mETH Protocol features both native ETH staking through mETH and restaking through cmETH. The protocol aims to be the preferred ETH yield layer for treasuries, DAOs, and funds alike.
Launching in Q4 2024, cmETH has surpassed $620 million in total market cap. This milestone reflects substantive growth and establishment as a major player in the ETH restaking sector.
mETH Protocol has expanded its distribution efforts, launching incentive campaigns on Bybit and integrating with 40+ DeFi protocols. These initiatives aim to capture the CEX’s user base and increase adoption of the protocol onchain.
mETH became the first liquid staking token to be held on the balance sheet of a publicly traded company. In May 2025, Republic Technologies announced the adoption of mETH in order to earn yield on otherwise idle ETH.
Primer
mETH Protocol is Mantle’s native ETH staking and restaking protocol, built on Mantle Network and Ethereum. Launched in December 2023, the project aims to establish itself as the default yield infrastructure for institutions, DAO treasuries, and onchain DeFi users. The budget for the mETH protocol is financed by Mantle Core, cementing the project as one of the key pillars in Mantle’s ecosystem.
The protocol features two core products: mETH and cmETH. First, the protocol allows users to deposit ETH in exchange for mETH, a yield-bearing liquid staking token (LST). Holders of mETH accrue standard staking rewards such as ETH issuance, priority fees, and MEV. The protocol takes a 10% fee on the accumulated rewards, a portion of which is distributed to Mantle’s node operators in exchange for providing validation services for the protocol. The risk profile of mETH is equivalent to the standard risks associated with Ethereum 2.0 proof-of-stake validation.
Beyond liquid staking, mETH Protocol also features liquid restaking services in the form of cmETH. Holders of mETH can opt to restake the LST in exchange for cmETH, a 1:1 receipt token that accumulates rewards from the aforementioned ETH PoS rewards and a portfolio of different actively validated services (AVS). This model differs from other liquid restaking tokens (LRTs), which are commonly tethered to a single AVS. Instead, cmETH offers diversified exposure to multiple different networks, including EigenLayer, Symbiotic, Karak, and Veda.
mETH Protocol’s native governance token, COOK, was launched in October 2024 and has been primarily distributed through incentive campaigns that reward protocol usage. COOK also contributes financially to the development of mETH protocol, allocating 10% of the total supply to core contributors.
In alignment with the protocol’s goal of institutional-grade staking and restaking services, multiple steps have been taken in order to provide the market with confidence in mETH Protocol’s security, decentralization, and reliability. Audits from firms like Hexen, Secure3, Mixbytes, and Verilog highlight the attention placed on mETH’s codebase and smart contracts. Additionally, mETH utilizes reputable Ethereum node operators such as A41, Blockdaemon, Stakefish, and P2P to ensure consistent reliability and minimize the risk of a slashing event.
After publicly launching in December 2023, total mETH Protocol TVL peaked at $2.19 billion in March 2024. While TVL sits at 1.27 billion as of September 2025, mETH Protocol has made meaningful steps in establishing credibility as a trusted at-scale infrastructure across time.
cmETH, the protocol’s liquid restaking token, plays an important role in the restaking ecosystem as it helps secure a variety of different AVS protocols.
COOK is mETH Protocol’s governance token and trades at a $10.8 million circulating market cap with a $56.6 million fully diluted valuation (FDV) as of September 2025. Notably, governance of mETH Protocol via COOK is not currently live, and decisions regarding the protocol are made by the broader Mantle Forum. At this stage, the COOK token is primarily used to incentivize users via campaigns known as Methamorphosis. These seasonal programs encourage users to use cmETH on a variety of different protocols across different blockchains, including Ethereum, Mantle, and HyperEVM.
Institutional & Treasury Adoption
Republic Technologies
In May 2025, Republic Technologies, the Ethereum treasury arm of publicly listed Beyond Medical Technologies (CSE: DOCT), announced the decision to delegate a significant portion of its ETH holdings to mETH protocol. This partnership marks the first time a liquid staking token is held on a public company’s balance sheet, a major milestone for institutional adoption of DeFi infrastructure. This event validated mETH’s positioning as an institutional-grade protocol and signaled a broader convergence between DeFi-native assets and traditional capital markets.
OSL
Recognition of mETH’s value proposition isn’t limited to US institutions. In June 2025, OSL, a global digital assets platform headquartered in Hong Kong, announced support for mETH custody. As a fully licensed and insured digital custodian, OSL’s acceptance of mETH as a supported asset is another important step towards becoming a universally trusted protocol with defined regulatory approval.
Nouns DAO
Traditional institutions aren’t the only entities taking advantage of mETH’s value proposition. In June 2025, Nouns, a large Ethereum-focused DAO, passed a proposal to delegate 1,000 ETH from their treasury to mETH, representing an important milestone for both parties. As part of the collaboration, Mantle agreed to delegate 5 million MNT tokens, the protocol’s native governance and utility token, to Nouns DAO for governance purposes. This decision aims to further align incentives between the projects and encourage future collaboration. The proposal passed by a margin of 146 votes with 237 DAO members voting in favor of the decision. This event is further evidence of the growing demand for active yield strategies amongst large ETH holders and the reputation that mETH is building as reliable ETH infrastructure.
Mantle Treasury
Mantle isn’t just supporting mETH protocol from afar; they’re serving as a live case study for mETH and cmETH treasury adoption. One of the largest onchain treasuries, Mantle Treasury holds over 77,218 mETH, representing over 75% of the treasury's total ETH reserves. This decision signifies confidence in mETH protocol from the broader Mantle community, as decisions regarding treasury allocations are made via decentralized governance on the Mantle Forum.
Strategic Distribution
Bybit
mETH Protocol and the broader Mantle ecosystem have built on their existing relationship with Bybit, one of the world’s largest centralized exchanges, from both a personnel and financial perspective. In August 2025, Mantle announced Helen Liu (co-CEO of Bybit) and Emily Bao (Head of Spot Trading at Bybit) as the newest members of the Mantle advisory board. Beyond the human alignment between the two organizations, Mantle and mETH Protocol are also deeply integrated into Bybit’s CEX platform. Bybit serves as a valuable distribution channel for mETH protocol, allowing users to mint cmETH via staking ETH or restaking mETH. In June 2025, Bybit announced a joint campaign with Mantle and Eigenlayer, offering cmETH minters an additional incentive in the form of a 100,000 EIGEN prize pool on top of the existing restaking yield associated with cmETH. Bybit’s distribution channel unlocks a user base looking for yield but may not possess the technical expertise to interact with onchain protocols, benefitting cmETH. In Q2 2025, cmETH holdings on Bybit grew from approximately 65,000 cmETH to over 81,000 cmETH, a 25.4% increase. With announcements of future collaborations between Mantle and Bybit being made on a consistent basis, the deep partnership shows no signs of slowing down and continues to be a major contributor to Mantle’s expansion.
Defi Integrations
The composable nature of onchain applications serves as another valuable distribution channel for mETH and cmETH. While both tokens are integrated with numerous decentralized applications, notable projects expanding the utility of mETH and cmETH are listed below:
Pendle: A yield trading platform that allows users to lock in fixed yield or speculate on the future yield of cmETH.
Morphobeat: An onchain yield platform on HyperEVM that allows users to borrow against their cmETH up to 91.5% loan-to-value (LTV).
HyperSwap: Native DEX on HyperEVM that offers Hyperswap points to users who provide liquidity in the cmETH/uETH pool.
Metamorphosis Season 3 provides an additional incentive for users to interact with these protocols. The campaign allows users to earn Powder points based on protocol usage, which varies based on the specific protocol being used. For example, users earn a daily 40 Powder points per cmETH yield token on Pendle, compared to just 5 Powder points if the token is held in a user’s wallet. Season 3 went live in March 2025 and is poised to conclude on September 22, 2025. After the conclusion of the campaign, Powder point holders will have the opportunity to convert the points into COOK tokens.
Closing Summary
As ETH treasuries, DAOs, and funds shift towards more active approaches to asset management, the demand for institutional-grade ETH yield is poised to grow. mETH Protocol aims to fill the role as the preferred platform for this capital. Announcements from allocators such as Republic Technologies and Nouns, as well as support for mETH from digital asset firms like OSL, serve as key proof points for the acceptance of mETH protocol as trusted infrastructure.
Strategic distribution has been another core aspect of the protocol’s expansion efforts. Leveraging synergies with the Bybit team has unlocked a user base that would likely be difficult to access without the support of the centralized exchange. Campaigns on Bybit have largely been a success, as cmETH supply on the platform has expanded significantly in recent times. Points campaigns across onchain applications is another important initiative for mETH protocol, where the use of mETH and/or cmETH results in the accumulation of Powder points, which can be converted into COOK.
As of September 2025, circulating market caps for mETH and cmETH were over $1.2 billion and $600 million, respectively. The protocol has demonstrated strong progress and built a reputation for sustaining operations at scale over time. While protocol TVL has yet to recover from its heights in March 2024, catalysts like institutional adoption and future integration efforts lend credence to the maintenance of mETH Protocol’s position as a major player in the ETH staking and restaking sector.
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Entering crypto in 2020, Shale has experience as a trader, angel investor, and co-founder in the space. He graduated from the University of Washington, studying psychology and business. His interests include DeFi and Consumer Crypto.
Entering crypto in 2020, Shale has experience as a trader, angel investor, and co-founder in the space. He graduated from the University of Washington, studying psychology and business. His interests include DeFi and Consumer Crypto.
