WOOFi’s Ben Yorke and Mantle’s Gabriel Foo On Boosting mETH Adoption and Revolutionizing DeFi

Recently, WOOFi launched on the Mantle Network to boost mETH adoption. This enabled WOOFI to become one of the very first protocols to support LayerZero-powered cross-chain swaps into the Mantle Network from eight popular chains, including Arbitrum, Optimism, and Avalanche.

In this exclusive interview, Ben Yorke, WOOFi’s VP of Ecosystem, and Gabriel Foo, Mantle’s DeFi Growth Lead, explain WOOFi’s and Mantle’s latest venture. Both Yorke and Foo point out in this interview how this latest move could further improve the DeFi space.

1. Recently, WOOFi announced its official launch on the Mantle Network. Could you both comment on the reason behind this partnership?

Ben Yorke: Our decision to launch on Mantle Network is rooted in its impressive growth, with over $2.6 billion across its ecosystem of DEXs in trading volume since its mainnet release in July last year. The rising adoption of $mETH (Mantle Staked ETH) fuels tangible demand for hyper-efficient cross-chain swaps, which is where we come in to demonstrate prowess. This integration positions WOOFi as a key player in the mETH ecosystem to further support our growth ambitions while catering to significant user demand for broader DeFi access.

Gabriel Foo: WOOFi’s arrival in the Mantle Ecosystem alleviates issues caused by fragmented liquidity while abstracting away problems that commonly plague bridging and cross-chain transactions. As a top 10 cross-chain DEX, WOOFi’s deep-seated experience and proven capabilities align with Mantle Ecosystem’s ethos to empower experienced builder teams with a strong innovation core. Through our latest integration with WOOFi, Mantle users are able to navigate their DeFi journey seamlessly while testing out myriad theses on the Mantle Network. 

2. What factors contributed to WOOFi choosing Mantle Network?

Ben Yorke: Following the launch of Mantle LSP and $mETH, Mantle Network experienced a significant MAU surge from 14,000+ in November 2023 to 370,000+ in January 2024. User demand is showing no signs of slowing, given the latest bull run driven largely by liquid restaking innovation and intents-based protocols.

There are deep synergies to explore with Mantle Network’s focus on ecosystem composability, unparalleled liquidity, and capital efficiencies. This presents a strategic launchpad for WOOFi to power ultrafast cross-chain swaps into Mantle and become a leading liquidity provider on the Mantle Network.

Moreover, rising volumes, rising adoption of $mETH, and having one of the largest treasuries in DeFi ($2.5B) have placed Mantle on the map of builders everywhere. Everything points up for Mantle, and WOOFi is proud to support its aim of becoming an all-encompassing DeFi hub.

3. With Mantle’s substantial treasury, supported by contributions from Bybit, and the rising adoption of mETH, could you explain how this exactly further solidifies its position as a key player in the DeFi space?

Gabriel Foo: The might of Mantle Treasury allows us to support promising DeFi projects through grants, investments, and incentives, culminating in initiatives such as the $200 million Mantle EcoFund and Mantle Showcase Apps. The treasury mitigates potential liquidity problems and acts as a buffer against unexpected costs; this financial stability protects users and developers against market volatility, fostering trust and sustainability to maintain an unequivocally vibrant Mantle Ecosystem.

$mETH has gained sizable traction in lieu of the latest slate of LSDFi breakthroughs, rising the ranks to become a top 5 liquid staking protocol. This translates to a utility flywheel that brings more transactions onto the network, generating revenue and attracting developers to build complementary DApps.

Overall, Mantle’s substantial treasury, rising $mETH adoption, and Bybit’s support create a substantially positive feedback loop. Mantle’s focus on reinvigorating blockchain communities and promising dApps through strategic investments from the $200M Mantle EcoFund attracts projects and users, mETH adoption increases network activity and liquidity, and Bybit’s involvement adds credibility and reach. This seismic combination significantly solidifies our role as a key player across the ever-evolving DeFi landscape, and one that’s here to stay.

4. In a report, it explained WOOFi’s utilization of professional market makers and on-chain price feeds in Mantle. Could you explain how this approach differs from traditional DEXs and the benefits it brings to Mantle traders in terms of liquidity and fees?

Ben Yorke: Unlike most DEXs, WOOFi uses professional market makers that simulate CEX liquidity with on-chain price feeds. Mantle traders benefit from tight quotes, and since there are no traditional liquidity providers that need feeding, WOOFi stakers enjoy 80% of the fees from Mantle swaps, with the other 20% going back to aggregators as part of WOOFI’s broker program. This in turn enhances liquidity for Mantle traders due to improved capital efficiencies and high-quality trading execution without liquidity bootstrapping, allowing for a much smoother overall user experience.

5. Can you elaborate on the promotional offers designed to attract users to your platform? Could you also provide insights into the various incentives and strategies implemented to encourage user engagement and adoption of your services?

Ben Yorke: WOOFi is proud to have been granted 50,000 $MNT incentives from Mantle’s EcoFund, in which WOOFi users will be able to earn $MNT by cross-chain swapping assets into Mantle and lending capital in WOOFi’s Mantle Earn vaults. Last year, Mantle Network also launched Mantle Journey, an open-access, incentives-driven model to galvanize active participation throughout the Mantle Ecosystem. This has introduced a unique index to measure user engagement, allowing for off-chain reward aggregation through social media integration to ultimately create a more comprehensive, web3-ready community engagement strategy.

6. With the market and regulatory landscape evolving, how do WOOFi and Mantle hope to adapt to this ever-changing market?

Ben Yorke: At WOOFi, our goal is to provide liquidity on top-tier trading platforms while contributing to the growing adoption of virtual assets across the globe. We are committed to meeting the diverse needs of our users while building secure and innovative infrastructure to foster trust and reliability within the thriving DeFi ecosystem. Looking ahead, we will continue to improve our business model and reinvest the funds into improving our product suite, obtaining regulatory licenses across key markets, and providing users with robust liquidity.

Gabriel Foo: As Mantle Network strives to lead and innovate within the DeFi space, we remain committed to building a robust permissionless DeFi ecosystem with a security-first approach. Our recent collaborations with cutting-edge companies such as Lagrange Labs, Clearpool, EigenLayer, and now WOOFi demonstrate our voracity to facilitate decentralization without compromising network security. Everything that we do ultimately ladders up to our vision of proliferating the mass adoption of token-governed technologies for a more accessible and efficient financial future.