Tokens for Ethereum scaling have outperformed much of the cryptocurrency market following the weekend crash, indicating greater price resilience among layer-2 (L2) projects on the largest smart contract network.
The Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Mantle (MNT) experienced a 31% surge on Monday, ranking as the third-largest gainer among the 100 biggest cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap.
Tokens from Arbitrum (ARB) and Immutable (IMX) also noted double-digit gains, while Polygon (POL) saw an 8% recovery in the 24 hours leading up to this article.
Some analysts attribute the rebound of the MNT token to its increasing utility within the Bybit exchange ecosystem following the $19 billion liquidation event.
“Mantle has seen a lot of momentum lately, particularly due to its utility supported by Bybit’s integration and a variety of available products, along with a substantial treasury,” said Jake Kennis, senior research analyst at Nansen blockchain intelligence platform.
This trend has resulted in a threefold increase in the price of the MNT token over the past three months, the analyst informed Cointelegraph.
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Mantle’s active addresses surged 117% week over week, marking “the strongest growth among all L2s,” according to blockchain tracker SatyaXBT.
“The expansion of Bybit and Mantle’s growing on-chain traction is creating a solid feedback loop between CEX and L2,” he noted in a Monday X post.
Bybit initiated several campaigns and staking products for MNT in August, complemented by a joint roadmap with Mantle, focusing on lower slippage trades, new payment methods, and enhanced savings features. This initiative signifies the launch of Mantle 2.0, designed to position the network as an institutional “liquidity chain” for tokenized real-world assets, bridging centralized (CeFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi).
“Mantle has evolved beyond a simple L2; it now serves as the backbone of Bybit’s ecosystem. This isn’t just a partnership; it aims for dominance in real-world assets (RWA),” said Delphi Digital in a September 3 X post.
“This update transitions the Mantle token into a Bybit utility asset.”
Bybit may also offer extra liquidity through grants like the $200 million Mantle EcoFund, intended for investing in applications developed within its ecosystem.
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MNT token might gain from Binance platform issues
Some market observers noted that Mantle’s rally was likely amplified by disruptions on the Binance platform during the weekend market turbulence. Binance experienced intermittent delays and display issues on Friday due to elevated trading volumes.
Although Binance remained operational, certain “platform modules” encountered “technical glitches,” leading to the depegging of three cryptocurrencies on the exchange, including Ethena’s synthetic dollar (EUSDE), Binance Staked Solana (BNSOL), and Wrapped Beacon ETH (WBETH).
Binance allocated $283 million to compensate users affected by these platform malfunctions, as noted in a Sunday announcement.
“Following the issues on Binance, where users struggled to manage their positions, Bybit performed seamlessly,” remarked blockchain analyst Finish, who further indicated that “Bybit will take the lead, and $MNT is on track to surge significantly.”
Despite speculation surrounding market manipulation, the recent correction was “clearly a genuine market event, not merely an exchange error,” stated Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder of Redstone blockchain oracle solutions firm, to Cointelegraph, adding:
“When President Trump announced 100% tariffs on China around 5:00 PM ET on Friday, October 10th, crypto markets became the only channel for global investors to express their alarm.”
Since other global markets were closed during the announcement, “crypto absorbed the full brunt of panic selling that normally would be spread across various asset classes,” he added.
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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading choice carries risk, and readers should perform their own research before making decisions.
