A big tip of the hat to the smart folks at Messari for their detailed look into Manta Network’s first quarter of 2025. They dug deep, pulled out the facts, and gave us a clear picture of what went down. It’s always good to see the numbers laid out plain, isn’t it?
- Manta Network’s Q1 2025 saw protocol revenue increase by 19.1% to $252,600, halting a previous decline despite a sluggish wider crypto market.
- While revenue increased, Manta’s market cap experienced a significant drop of 70.3%, and the MANTA token price fell by 72.0%.
- Manta is focusing on Manta Pacific, its Ethereum L2 chain, and sunsetting Manta Atlantic, while enhancing Manta Pacific with upgrades for speed and security.
Manta saw its protocol revenue climb. It went up 19.1% this quarter, hitting $252,600. That’s a good sign. It stopped a three-quarter slide, which is like turning a big ship around in choppy waters. This happened even when the wider market was a bit sleepy, and fewer people were doing things on crypto networks.
Now, while revenue went up, Manta’s market cap took a hit. It dropped a whopping 70.3%, from $308.3 million down to $91.7 million. The MANTA token price followed, falling 72.0% to $0.22. It’s a bit like your favorite stock taking a sudden nosedive. The number of MANTA tokens out there, the liquid supply, kept growing too, up 23.9%.
Manta made a big decision about its networks. They’re saying goodbye to Manta Atlantic in July 2026. This chain, built on Polkadot, just isn’t seeing much action anymore. Most of the buzz moved to Manta Pacific, their Ethereum L2 (Layer 2) chain. It’s a bit like closing down a quiet branch office when everyone’s already at the main headquarters. They’ll put all their effort into Manta Pacific now, which makes sense.
Manta Pacific is getting some serious upgrades. They’ve hooked up with Symbiotic and Babylon to make things faster and safer. Think of it like adding express lanes and extra security guards to a busy highway. Symbiotic helps with “fast finality,” which means your crypto transactions get settled in minutes instead of waiting days. It’s like getting your online order delivered by drone instead of snail mail.
This fast finality system uses MANTA restaking. People stake their MANTA tokens, putting them up as collateral. If something goes wrong, those tokens are on the line. It makes the network more trustworthy. Babylon adds another layer of security. It lets Bitcoin holders stake their BTC to help validate Manta Pacific’s transactions. This means more eyes on the books, and more skin in the game. It’s a clever way to use Bitcoin’s strength without actually moving it around.
They also launched something called the Trophy Room. It’s a central spot for users to see their progress in campaigns, claim rewards, and get more involved. Before, it was a bit scattered, like trying to find all your old baseball cards. Now, it’s all in one place, making it easier to track what you’ve earned and what’s next.
Manta’s CeDeFi (Centralized Decentralized Finance) platform held steady. It kept $117.7 million in TVL (Total Value Locked) across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins. Even though DeFi (decentralized finance) activity slowed down across the network, CeDeFi kept offering good yields. It’s like finding a quiet diner that still serves up a great breakfast, even when the fancy restaurants are empty.
But not everything was sunshine and rainbows. DeFi TVL on Manta Pacific dropped quite a bit, 73% actually. It went from $64.9 million to $17.5 million. This is the lowest it’s been since late 2023. A lot of this was due to “airdrop farming” campaigns ending. People often jump into these for quick rewards, then leave. It’s like a party ending; everyone goes home.
Most of the big protocols on Manta Pacific saw their TVL shrink. KiloEx, a perpetual DEX (decentralized exchange), saw its TVL fall by two-thirds. LayerBank and Gull Network also dropped a lot. Quickswap, which handles most of the trading volume, saw a 33% decline. Only APX Finance stayed mostly flat, which is something, I suppose.
Daily DEX volume also fell. It went down 18.7% to $1.3 million. Quickswap still dominates, handling 97.2% of all trading. It’s the big fish in a small pond. Other exchanges barely registered. This shows that when things get quiet, people tend to stick to the biggest, most liquid spots. It’s human nature, really.
The stablecoin market cap on Manta Pacific also dipped, down 7.3% to $11.2 million. USDT (Tether) is still the main one. USDC (USD Coin) saw a bigger drop. A new stablecoin, ZeUSD, showed up, but then ran into a security issue shortly after the quarter ended. It’s a reminder that even in crypto, things can go sideways fast. Always keep an eye on your digital wallet, folks.
KiloEx, the main spot for perpetual futures (bets on future prices), saw its trading volume cut in half, down to $301.2 million. But, it did show monthly growth within the quarter, which is a positive trend. They also launched their KILO token following its postponed TGE (Token Generation Event), though they chose to do it on BNB Chain. And, like ZeUSD, KiloEx had a security incident after the quarter closed, though they got most of the funds back. It’s a wild west out there, sometimes.
Liquid staking is still a thing on Manta. Bitfrost’s vMANTA is the biggest, with 8.6 million MANTA staked. It offers a decent 22.4% APY (Annual Percentage Yield). There’s also stMANTA from Accumulated Finance, but it’s much smaller. It’s like having a couple of different banks offering savings accounts, one just happens to be a lot more popular.
Manta runs various campaigns to get people involved. The Manta Expedition campaign wrapped up in January. It gave points for bridging (moving crypto between chains) and using DeFi protocols. These points turned into MANTA token rewards. They also have the Gas Gain program, which gives back gas fees (transaction costs) to active users. It’s a smart way to keep people engaged, like a loyalty program for your crypto habits.
The Manta Foundation has a $50 million EcoFund to help projects build on Manta Pacific. They’ve got $10 million set aside for grants. While no new grants were announced this quarter, the fund is still active. It’s like a venture capital fund for the Manta ecosystem, trying to grow new ideas.
Manta Pacific added a couple of new infrastructure projects. DAR ID, a social login system, joined up. And Entangle, which helps with cross-chain communication, also integrated. These additions make the network more useful, adding tools and making it easier for different parts of the crypto world to talk to each other. It’s all about building out the neighborhood, brick by brick.
The Manta team was out and about, too. They held community town halls and showed up at big events like ETH Denver and various conferences in Nigeria, Indonesia, and Thailand. They talked about how Manta is moving beyond just being a technical backbone and aiming for real-world uses. It’s good to see them getting out there, pressing the flesh, and spreading the word.
