mETH Protocol (COOK): Transforming Governance in Liquid Staking on Mantle Network

Mantle Network (MNT) is one of the most innovative Layer 2 (L2) rollup solutions for the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. In late 2023, the Mantle project debuted its mETH liquid staking and restaking protocol, which quickly became one of the most popular platforms for ETH staking and restaking. For nearly a year since its launch, the mETH protocol operated without a governance token of its own. The protocol's governance was largely influenced by the Mantle project and holders of its MNT token. However, the plans for mETH to have its own dedicated governance token were discussed as early as around the protocol's launch date.

Fast-forward to late October 2024, and the mETH protocol welcomed its governance asset — the COOK token. As of early November 2024, COOK is already available for eligible users to claim via several channels, including Bybit.

Key Takeaways:

• mETH is a leading liquid staking and restaking protocol, both on the Mantle Layer 2 network and within the broader Ethereum ecosystem.

• COOK, mETH Protocol's governance token, was introduced in late October 2024 to help give the user community a voice in the protocol's direction and core rules.

What Is mETH Protocol?

Launched in December 2023, mETH — previously known as Mantle LSP — is the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol on the Mantle L2 chain dedicated to Ethereum liquid staking and restaking. Users who lock their Ether (ETH) funds on the platform are issued Mantle Staked Ether (mETH) tokens, the primary liquid staking token (LST) of the protocol. mETH works as your deposit receipt, and accumulates the rewards accrued from ETH staking. The value of each mETH token is made up of the original principal amount plus the rewards earned.

In addition to liquid staking, the mETH protocol also offers liquid restaking services. Users can use the cmETH liquid restaking token (LRT), which is exchangeable with mETH at a ratio of 1:1, to earn additional yields across a number of DeFi protocols within the wider Ethereum ecosystem, all while simultaneously earning their base liquid staking rewards through mETH.

Another cryptocurrency on mETH is the recently launched COOK — mETH Protocol's governance token.

What Is Mantle Network?

mETH operates on Mantle Network, a leading Layer 2 Ethereum virtual machine (EVM)–compatible scaling solution. Like many other popular L2 networks, the key aim of the Mantle project is to provide a more scalable and affordable alternative to direct transacting on Ethereum’s Layer 1. Mantle was launched in July 2023. The mETH protocol, which was introduced five months later, is the key project among Mantle's ecosystem initiatives. It's now by far the most dominant DeFi protocol on Mantle, and is one of the leading restaking protocols in the industry, with a total value locked (TVL) of nearly $1.25 billion (as of Nov 6, 2024).

Source: DefiLlama

Mantle offers developers a flexible environment in which to launch solutions featuring high security, great scalability and low costs. It achieves these benefits thanks to a modular approach, with each layer — execution, consensus and data availability — controlled by different components and network actors.

What Is the COOK Token?

Right around the launch time of the mETH protocol, the Mantle community discussed the potential of introducing a future governance token. On Oct 29, 2024, the COOK token was launched as mETH's governance cryptocurrency. Holders of COOK are eligible to vote on the strategic direction and changes to the protocol.

COOK is a deflationary crypto with a maximum and total supply of 5 billion. It's been deployed as an ERC-20 asset on Ethereum’s Layer 1. Users who would like to move COOK to other blockchain platforms, including Mantle, can do so using a bridging solution provided by the LayerZero cross-chain interoperability protocol.

Of COOK's total supply of five billion, 15% is reserved for allocation via four ecosystem initiatives as follows:

• 250 million COOK — Season 1: Methamorphosis campaign, which started on Jul 1, 2024 and lasted for 100 days, till mid-October. The campaign awarded Powder points (convertible to COOK) to those actively using mETH LSTs.

• 200 million COOK — Mantle Reward Station, ongoing as of early November 2024, is a set of campaigns that are primarily designed to reward those locking Mantle's MNT tokens on the protocol.

• 250 million COOK — To the mETH-linked Puff meme coin project on Mantle.

• 50 million COOK — to Puff NFT holders.

Where to Buy COOK

COOK is available on Bybit's Spot market as a swap pair with USDT (COOK/USDT). You can also take advantage of Bybit's campaign dedicated to the token, running from Oct 29, 2024, 8AM UTC to Nov 12, 2024, 8:59AM UTC, for the chance to grab a share of the 20 million COOK prize pool.

Closing Thoughts

The introduction of Mantle’s COOK token as mETH Protocol's governance asset is likely to boost community participation in the protocol. mETH is already a leading liquid staking solution within the wider Ethereum ecosystem, and the new COOK token may further boost the protocol's standing. For liquid staking enthusiasts, COOK represents a great way to acquire a say in mETH's development and overall direction.

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