"It can be confirmed that MNT will always be an important partner in Bybit's core ecosystem."

Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow

Guest: Emily Bao, Head of Spot Trading

Host: Jason Kam

Podcast Source: What will happen to $MNT with a closer Bybit tie-up? - Emily Bao (Key advisor at Mantle)

Original Title: BidCast

Broadcast Date: September 19, 2025

Key Points Summary

Bybit $4B revenue, Mantle $5B treasury, and RWA shaping the scale of crypto strategies.

Highlights

• As a centralized exchange, our core business is asset management and trading services. Therefore, our mission is to identify quality assets early and bring them onto the platform to provide the best trading experience.

• Mantle and Bybit remain two independent entities. Mantle is not Bybit's exclusive chain but a partner in Bybit's core ecosystem.

• I believe the most noteworthy feature is the MNT fee discount function. After September 23, users can pay trading fees with MNT tokens and enjoy a certain discount.

• We cannot fully predict the specific changes in the future, but it can be confirmed that MNT will always be an important partner in Bybit's core ecosystem.

• Centralized exchanges still play an indispensable role in the current crypto ecosystem. They gather the most crypto traders while providing industry-leading liquidity.

• Bybit's daily trading volume is around $30 billion, with $25 billion from contract trading and $5 billion from spot trading. If calculated at a commission rate of 3 to 4 basis points, the annual revenue is about $4 billion, which can indeed serve as a reference for predicting our financial situation.

• We have begun communicating with RWA issuers from different regions. Although the number of collaborations is still small, some projects are already in negotiation stages, and the prospects are very optimistic. You may soon see some real RWA assets launched on the Mantle chain.

• We are negotiating with a major fund management company from the US and Europe. At the same time, we are also in discussions with some companies listed in the Asian and US markets that wish to tokenize their stocks and plan to list on crypto exchanges.

• MNT is not only tradable on Bybit; it is also listed on other platforms, such as some centralized exchanges and Hyperliquid spot exchanges. We collaborate with market makers to provide sufficient token liquidity for these platforms.

• Many people may ask if there is a way to buy MNT at a lower price. We plan to launch a discount purchase product for Mantle at the end of September (with a lock-up period). This plan is aimed at all regular users, VIP users, and institutional clients, who can all participate.

• Daily Active Users (DAU), which refers to the number of active wallet addresses, is an important indicator of whether users are trading and participating in activities on the Mantle chain.

• We hope Mantle can enter the capital market, but not as Bybit's platform token, but as the core second-layer ecological governance token MNT.

Transitioning from BIT to MNT Token

Jason:

Bybit launched the BIT token in 2021, and now is gradually transitioning to the MNT token. With the series of announcements you made in August and September, how are you re-integrating the MNT token with Bybit's ecosystem? Can you share your thought process?

Emily:

I'm glad you mentioned the BIT token. In fact, I joined Bybit after participating in the BIT token sale, so I have held BIT for four years, and I have been working with Bybit for three years. I have not just recently started working on Mantle; I have been paying attention to its development for a long time. I believe the reason behind this transition is that we have observed the synergy between centralized exchanges (CEX) and decentralized finance (DeFi) in the current market cycle. This is not a relationship of opposition, but rather an increasing number of collaborations.

In fact, this trend was already evident during the last cycle's "DeFi Summer," and in this cycle, the development of DeFi has matured, attracting many new users to start engaging with cryptocurrencies. The journey of these new users often begins with DeFi applications, just like in the previous cycle. Centralized exchanges are also actively embracing decentralized applications. As a centralized exchange, our core business is asset management and trading services. Therefore, our mission is to identify quality assets early and bring them onto the platform to provide the best trading experience. This is our responsibility and one of the goals we hope to contribute to the industry. This is also why we believe Mantle's technological advantages can become the token of Bybit's core ecosystem. Over the past few years, we have migrated Bit Dao and Bit Token to Layer 2 infrastructure and witnessed Mantle become an efficient and sustainable Layer 2 blockchain.

Additionally, we have launched the mEth token and FBTC token and introduced the UR Bank product on Mantle. Many decentralized assets and applications on Mantle have achieved deep integration with Bybit. Meanwhile, MNT, as the governance token of Mantle Network, provides various practical functions and rights for holders on the Bybit platform. Through the collaboration between Bybit and Mantle, we hope to realize the vision of "two forces, creating the future." We plan to further leverage the Mantle Network and MNT token to empower Bybit users, enhance liquidity, and provide more accessible products and services. We also hope to attract more users and traders from centralized exchanges to understand the innovative opportunities in decentralized finance and on-chain public networks.

The Future of MNT and Bybit Cooperation

Jason:

I remember during the BIT token period, Bybit would allocate part of its revenue or profits after referral fees into the BIT treasury, with daily amounts potentially reaching millions of dollars, right? However, this mechanism seems to have stopped with the transition to MNT. Now, as the relationship between MNT and Bybit's ecosystem becomes closer, will this practice be* restarted*?

Emily:

Currently, we have not restored this mechanism. To be frank, the Mantle treasury is already one of the largest treasuries in the industry. So far, we have sufficient resources and capabilities to drive more meaningful projects. It needs to be clarified that Mantle and Bybit remain two independent entities. Mantle is not Bybit's exclusive chain but a partner in Bybit's core ecosystem.

Jason:

So Bybit now has many ways to empower MNT holders, right? For example,** staking** MNT can earn similar airdrop rewards as BNB, or it can be used as collateral. Besides that, there are some features already mentioned in the announcements. What do you think are the most anticipated aspects of the upcoming collaboration between Mantle and Bybit?

Emily:

In addition to these features, I believe the most noteworthy is the MNT fee discount function. In fact, we have already mentioned in the announcement that this plan is expected to officially launch on September 23. From that day on, users can pay trading fees with MNT tokens and enjoy a certain discount.

Jason:

Will these fees be burned? Or what is the specific mechanism?

Emily:

We have received many inquiries from users regarding the fee burning mechanism or repurchase methods. In fact, this involves the tokenization upgrade of MNT, and we need to plan from a long-term perspective, considering relevant adjustments in the future.

Jason:

So the current situation is that starting from September 23, users can pay trading fees with MNT to enjoy discounts. And these MNT tokens will enter the treasury, similar to the previous BIT treasury model, right?

Emily:

That's right. However, we plan to further utilize the MNT treasury and other treasury resources of Mantle to support the ecosystem development of Mantle Network. The funds in the treasury will be used to drive more innovative projects and applications.

Jason:

Overall, although MNT and Bybit are two independent entities, their connection is clearly becoming closer. So, as MNT holders, how can they be assured that the rights they currently enjoy will not be diminished in the future?

For example, in the case of BIT, when Bybit stopped sharing trading fees, the value capture rights of BIT holders were affected. How can people be assured that the rights of MNT will still be protected in the future?

Emily:

That's a great question. First of all, I believe that nothing is permanent; the entire industry and ecosystem are constantly evolving. Rights will not be simply "taken away," but are more likely to be upgraded or adjusted to adapt to market changes. We hope to provide users with more new rights and functions. Of course, we cannot fully predict the specific changes in the future, but it can be confirmed that MNT will always be an important partner in Bybit's core ecosystem.

Jason:

I want to talk about Bybit's revenue situation. From what I understand, Bybit's daily trading volume is around $30 billion, with $25 billion from contract trading and $5 billion from spot trading. If calculated at a rate of 0.03% to 0.04%, the annual* revenue is about $4 billion*, right?

Emily:

Your calculation method is correct, and it can indeed serve as a reference for predicting our financial situation.

Jason:

There has been quite a bit of discussion about redirecting Bybit's revenue back into the Mantle ecosystem for value capture. What are your thoughts on this idea?

Emily:

To be honest, I think the more significant meaning of the collaboration between Bybit and Mantle lies in Bybit's market advantages. Currently, we have attracted the most active crypto traders in the industry, and we also have the support of top liquidity providers. These resources will provide strong support for the development of the Mantle network and drive further growth of its ecosystem.

Bridging Centralized Exchanges (CEX) and Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Jason:

Currently, Binance's transactions have not been settled on the Mantle chain, right? These transactions are still conducted on centralized exchanges.

Emily:

Yes. However, some specific assets have already started settling on the Mantle chain. Especially as we advance our future roadmap, we will focus more on the application of real-world assets (RWA) and hope to better serve institutional clients. This is also the core positioning of Mantle and an important direction for our future development.

Here, liquidity is a key issue. While it may sound a bit complex, from my perspective, centralized exchanges still play an indispensable role in the current crypto ecosystem. They gather the most crypto traders while providing industry-leading liquidity. However, centralized exchanges are private, while blockchain networks are public, and all asset access and trading are conducted through public markets and on-chain. This leads to a certain gap between the native assets on-chain and the private liquidity of centralized exchanges.

I believe Mantle is in a very unique position to act as a bridge to connect this gap and find ways to match the best liquidity with on-chain assets and real-world assets, or to support more important matters in the industry over the next 10 or 20 years.

Growth Initiatives and Opportunities in Real-World Assets (RWA)

Jason:

What I understand is that new assets like real-world assets (RWA) are more suitable for trading on-chain rather than in the private environment of centralized exchanges. It seems that Bybit is trying to create an integration that makes users feel like they are trading on a centralized exchange, but in reality, these transactions are completed on-chain. Does this mean that the connection between the two has been established?

Emily:

Additionally, we are continuously upgrading the technical architecture of the Mantle chain to enhance its speed and security while making settlement and usage more convenient for institutional users.

Jason:

I have another question regarding Bybit's approximately $4 billion in revenue. If we refer to this figure, what percentage of users do you expect will choose to pay trading fees with MNT instead of cash?

Emily:

Conservatively, about 20% to 30% of VIP traders may choose to use MNT. I believe most VIP users will be interested in this feature. A more aggressive prediction might be that 50% to 60% of VIP users will adopt this method.

Jason:

So VIP users account for about 80% of all trading volume, right?

Emily:

A little less, but if we include institutional clients, it's about 80%.

Jason:

So the proportion is between 70% and 80%, which means that about 15% to 20% of trading volume could be settled using MNT.**

Emily:

That's about right. Based on actual data from spot trading, regular users account for about 20%, while VIP and institutional users together account for 80%.

Jason:

Is the proportion similar for contract trading?

Emily:

The proportion is slightly different, but it's basically close.

Jason:

So assuming 75% of trading volume comes from VIP and institutional users, with 25% of VIP users choosing to settle using MNT. If they can enjoy a 30% to 40% fee discount, then ultimately, about 15% to 20% of trading volume could be settled through MNT. Does this mean that the use of MNT will lead to significant token consumption?**

Emily:

Yes.

Jason:

This feature will be launched on September 23, right? But regarding the collected MNT, have you already decided how to handle it?

Emily:

Yes, we are indeed utilizing part of the MNT in the treasury to provide funding and subsidies to incentivize developers to innovate on the Mantle chain. At the same time, we will collaborate with some key partners, such as mainstream DeFi protocols, hoping they will integrate the Mantle chain into their projects. These collaborative projects will also use MNT from the treasury.

Jason:

But if I calculate correctly, about $500 million of MNT will be consumed each year. You can't possibly distribute that much in subsidies every year, right? The actual distribution should only be a portion of that.

Emily:

Yes, we are also exploring more use cases for MNT, not limited to its native use in the crypto ecosystem. For example, in the future, users may be able to use MNT to pay for services like Bybit Card or Bybit Pay. Although these features have not been fully launched yet, we expect some preliminary functionalities to go live by the end of September, which will further expand the use of MNT.

Jason:

For the value capture of MNT, there are two possible methods: one is for Bybit to repurchase MNT with cash, and the other is to burn MNT through fee income. What conditions need to be met for these two methods to be realized?**

Emily:

We are indeed considering the tokenization upgrade of MNT while comprehensively evaluating these factors. However, I think it is more important to drive the growth of MNT outside of the Bybit ecosystem. Mantle is an independent blockchain network, and we hope to attract more assets and projects to join the Mantle network. For MNT holders, they will have more investment opportunities, such as participating in DeFi activities or projects on the Mantle chain. In the future, there may even be funds or stocks that can be directly purchased with MNT.

Jason:

There are many speculations about fee sharing, repurchases, and burns. Ben must be very aware of the valuation gap between the Mantle token and other Layer 1 or Layer 2 tokens. Do you think narrowing this valuation gap is the optimal choice for him? Will all these proposals and tokenization upgrades push us in that direction?

Emily:

I believe MNT is very important for Bybit users. Although MNT is not the native token of the Bybit platform, it has a deep synergistic effect with Bybit. I think MNT will become a key driving force for Bybit's growth, but we need to use MNT cautiously to ensure that the proposed solutions benefit Bybit users while supporting the builders and holders of the MNT ecosystem.

Jason:

Do you think they have a timeline in mind? For example, will these plans be implemented in the fourth quarter or the first quarter?

Emily:

Ben is very focused on the timeline. He wants everything to be completed as soon as possible. People often ask why Bybit's execution is so outstanding. The reason is that Ben wants everything to move forward quickly.

Jason:

Regarding growth initiatives, you are simultaneously advancing multiple directions, such as DeFi and RWA-related work, as well as independent efforts in banking. Which group of opportunities excites you the most in terms of driving the value and growth of the MNT ecosystem? Are there certain things particularly worth looking forward to in the foreseeable future?

Emily:

I am personally very optimistic about the RWA plans. In fact, this is not a new concept. We started discussing security token offerings (STO) back in 2017. Later, the rise of stablecoins, such as Tether's USDT, brought significant changes to the crypto market. Crypto assets can be settled through USDT, which has driven widespread adoption of the crypto market.

In the past cycle, we have shifted from the narrative of STO to RWA. The first DeFi RWA project I participated in was Centrifuge, which attempted to tokenize real-world assets. By purchasing these tokens, users seem to own a portion of real estate rights. In the past cycle, there were other experimental projects focused on RWA. I believe RWA is once again in the spotlight in this cycle. One of the driving forces is the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs early last year, which means that a large amount of real-world assets, such as fiat currencies, can flow into the crypto market in some way and directly invest in crypto assets. Now, the crypto market has the infrastructure, developers did an excellent job during DeFi Summer, and regulators are becoming more friendly towards crypto activities.

Jason:

Which asset do you think will gain the most trading volume?

Emily:

Definitely stablecoins. Additionally, since the launch of xstocks at the end of June, tokenized stocks and equity tokens have also attracted widespread attention in the market.

Jason:

Do you think this will help Mantle? Because it seems more like trading stock contracts on Bybit, rather than necessarily needing to mint on-chain.

Emily:

In fact, we have also listed xstocks tokens on the spot market, allowing users to purchase these tokens directly on Bybit. Of course, they can also be bought on decentralized exchanges (DEX).

We do see demand from users for purchasing stock tokens. However, due to liquidity issues, the trading volume and asset management scale on-chain are still relatively low. This may be because certain models or methods are not optimal, such as the way xstocks operates. However, the demand is real, especially for trading volume from the Asian market.

Jason:

Do you think this will have a substantial impact on Bybit's daily trading volume of $30 billion in the short term? Currently, it seems that the trading volume is still quite small.

Emily:

Currently, it is indeed quite small, but with the launch of xstocks, many teams are trying similar things or looking for better solutions. This is an important direction for capital flow and could be a key growth point in the future.

Tokenization and Market Opportunities

Jason:

This seems to be a brand new asset class, and now people can trade these assets directly. Ultimately, this should bring some growth to your trading volume, right? So, is there any way to quantify the extent of this impact on your business?

Emily:

To be frank, the current impact is still quite limited. There are only 10 stock tokens in the market, and they all belong to mainstream assets. However, I am personally very optimistic about the future of on-chain IPOs and equity tokenization.

Jason:

Indeed, this seems to be an evolving trend. Do you think these tokenized assets will be prioritized for implementation on the Mantle chain, or will they appear on other blockchain platforms like Solana or Ethereum?

Emily:

We certainly hope that these assets can be tokenized on the Mantle chain. In fact, there are already some cases happening on the Solana chain, but we are also working hard to make the Mantle chain the primary choice in this area.

Jason:

It sounds like an exciting opportunity. Are you taking any specific measures to enhance the total locked value (TVL) of these assets on the Mantle chain?

Emily:

Yes, we have started communicating with real-world asset (RWA) issuers from different regions. Although the number of collaborations is still small, some projects are already in negotiation stages, and the prospects are very optimistic. You may soon see some real RWA assets launched on the Mantle chain.

Jason:

Can you share more details about these collaborative projects?

Emily:

We are in talks with a major fund management company from the US and Europe. At the same time, we are also communicating with some companies listed in the Asian and US markets that wish to tokenize their stocks and plan to list on crypto exchanges.

Building a Thriving Ecosystem

Jason:

When looking at the total locked value (TVL), trading fees, and other related metrics for Mantle, what key factors do you think can truly drive business growth in the coming months or quarters, especially in terms of increasing daily active users (DAU)?

Emily:

Daily active users (DAU), which refers to the number of active wallet addresses, is an important indicator of whether users are trading and participating in activities on the Mantle chain. As an ecosystem, there is a concept: "The prosperity of a country or region depends on the gathering and activity of its residents." I think this is very similar to how to build a blockchain ecosystem. A successful ecosystem requires a large number of active users to attract more developers and builders to join your chain and become contributors to the ecosystem. Solana has performed exceptionally well in this regard, establishing a very prosperous ecosystem by attracting a large number of users and developers.

Jason:

So, do you have plans for improvements in user interface and user experience (UI/UX) to truly drive DAU growth?

Emily:

Of course, we are enhancing user engagement through various activities. More importantly, we are working to introduce more assets on the Mantle chain to enrich the ecosystem's content. On the other hand, we are also actively attracting more crypto-native projects (such as DeFi projects or on-chain applications) to develop and build on the Mantle chain.

MNT Over-the-Counter (OTC) and Discount Purchase Features

Jason:

I noticed that your recent article mentioned the OTC feature for MNT. Kate, could you elaborate on what this is?**

Emily:

MNT OTC is a product feature that allows users to directly purchase large quantities of MNT tokens on the Bybit platform through the OTC function.

Jason:

Are these tokens purchased directly from the Mantle treasury? Where do buyers obtain these tokens?

Emily:

The tokens are not purchased directly from the Mantle treasury; buyers acquire the tokens from liquidity providers.

Jason:

In that case, there must be liquidity providers offering sufficient inventory; otherwise, market liquidity may be restricted, right?

Emily:

In fact, MNT can be traded not only on Bybit but also on other platforms, such as some centralized exchanges and Hyperliquid spot exchanges. We collaborate with market makers to provide sufficient token liquidity for these platforms.

Jason:

So, institutions like us can directly contact market makers, and they will provide us with quotes, such as for 1 million MNT. Through this OTC feature, you are essentially allowing anyone to access the liquidity of market makers through the platform, right?

Emily:

Exactly. When discussing the OTC feature, I also need to add the discount purchase feature. Many people may ask if there is a way to purchase MNT at a lower price. While this cannot be achieved through the OTC function, we plan to launch a discount purchase product for Mantle at the end of September.

Jason:

The discount purchase allows tokens to be bought at a discounted price, but there will be a lock-up period, right?

Emily:

Yes, the discount purchase plan is open to all regular users, VIP users, and institutional clients, all of whom can participate in this plan.

Collaboration and Multi-Chain Strategy

Jason:

Regarding the collaboration between the Mantle network and other platforms, such as those that can generate revenue from launch platforms, does Mantle have the opportunity to establish partnerships with these companies? Although they may not be on the Mantle chain but on Solana or their own chains, is there a possibility for collaboration? What are your thoughts?

Emily:

There is certainly a possibility. In fact, we are in talks with some multi-chain DeFi platforms and have already begun collaborating. One of the platform's products is currently in the testing phase but is expected to be fully launched by the end of September. This is a token launch platform that supports multiple chains. They are developing a multi-chain confirmation platform that will support Solana and other blockchains, including Mantle. Therefore, Mantle will be involved from day one when this platform goes live.

Jason:

What is the progress on Bybit's acquisition of Urbank?

Emily:

Currently, this is just a showcase case. In fact, we are actively working on business development to attract more DeFi projects to integrate into the Mantle chain, including some larger projects.

Jason:

So, what specific benefits will Bybit's acquisition of Urbank bring to Mantle?

Emily:

Regarding URbank, I'm not sure if you've experienced their products. I guess you might have tried them. URbank's products are based on a whitelist invitation system and were launched around the end of June this year. I believe they will soon open to the public.

Jason:

So, will this change bring any benefits to Mantle?

Emily:

Yes, the Mantle chain will benefit.

Impact of Regulatory Changes

Jason:

I have two more questions to discuss. We just mentioned before the live broadcast that the SEC recently made some comments about centralized sequencers, which makes the role of second-layer networks similar to that of data processing centers for exchanges, and thus may require SEC registration.

What impact do you think Hester Peirce's statement will have on the Mantle chain or other second-layer networks? As I understand, some second-layer networks have centralized sequencers. What kind of impact do you think this will have on your business?

Emily:

This is a very important question. We did pay attention to that speech and had in-depth discussions with the technical team. Currently, we are exploring some solutions to make the Mantle network more decentralized while ensuring the security of the network.

Compared to other second-layer blockchains, Mantle's technical architecture is indeed very advanced. We are the first project to support zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP), which can enhance privacy and security. Additionally, we are actively upgrading the network and following industry best practices.

To be frank, we have not finalized a solution yet, but this issue has garnered our high attention. In fact, we recognized the potential impact of this issue even before the speech, and the speech afterward further convinced us that action is needed. We understand that there is still some buffer time, but this has become one of our priorities to address, and we may continue to monitor developments on the Base chain.

Jason:

The Base chain is essentially very centralized, right? Do you think this is because of the SEC's speech that prompted them to consider launching a token to achieve decentralization of the sequencer set?

Emily:

What actions Base will take next is indeed worth watching.

Jason:

To some extent, the relationship between the Base chain and Coinbase seems very similar to the relationship between Mantle and Bybit.

Path to Capital Markets and Future Strategy

Jason:

Binance and OKX often attract early investor liquidity in different ways. For example, in Binance's case, due to many regulatory hurdles facing equity IPOs, they seem to have chosen to tokenize equity through BNB. BNB has long been viewed as Binance's "pseudo-equity," and they are trying to connect Nasdaq liquidity with BNB in this way, giving it equity-like functions. This may be their path, and perhaps they will go for an IPO soon.

Another way is like OKX, which has its own OKB token, but it seems that OKX is more inclined to pursue a traditional IPO path. They have completed all necessary compliance work to push for OKX's listing. Therefore, the OKB token underwent a large-scale burn event and will no longer capture future value through tokens.

Do you think Bybit has considered a similar capitalization path? Will it achieve this goal through a closer connection with MNT and data? Or do you think pursuing an IPO path is feasible for Bybit?

Emily:

This is a very challenging question, and it is indeed not easy to answer. Okay, I will try to say something. As you mentioned, Binance and OKX have chosen different paths, but I think their ultimate goals are similar. That is, they hope to enter the capital markets through platform tokens. I believe this is also our goal through Mantle. We hope that Mantle can enter the capital markets, but not as Bybit's platform token, but as the core second-layer ecological governance token MNT.**

Currently, there may be different paths to achieve this. The existing paths may not be entirely suitable for Mantle, but this is indeed a topic we are actively discussing internally.

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