Mantle Expands Institutional-Grade Vault into DeFi with Grove, CIAN, and Fluxion

Mantle has expanded its Mantle Vault into the decentralised finance ecosystem, transitioning the product from a centralised exchange feature to an open-access yield tool. For fintech professionals, this move signals a maturing bridge between institutional-grade capital market assets and on-chain liquidity, specifically targeting the growing demand for real-world asset (RWA) integration.

What was announced

The expansion of Mantle Vault into DeFi is built on infrastructure provided by Grove, CIAN, and Fluxion. Originally developed for the Bybit user base, where it managed over $200 million in assets, the vault is now accessible to any stablecoin holder on the Mantle network. Users can deposit $USDC and $USDT to access variable yields generated through a non-leveraged, conservative strategy.

The underlying strategy primarily involves exposure to sUSDS, the yield-bearing token of the Sky Protocol, alongside Fluxion Points. Grove provides the capital foundation via Grove Savings, which serves as the on-chain interface to the Sky Savings Rate. This rate is determined by Sky governance and executed through the Sky Agent Network. CIAN, which developed the original centralised version of the vault, provides the portfolio construction and non-custodial infrastructure. Fluxion acts as the liquidity layer, connecting deposits to the vault and offering its native DEX capabilities for RWA distribution.

To support the launch, Mantle is introducing an incentive programme featuring 5.14 million GROVE tokens. This initiative targets an APY of up to 6.5%, though rates and durations are subject to market conditions and are not guaranteed. The move follows a significant growth period for Mantle, which saw its RWA total value locked (TVL) rise from $22 million to $257 million over the past year, while its DeFi TVL surpassed $755 million.

"Mantle Vault started as a product built for Bybit’s user base. Its expansion into DeFi through Grove, CIAN, and Fluxion shows what an open financial network is meant to do: connect global market participants to institutional-grade capital market assets, wherever they are,"

Emily Bao, Key Advisor at Mantle and Spot Executive at Bybit.

The companies involved

Mantle operates as an open financial network designed to connect global market participants with institutional-grade assets on-chain. It has established a significant presence in the Ethereum Layer 2 space, focusing heavily on the tokenization of real-world assets. The network’s growth is closely linked to Bybit, a major cryptocurrency exchange where Emily Bao serves as Spot Executive.

Grove provides the essential savings infrastructure for this collaboration, specifically through Grove Savings. The company focuses on creating interfaces for governance-approved yield strategies, such as the Sky Savings Rate. CIAN is a decentralised finance protocol specialising in yield automation and portfolio construction. It has a history of building institutional-grade tools, having developed the initial Mantle Vault for centralised environments. Fluxion serves as a Mantle-native decentralised exchange (DEX) tailored for RWA distribution. By combining hybrid Automated Market Maker (AMM) and Request for Quote (RFQ) trading with xStocks’ xChange, Fluxion enables direct access to tokenized equity trading. Other key players in this broader ecosystem include Sky Protocol, which manages the underlying yield-bearing tokens used in the vault’s strategy.

What this means

This announcement highlights a shift in how institutional yield is distributed, moving away from the "walled gardens" of centralised exchanges toward permissionless DeFi protocols. By making the Sky Savings Rate accessible via a non-custodial vault, Mantle is putting pressure on traditional yield aggregators that lack direct RWA integration. The move raises critical questions for the sector regarding the sustainability of incentive-driven APYs and the long-term transparency of "conservative" on-chain strategies. As more institutional assets migrate to Layer 2 networks, the competition to provide the primary liquidity layer for tokenized equities and stablecoin yield is likely to intensify, forcing existing DeFi players to prove their risk management credentials.