Ethereum scaling tokens outperformed much of the broader crypto market following the weekend’s $19 billion crash, highlighting the resilience of layer-2 (L2) projects built on the world’s largest smart contract platform.
Monday saw Ethereum layer-2 solution Mantle (MNT) surge 31%, making it the third-largest gainer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap.
Other L2 tokens also posted notable gains, with Arbitrum (ARB) and Immutable seeing double-digit increases, while Polygon (MATIC) climbed 8% over the same 24-hour period.
Analysts attribute Mantle’s strong rebound to the growing utility of the MNT token within the Bybit exchange ecosystem, which may have supported buying interest after the market-wide liquidation event.
“Mantle has gained significant momentum recently, driven by its utility through the Bybit integration, diverse product offerings, and a substantial treasury,” said Jake Kennis, senior research analyst at Nansen blockchain intelligence platform.
According to blockchain researcher SatyaXBT, Mantle’s active addresses jumped 117% week-over-week, marking the “strongest growth among all L2s.”
“Bybit’s expansion, coupled with Mantle’s increasing on-chain activity, is creating a robust feedback loop between the CEX and the L2 ecosystem,” he noted in a Monday post on X.
In August, Bybit rolled out multiple campaigns and staking products for MNT, followed by a joint roadmap with Mantle introducing lower-slippage trades, new payment options, and expanded savings features. This initiative marks the launch of Mantle 2.0, which seeks to position the network as an institutional “liquidity chain” for tokenized real-world assets, bridging centralized finance (CeFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi).
“Mantle is no longer just an L2—it’s now the foundation of Bybit’s ecosystem. This isn’t merely a partnership; it’s a strategic move toward RWA dominance,” said Delphi Digital in a Sept. 3 post on X.
“This update shifts the Mantle token into a Bybit utility asset.”
Bybit may also inject additional liquidity through initiatives like the $200 million Mantle EcoFund, aimed at supporting applications built within the Mantle ecosystem.
Some analysts believe Mantle’s recent rally was further boosted by disruptions on the Binance platform during last weekend’s market volatility. On Friday, Binance experienced intermittent delays and display issues due to high trading volume.
Although the platform remained operational, certain “modules” faced technical glitches, leading to the depegging of three cryptocurrencies on the exchange: Ethena’s synthetic dollar (EUSDE), Binance Staked Solana (BNSOL), and Wrapped Beacon ETH (WBETH). Binance later distributed $283 million to compensate users affected by these issues, according to a Sunday announcement.
“After what happened on Binance, where users couldn’t manage their positions, Bybit was flawless,” noted blockchain researcher Finish. “Bybit will lead, and $MNT is going to rip hard.”
Despite speculation of market manipulation, Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder of Redstone blockchain oracle solutions, emphasized that the recent correction was “undoubtedly a real market event, not just an exchange glitch.”
“When President Trump announced 100% tariffs on China around 5:00 PM ET on Friday, October 10th, crypto markets became the sole outlet for global investors to express their shock.”
Due to other global markets being closed during the announcement, “crypto absorbed the full force of panic selling that would typically be distributed across multiple asset classes,” he added.
