the liquid staking space,” said Jordi Alexander, chief alchemist of Mantle. “Through Mantle LSP’s $mETH and the recently introduced, RWA-backed yield-bearing tokens $USDY and $mUSD, Mantle is able to provide its’ DeFi ecosystem the best-in-class building blocks for native yield.”