Bessie Liu

Mantle Network is preparing for its mainnet launch. Earlier last month, the Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution, and BitDAO, the team building the rollup merged, forming the Mantle ecosystem.



Unlike other Ethereum layer-2s that exist today — such as optimistic or zero-knowledge rollups — Mantle is designed to be completely <a href="https://www.blockworksresearch.com/research/mantle-bitdaos-modular-ethereum-l2">modular</a>. 



This means that it outsources its data availability layer — the system that stores transaction data — rather than using Ethereum mainnet. Data storage represents the bulk of the cost of other layer-2s, and is one reason why <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ethereum-cancun-upgrade-blobs">EIP-4844 or proto-danksharding</a> is so eagerly anticipated.



Although keeping data off of Ethereum mainnet <a href="https://blockworks.co/podcast/0xresearch/c0175a70-d863-11ed-8e0b-3fb41bc77b68">has its advantages</a>, such as drastically increasing efficiency, it also comes with a few downsides in the area of security and trustlessness.&nbsp;



This merger was a decision made by BitDAO to set the stage for future ecosystem products, according to head of ecosystem Arjun Kalsy.



BitDAO has one of the largest <a href="https://openorgs.info/">DAO treasuries</a> in crypto today, valued at nearly $3.7 billion, although 78% of that is currently held in the DAO’s own token (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/bit">BIT</a>). This massive war chest is largely a result of its partnership with centralized exchange ByBit which <a href="https://announcements.bybit.com/en-US/article/celebrate-bybit-s-dubai-hq-opening-with-7-000-usdt-in-rewards-more--bltdf9d560e783869bc/">moved</a> its headquarters from Singapore to Dubai in April. From July 2021 to February 2023 pledged 2.5 basis points of all its futures trading volumes to BitDAO’s treasury.



BitDAO investments have been varied, so the motivation was to streamline the different moving parts in the ecosystem under one unified brand, Kalsy noted.&nbsp;



“If the user or the developer or the community is interacting with us, they should be interacting with one brand rather than interacting with a DAO with a separate token,” he said. “Which is when we decided on [one brand].”



As such, a new token in line with the Mantle brand (MNT) will also be issued. Kalsy notes that this decision was made because the existing BitDAO token is not designed for on-chain use and lacked critical functionality.



In contrast, MNT will be used for ecosystem participants to pay gas fees and contribute through ecosystem building through its grants program, Kalsy explained. It will also be used for staking — where staking is required in the ecosystem —&nbsp;and for voting on governance proposals.



“Essentially what we want to do with this entire ecosystem is we want to take one token, which is the MNT token, build new products, and then continue to keep building utility for that,” Kalsy said.



Staking will be a large focus moving forward for the new ecosystem, he said, citing the 13% treasury allocation to ETH that could be used to earn further revenue.



“What we felt was that we could create our own LSD protocol, we could stake our ETH that would give us yield, which we can use for ecosystem building, and so on and so forth,” he said.



BitDAO’s treasury contains $507 million in ETH and almost $300 million in stablecoins according to <a href="https://defillama.com/protocol/bitdao">DeFiLlama</a>.



The Mantle testnet has been live since January, and mainnet launch is estimated to occur sometime in July.&nbsp;



Kalsy claims there are now over 11,000 weekly active users on the Mantle testnet and around 92 deployed applications.



Although Mantle <a href="https://explorer.testnet.mantle.xyz/">testnet data</a> can not confirm Kalsy’s claims, at the time of writing, the testnet data does show that the network has processed over 10 million transactions, and seen almost 850K wallet addresses created.



It is also important to note that some of the deployed applications referenced in their ecosystem are not fully operational, though Kalsy notes this is because “testnets provide an iterative ‘beta’ environment for dApp builders to improve functionality and identify potential bugs.”



“The ‘live’ nature of such experimentation implies that these dapps will naturally vary in their maturity and readiness. After all, testnet phases are meant to iron any technical difficulties, big or small,” he said.



Kalsy could not “confirm or deny” if there will be an upcoming airdrop, but he notes that “we are looking to incentivize early users, especially folks who have been regularly doing transactions on the testnet.”



Existing BIT tokens will be converted to MNT prior to Mantle’s mainnet launch in Q3.



“The token conversion process is already underway, and holders will be able to access various <a href="https://discourse.bitdao.io/t/passed-bip-21-optimization-of-brand-token-and-tokenomics/5327">official token conversion</a> channels. Existing token holders have the option to convert their tokens anytime during the conversion period,” he said.



The token conversion process will ensure that existing holders continue to have governance rights, he notes.



A <a href="https://snapshot.org/#/bitdao.eth/proposal/0xe81f852d90ba80929b1f19683da14b334d63b31cb94e53249b8caed715475693">governance vote</a> authorized the brand and token conversion as well as a new tokenomics model “endorsed by the community” Kalsy said.



Voting authority in the DAO is delegated to a small subset of token holders, with nearly 100% of the unanimous vote in favor coming from 20 wallet addresses.



A spokesperson for Bybit told Blockworks that following the passage of the governance vote, contributions previously due from Bybit were subject to accelerated vesting schedules



&#8220;This means all previously unvested $BIT tokens were unlocked as part of the token conversion process, and sent to the Treasury,&#8221; the spokesperson added, citing <a href="https://etherscan.io/tx/0xf697988d37458a7acdeec3406439f4b1eb6d9e50afe5fe8cd600fd192ca1064b" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blockchain records</a>.



Correction June 9, 2023 at 6:15 am ET: Current location of Bybit headquarters, details and status of BIT pledged to BitDAO.



Correction June 9, 2023 at 2:59 pm ET: Bybit pledged 2.5 basis points of its trading volumes in July 2021, not 25 basis points.



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Mantle Network Readies Mainnet, Fueled by BitDAO Largesse

Ben Strack

Crypto layoffs continued apace this week as the sector remains stuck in a brutal bear market.&nbsp;



Crypto exchange Huobi plans to lay off about 20% of its staff, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/crypto-exchange-huobi-lay-off-20-staff-justin-sun-2023-01-06/">reported</a> Friday. Plans are in place to shift to a “lean team” due to a tricky trading environment.&nbsp;



Blockchain analytics platform Nansen said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/nansen_ai/status/1611272809665396737">tweet</a> Friday that about $61 million of the roughly $94 million of net outflows Huobi has seen in the past week occurred in the past 24 hours.



A Huobi spokesperson did not immediately return a request for additional comment.&nbsp;



Silvergate said Thursday it would cut 200 positions, about 40% of its staff, to further slash its expenditures. The plan came as the crypto bank said its <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/silvergate-stock-plummets-45-on-major-staff-cuts-massive-withdrawals">customers pulled more than $8 billion</a> from their accounts over the course of the fourth quarter, forcing the company to sell assets at a major loss to fulfill withdrawals.&nbsp;



Donald Putnam, a managing director with mergers and acquisitions specialist Grail Partners, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bottom-feeders-who-would-be-interested-in-silvergate-now">told Blockworks</a> that while the cuts are “a strong move,” there is no way Silvergate can cut its way to profitability. &nbsp;



Another crypto company that has resorted to layoffs amid the tough market conditions is crypto lender Genesis.&nbsp;



The firm laid off 30% of its staff and is considering filing for bankruptcy. CoinDesk first <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/01/05/crypto-lender-genesis-lays-off-30-more-of-its-staff/">reported</a> the steep cuts.&nbsp;



A Genesis spokesperson told Blockworks that the decision to reduce its headcount came amid “unprecedented industry challenges.”



“These measures are part of our ongoing efforts to move our business forward,” the spokesperson said. “We sincerely appreciate the hard work of our talented and dedicated team as we continue to work to identify the best outcome for Genesis’s business, clients and employees for the long-term.”



Osprey Funds has likewise instituted layoffs due to the market downturn, per two sources familiar with the matter.&nbsp;



Osprey CEO Greg King confirmed the cuts to Blockworks.&nbsp;



The executive declined to comment on the extent of the layoffs or when they transpired. One of the sources categorized the move as recent. Both sources were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive business dealings.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Osprey has several investment products that invest directly in a broad range of cryptoassets, including publicly traded trusts focused on bitcoin, polkadot and <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/osprey-funds-launches-solana-trust-amid-tokens-rally">solana</a>.&nbsp;



Executive hires



The former head of State Street’s digital finance unit is <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ex-state-street-digital-head-to-lead-regtech-blockchain-startup">set to join</a> blockchain firm Securrency as its chief executive on Jan. 9.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nchakar/">Nadine Chakar</a> began leading State Street Digital in June 2021 after the division <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/state-street-launches-digital-finance-unit-for-crypto">launched</a> as a way for the custody bank to expand its capabilities in crypto, central bank digital currencies, blockchain and tokenization.



Securrency founder Dan Doney, the firm’s previous chief executive officer, is set to continue on under the title of chief technology officer.



Zodia Custody tapped <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliansawyer/?originalSubdomain=uk">Julian Sawyer</a> to head the crypto service provider’s business.&nbsp;



A subsidiary of Standard Chartered, the company is looking to scale in 2023, it said in a statement. Zodia Custody is a trading venue and brokerage focused on digital asset markets designed for institutions.



Sawyer, Zodia’s new chief executive, previously held the same role at BitStamp from October 2020 to May 2021, according to his LinkedIn.&nbsp;



He co-founded Starling Bank in 2015 and was the company’s chief operating officer for four years. After that, he spent about a year as a managing director for crypto platform Gemini.&nbsp;



BitDAO hired ​​<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunkrishankalsy/">Arjun Krishan Kalsy</a> as its head of ecosystem at<a href="http://mantle.xyz/"> Mantle</a>, an Ethereum layer-2 blockchain designed for hyper-scalability.



The Mantle network is owned by BitDAO, a decentralized platform built on the Ethereum blockchain. Mantle’s testnet launch is slated for this year’s first quarter, according to its website.&nbsp;



Kalsy was previously head of business development and growth at Polygon for nearly three years. There, he built relationships and secured several large deals with enterprise clients including Reddit, Instagram and Disney.&nbsp;



The UK’s National Crime Agency is seeking to hire a cryptocurrency investigator as it looks to form a specialized cryptocurrency and virtual assets team, according to <a href="https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi?SID=b3duZXI9NTA3MDAwMCZzZWFyY2hwYWdlPTEmdXNlcnNlYXJjaGNvbnRleHQ9MjA1MjA0NzEmc2VhcmNoc29ydD1jbG9zaW5nJmpvYmxpc3Rfdmlld192YWM9MTgyODY0NCZvd25lcnR5cGU9ZmFpciZwYWdlYWN0aW9uPXZpZXd2YWNieWpvYmxpc3QmcGFnZWNsYXNzPUpvYnMmcmVxc2lnPTE2NzI4MTUyMDUtZDI0MTRhNTI4ODJkZmE5ODZjZTg5MzJkMjY4NTNhOTFjM2VjMGEyZg==">a job posting</a>.&nbsp;



The crypto unit is set to initially have five officers, Financial News <a href="https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/crypto-crime-uk-nca-job-anti-money-laundering-national-crime-agency-digital-fraud-20230104">reported</a>.&nbsp;



“The role will support existing and new investigations where specialist cryptocurrency experience is required along with taking a proactive lead in identifying targets for further development,” the posting said.



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Latest in Crypto Hiring: Huobi Layoffs Cap Another Week of Cuts

<div id="highlights-block_62bf2533b47ae" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Metamask operations lead set to join the BitDAO ecosystem</li>
 <li>Abra and Bitpanda cut jobs while Kraken still on the hunt for talent</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The global head of business development for <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/9869818Z:US" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Citadel Securities</a> is set to lead the company’s joint venture focused on increasing investor access to crypto, Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-28/citadel-securities-nazarali-leaves-to-run-firm-s-crypto-venture" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.



Citadel Securities and Virtu Financial were in the process of building a cryptocurrency trading platform, a source familiar with the matter <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/citadel-securities-virtu-financial-building-crypto-trading-platform/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told Blockworks last month</a>. Jamil Nazarali is reportedly expected to become CEO of the platform.



Citadel Securities did not immediately return a request for comment.&nbsp;



Web3 gaming company Immutable hired a former global head of product design for payments at Facebook to lead the protocol’s product design.



Henry Cho will help the company build an API-only user experience that enables mainstream developers to build simply.&nbsp;



“Immutable will continue hiring the best talent across the globe to continue building our vision of enabling the next billion players to truly own their in-game items,” Immutable co-founder Robbie Ferguson said in a Twitter post.



Andrei Serjantov joined crypto startup Nym as its chief financial officer. He is set to develop the company’s multi-purpose mixnet that helps enable privacy for any application, as well as the underlying finances of its NYM token.



Serjantov joins Nym from French banking group BNP Paribas, where he worked for 16 years. He was most recently the company’s head of electronic credit trading and head of flow credit quantitative research.



“As the bear market rages on, all eyes are on crypto to prove its worth,” Serjantov said in a statement. “Skeptics assume people join crypto to make a quick buck and scam the typical user, but those working through the bear market have something more to prove.”



The former operations lead for self custodial wallet MetaMask is set to join the BitDAO ecosystem to accelerate the adoption of Web3 gaming.



Jacob Cantele is now head of product strategy for BitDAO’s <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=RahCDqBPLaBstxmOiHGQa1CDZiEMesp8Rq0nyXTHCEpKTcTSFrZNgyb-TjJRHcgYqG_b2Y9OQw4S5FdLSsh8dg==" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Windranger Labs</a> and head of product for the <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=8VFB9yNCFXlRwlXlNa_pyfLRfykSOvleobU6PPWrNw6gy8oJY0kZWyRKlngn5dRx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Game7</a> DAO. 



Before working at MetaMask, Cantele led product for the Panvala grant funding DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), one of the earliest grant DAOs in the Web3 ecosystem.&nbsp;



NFT marketplace Magic Eden hired Joseph Doll to the role of general counsel.



Doll previously served as a corporate associate for Fenwick &amp; West, where he structured, negotiated and executed equity and token funding.



Web3 Ventures appointed Zach Rosen to its advisory board as the company gains Rosen’s expertise in software engineering and investment banking.&nbsp;



Rosen is a co-founder of Brydge, a startup that enables decentralized applications to deploy on one chain and accept payments from others. He said in a statement that he would leverage his network and background within the Web3 space to help identify and evaluate crypto projects for Web3 Ventures’ platform.



Crypto trading and lending platform Abra reportedly laid off about a dozen employees this week as market turbulence continues. Abra CEO Bill Barhydt <a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/155209/abra-becomes-latest-crypto-firm-to-cut-jobs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told The Block</a> that the job cuts — representing about 5% of the company’s workforce — were done “purely as a cost-saving measure.”



An Abra spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. &nbsp; &nbsp;



In case you missed it, crypto exchange Bitpanda <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/bitpanda-to-slash-nearly-30-of-workforce-citing-recession-threat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">is letting go about a third of its workforce</a>. The company, backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, wrote in a <a href="https://blog.bitpanda.com/en/way-forward" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">letter to employees</a> that it wants to cut down its headcount from more than 1,000 to 730 as it seeks to improve its financial health.



Meanwhile, crypto exchange Kraken posted more than 600 new job ads in the United States in the last seven days, according to a June 29 study by <a href="https://cryptojobslist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crypto Jobs List</a>. The Kraken listings account for nearly 20% of the new American crypto job ads over the span.



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