Manta Network’s native token experienced a significant surge in price, reaching a new all-time high on January 24th, trading at nearly $3 just days after an airdrop for early supporters. Manta Network (MANTA) saw a substantial increase in value, hovering around $2.89 at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap. Within a 24-hour period, the token saw a 30% increase in value, with trading volume exceeding $500 million on platforms like Binance.
With this surge in price, Manta’s market capitalization has propelled the coin into the top 100 cryptocurrencies in the market. Furthermore, the protocol’s total value locked (TVL) has experienced significant growth since its launch in January. DefiLlama reports that Manta has over $430 million in TVL across all blockchains, positioning it as one of the top 10 decentralized protocols, closely following Coinbase’s Base, Avalanche L1, and Polygon.
Manta’s success can be attributed to its launch on the Binance Launchpad as the 44th cryptocurrency listed on the platform. Leveraging Celestia’s data availability solution and Polygon’s developer stack, Manta offers users a versatile blockchain supporting zero-knowledge (zk) technology and Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatibility (EVM). The protocol consists of two platforms – Manta Atlantic, a Polkadot-based zk L1 network, and Manta Pacific, a layer-2 blockchain with EVM support.
Early adopters and supporters of Manta were generously rewarded with airdropped tokens, a common practice among emerging crypto protocols to attract users and participants in decentralized finance. Airdrop recipients received substantial amounts of free MANTA tokens after participating in network activities at minimal cost.
Despite facing a DDoS cyber attack shortly after the airdrop event, Manta Network swiftly responded and restored normal operations, showcasing its resilience. As the protocol continues to recover from the attack, claims of money laundering have also emerged, highlighting the challenges faced by emerging blockchain projects in the evolving crypto landscape.