Mantle Network: A new modular Ethereum solution

Mantle Network is a revolutionary Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) solution that aims to transform how various components of a blockchain interact. It was proposed in June 2022 and has quickly become a popular choice for developers looking to improve the performance, security, and data availability of their decentralized applications (dApps).

Mantle is built as a language layer on top of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing developers to easily integrate it with their existing Ethereum-based smart contracts and tools with minimal modifications. This compatibility opens up new avenues for developers to enhance the performance of their dApps and make them more efficient.

Mantle Network stands out among other blockchain solutions due to its innovative approach to blockchain development through modularity. Modular blockchains are designed to divide three critical tasks – execution, settlement, and data availability – into separate components, allowing for a more efficient and scalable solution.

The execution component focuses on executing smart contracts, while the settlement component focuses on creating and confirming transactions. The data availability component, on the other hand, focuses on ensuring that the data is accessible to all participants in the network. By dividing these tasks into separate segments, Mantle Network enables larger block space, which in turn allows validators (nodes) to focus on specific shards and exponentially increases the overall throughput of the blockchain.

In contrast, monolithic blockchains handle all three tasks on the same protocol layer, which can result in reduced efficiency and scalability. This can limit the potential of monolithic blockchains to address the increasing demand for decentralized applications and services.

The modular approach of Mantle Network provides several benefits, including improved scalability, increased efficiency, and better security. This, in turn, opens up new possibilities for developers to build decentralized applications and services that can handle the increasing demand for decentralized solutions.

Mantle's modular design incorporates optimistic roll-ups and an advanced data availability solution, which significantly improves the scalability and performance of the network. Optimistic roll-ups can move both computation and state storage off-chain, reducing the amount of computation that must be processed on the Ethereum Mainnet. This results in increased throughput and reduced costs for developers, making it an attractive option for developing and deploying large-scale dApps.

Scaling solutions for the Ethereum network are designed to increase its capacity and handle high volumes of transactions. However, many of these solutions come at the cost of security and integrity, which can be a significant concern for decentralized protocols that handle large amounts of liquidity.

Mantle is a unique scaling solution that offers the best of both worlds: the capacity to handle large transactions and the security and integrity to protect the network and its users. This is made possible through roll-up technology and a decentralized data availability layer that boost efficiency and speed and reduces costs and latency.

The critical advantage of Mantle's modular design is that it separates different blockchain functions into distinct layers in which various network participants can operate. This increases efficiency, improves performance, and reduces gas transaction costs. In addition, the often-competing objectives of scalability, security, and decentralization are achieved through this design, with enhanced security available to all network users.

With fraud and ZK proofs, the burden of execution and validation on the nodes is significantly reduced, as they do not have to execute all transactions for validity checking. This results in a more efficient and cost-effective network that can handle higher volumes of transactions while maintaining high security.

Mantle's modular design also enables it to address better the trilemma of scalability, security, and decentralization, which has been a persistent challenge in blockchain technology. By dividing the functions of the blockchain into distinct layers, all users of the network benefit from enhanced security, as well as improved scalability and decentralization. With Mantle, the dream of a truly scalable and secure blockchain network is becoming a reality.

One of the critical features of Mantle is its unparalleled security, which is achieved through an Ethereum roll-up technology built inside a user-friendly EVM environment. This means that developers can use Ethereum's smart contracts and tools with minimum modification, and users can enjoy the security and trust of the Ethereum network.

Mantle's modular data availability layer is designed to improve transaction throughput, reduce processing needs, and enhance decentralization, all while maintaining security. This is achieved using Multi-Party Computation (MPC) and Threshold Signature Scheme (TSS) technology, which minimize the trust risk of L2 execution outcomes and reduce the challenge period for withdrawals.

To solve the problems of network censorship and single-point failure, Mantle employs a Decentralized Sequencer to promote safe and trustless block generation. This means that the network is protected against malicious actors and cannot be censored, ensuring that users can confidently transact.

The BIT token, the native token of BitDAO, will be used by Mantle as a universal currency for gas costs, staking, and other ecosystem services. With the expansion of the token's utility, demand and usage are expected to increase. By leveraging BitDAO's partner ecosystem, developers, and consumers can use Mantle's blockchain to power web3 apps and functionalities.

BitDAO is a prominent decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) dedicated to promoting the widespread adoption of web3 technology. As one of the largest DAOs in the world, BitDAO is well-positioned to play a leading role in the future of decentralized finance (DeFi).

The Mantle network has been developed to further BitDAO's mission of making it easier for consumers and developers to join the web3 ecosystem. Mantle will use BIT tokens for its transaction processing, project facilitation, and stakeholder rewards to achieve this goal. This allows for a more streamlined and efficient system fully integrated with the BitDAO ecosystem.

Mantle solution for Ethereum leverages the current trust network of Ethereum via the re-staking protocol EigenLayer to ensure data availability. The high standard of security of Ethereum's Mainnet is applied to Mantle via EigenLayer's EigenDA solution, allowing nodes on the Mantle network to provide services using BIT DAO tokens. With this, validators can offer their services and participate in Mantle's economic model, generating new revenue streams and adding to the fullness and precision of block data in Mantle's execution layer.

Mantle adopts a decentralized approach for its Sequencer, allowing anyone to join the permissionless set of layer-2 block creators, compared to the traditional single Sequencer approach in optimistic rollups. This enhances the network's security and reduces trust between verifiers, compilers, and clients by compiling and verifying fraud proofs directly using EVM instructions.

When a user initiates a transaction, it is introduced to the Mantle network for the first time, and a request is crafted, signed with private keys, and delivered to Mantle for Sequencer processing. The low transaction fees of Mantle are due to the spreading of fixed expenses across several transactions within a batch of pending blocks. The MPC nodes perform further checks on the block data before broadcasting it to the Ethereum network, where participants on Mantle and Ethereum will receive it. The data will be made available to other users and DApps thanks to Data Availability nodes, which will be rewarded with BIT tokens.

An essential feature of Mantle is that it is the first Ethereum layer-2 solution that a DAO controls. This means that the decisions made by the BitDAO community will directly impact the direction and development of Mantle. This aligns the interests of all stakeholders and ensures that the network is built for the benefit of its users.

Mantle is taking an essential step toward a decentralized future and represents a significant milestone in the evolution of the web3 ecosystem. With its low fees, clever architecture, and full support from the BitDAO community, Mantle has the potential to become one of the world's most widely-used Ethereum layer-2 solutions.

Mantle was officially soft-launched by BitDAO on November 30, 2022, and the public testnet was launched on January 10, 2023. The Mantle team plans to release the mainnet in Q2/Q3 of 2023 with a substantial developer incentive scheme.

Conclusion

Mantle is a layer-2 scaling solution designed to solve the scalability and security issues the current Ethereum network faces. It uses the Ethereum network's trust network via the re-staking protocol EigenLayer and adopts the high-security standards underpinning Ethereum's Mainnet. Mantle takes advantage of EigenDA solution for data availability and allows nodes on the Mantle network to provide those services. The network uses BIT staking, allowing validators to participate in Mantle's economic model and create new revenue streams that add to the fullness and precision of block data. Mantle adopts a decentralized approach by allowing anyone to join the permissionless set of layer-2 block creators, thereby improving the network's security.

It also adopts a strategy that compiles and verifies fraud proofs directly using EVM instructions, allowing for transparency and reduced trust between verifiers, compilers, and clients. A user can initiate a transaction on the Mantle network by crafting a request, signing it with private keys, and delivering it to the Mantle network for processing. The MPC nodes check the block data before it is broadcasted to the Ethereum network, where it will be recorded on-chain and made accessible to other users and DApps. The data availability nodes on Mantle will be rewarded with BIT tokens for their efforts.

What sets Mantle apart from other layer-2 solutions is its focus on addressing problems others have ignored. Its modular Data Availability, Multi-Party Computation, and Decentralized Sequencer capabilities make it a scalable and secure solution for the web3 ecosystem. ETH and other tokens cannot be moved between Mantle and Ethereum without a bridge between the blockchains.