Mantle announced on August 25 the expansion of its Mantle Vault into decentralized finance. The move follows the product’s earlier success on Bybit, where the centralized version surpassed $200 million in assets under management. The new version lets users deposit USDC or USDT0 while retaining control of their private keys and interacting directly with smart contracts.

The DeFi vault is accessible through Fluxion, Mantle’s native decentralized exchange and real-world asset distribution platform. CIAN designed the underlying strategy, the same protocol that built the original Bybit product. Grove supplies the connection to yield generated by sUSDS, the savings version of Sky’s USDS stablecoin.

From Centralized Exchange to Self-Custody

The original Mantle Vault launched on Bybit in December 2025. Customers deposited USDC or USDT through Bybit Earn, with funds deployed into Mantle-based yield strategies managed behind the scenes. That version crossed the $200 million threshold, demonstrating demand before a self-custodial option became available.

In the new structure, users no longer rely on an exchange account to hold and deploy stablecoins. Instead, they interact with on-chain contracts via Fluxion. CIAN applied a similar portfolio construction approach, now delivered without intermediate custody. The strategy remains non-leveraged, reducing one common source of liquidation risk while keeping positions and transactions visible on public infrastructure.

Yield Mechanics and Incentive Structure

Deposited USDC and USDT0 gain exposure to yield produced by sUSDS. Grove provides the capital foundation through Grove Savings, the on-chain interface to the Sky Savings Rate. That rate is determined by Sky governance and delivered via the Sky Agent Network, a group of independent capital allocators operating under governance-approved strategies.

Because the savings rate can change through governance decisions and market conditions, the underlying return is variable rather than fixed for the duration of a deposit. An earlier review of real-world asset deposits recorded sUSDS supply at 4.61 billion with a savings rate of 3.52 percent at that time.

Mantle’s materials list a target APY of up to 6.5 percent. On top of the base yield, the launch includes a dedicated incentive program of 5.14 million GROVE tokens plus Fluxion Points. Program terms, duration and rates may vary according to market conditions, and the incentives are not guaranteed.

Growth in Mantle’s Real-World Asset Activity

The expansion arrives amid rapid growth in Mantle’s real-world asset and DeFi metrics. Figures released with the announcement place RWA total value locked at $257 million, up from $22 million over the prior year, while overall DeFi TVL exceeded $755 million. Separate data from the first half of 2026 indicated DeFi TVL had surpassed $1 billion after a 230 percent expansion, with RWA-focused DeFi TVL above $90 million.

Stablecoin market capitalization on the network reached $955 million, representing 120 percent year-over-year growth. Tokenized equity products also expanded, rising from 10 in April to 155 by the end of June, including instruments linked to SpaceX and Franklin Templeton’s U.S. Equity Index ETF. Such products do not automatically confer direct ownership, voting rights or the investor protections of the underlying securities; eligibility continues to depend on the issuer, distributor and jurisdiction.

Access Considerations and Regulatory Context

Fluxion serves as the liquidity layer and primary interface for the vault, combining hybrid AMM/RFQ trading with access to tokenized equities. Availability for users in the United States depends on Fluxion’s compliance terms, wallet restrictions and applicable federal and state rules. Statements about borderless access do not guarantee that every feature or incentive is available to every resident.

U.S. legislation adds further complexity. The GENIUS Act already prohibits payment stablecoin issuers from paying interest or yield directly to holders. Reward structures offered by exchanges, brokers and DeFi platforms remain under congressional discussion. Banking groups have urged lawmakers to restrict programs they view as loopholes, while crypto participants have argued that returns generated by an external strategy differ from interest paid by a stablecoin issuer itself.

Mantle and its partners present the vault’s return as strategy-generated yield sourced from sUSDS, with Fluxion Points and GROVE tokens positioned as separate promotional incentives rather than direct interest payments. The non-custodial, non-leveraged design and reliance on a governance-set rate place the product within the category of activity that regulators have so far treated with greater tolerance, though the broader framework for stablecoin yield continues to evolve.

Supported deposit assets are currently limited to USDC and USDT0, an omnichain version of Tether’s dollar token designed for movement across supported networks. Users retain responsibility for key management and transaction approval while remaining exposed to smart-contract risk, stablecoin price movements, liquidity conditions and changes to the Sky savings rate.