What is this MANTRA Chain ($MANTRA)?

9may...WMMw

13 Apr 2024

MANTRA recognizes that the Cosmos ecosystem lacks a chain that is specifically designed to provide regulatory compliance across a wide range of real-world assets (RWA) and tokenized assets. Given this gap in the current ecosystem, we strongly feel that a “chain of regulated digital assets” will create a forward-thinking protocol that attracts users from diverse backgrounds, many of whom may not be current participants within the crypto space, and who value the importance and safety of regulatory compliance.

It is clear that regulation of the Web3 space and the products and services that Web3 provides is coming in many jurisdictions around the world. MANTRA Chain welcomes this development. MANTRA Chain is being developed with regulatory compliant modules so that it can capitalize on licenses from regulatory authorities, such as SOMA.finance’s U.S. licenses, and the licenses MANTRA Finance will pursue in the UAE, Latin America and other jurisdictions across the globe. We believe this will attract institutional and retail users that potentially come from a more traditional and regulated background. Furthermore, a chain designed to service regulated digital assets will not only attract a wider range of user demographics, but also institutional and retail developers that look to build products in a regulatory compliant and transparent environment.

In addition, with MANTRA’s underlying security and compliance monitoring, builders will be able to develop MANTRA Chain based projects and applications without friction. This will enable us to attract a diverse group of Web3 builders focusing on payments, real-world assets, and more. MANTRA Chain aims to be proactive and forward thinking, to capitalize on the wave of increasing regulatory requirements adopted by governments around the world.
MANTRA Chain is built on top of the Cosmos SDK, as Cosmos intends to be the ‘internet of blockchains’, creating a network of independent blockchains. These independent blockchains are called ‘zones’ and are powered by Byzantine fault-tolerant ("BFT") consensus protocols like Tendermint.

Tendermint provides a high-performance, consistent and secure BFT consensus engine, where strict fork-accountability limits the ability of malicious actors to cause harm. Tendermint is well suited for scaling heterogeneous blockchains, including public blockchains such as EVMOS, which is known as an extremely fast Proof-of-Stake (PoS) implementation of Ethereum, as well as performance critical permission/consortium chains.
To develop robust interoperable blockchains and blockchain applications with the Cosmos Hub, Cosmos SDK provides developers with a blockchain development 'starter-kit' of common blockchain modules, while not enforcing user stories; this provides maximum flexibility for application customization.

“Permissionless blockchain for permissioned applications”

We believe that future regulation will primarily focus on the application layer, rather than the protocol layer. Therefore, it makes logical sense to build a protocol that supports a variety of regulated activities. This includes on-chain identification, permissioned access to products, and connectivity to the fiat/banking world through on/off ramps. MANTRA Chain is developed for this specific purpose: to allow for the permissionless ability to build Web3 applications on a high performance, scalable blockchain architecture, but with the toolkit to build regulated, compliant and permissioned applications.

Compliance: Applications built on MANTRA Chain will benefit from a compliant environment on which to build, access to regulated digital assets, and a transparent ecosystem to build openly.
Web3 yield engine: MANTRA Chain welcomes Web3 builders to develop on top of the chain and gain full benefit of integration with the chain’s sustainable yield engine to attract and reward participants.
Interoperable: Tendermint is used as the consensus protocol for building the first zone on the Cosmos Hub. The hub can connect to a large number of other zones, like MANTRA Chain, and communication is achieved via its IBC protocol, a kind of virtual UDP or TCP for blockchains. MANTRA Chain will permit tokens to be transferred from one zone to another securely through the Cosmos Hub, without the need for an exchange or a trusted third party between zones.
Other Benefits:

Multi-chain decentralized application (dAPP) ecosystem
Vertically-integrated Blockchain ecosystem
Build dAPPs on CosmWasm
IBC compatible tokens: tokens launched on MANTRA Chain can operate on a variety of networks
MANTRA Chain can facilitate fast cross-chain transactions across the largest L1 networks

Key Features and Products:

Real-world Asset Tokenization: MANTRA Assets
Decentralized ID (DID) / Soulbound NFT
Fiat On/Off Ramp
MANTRA Token Service SDK
MANTRA Compliance
Native DEX
Interoperable via Cosmos IBC
Yield Engine
Launchpad: Capital Formation Platform

Tokenization of real-world assets (RWA)
Tokenizing an asset refers to the act of representing an ownership interest in real-world assets in a digital token (i.e., tokenization is the process of issuing a token that digitally represents tradable assets). Any asset with real-world value such as art, commodities or real estate can be easily tradable once it is converted into a digital representation in the form of a token. These tokens are issued through security token offerings (STOs) and can then be traded on a KYC/AML guarded secondary market such as MANTRA Chain’ decentralized exchange (DEX).

Tokenization creates a more seamless process for the transfer of ownership. Because all tokens exist on the blockchain, and a blockchain is another word for a ledger, much of the bureaucracy and manual processes associated with the transfer of these assets is automated and maintained by the blockchain. Each transaction that involves a token has sender and receiver signatures, a time-stamp, and an amount-paid recorded in the blockchain’s transaction data that is completely transparent and immutable.

Identity System
MANTRA Chain’s protocol will implement an identity system known as “Decentralized I.D.” (“DID”) for onboarding users for purposes of KYC or KYB (know your customer / know your business). DID will allow all types of users to onboard in a permissionless way through the chain, allowing them to make use of the underlying ecosystem. With this one-time permissionless onboarding process, MANTRA Chain will provide a passportable user experience similar to those currently used by centralized systems, resulting in a smooth customer journey.
With a DID system in place, users will benefit from an added security layer, reducing the risk of fraud or malicious activities with the help of proper AML/CT screening. This enables MANTRA Chain to offer users the ability to build a safe, transparent and efficient ecosystem.

On and off-ramping
With MANTRA Chain’s development focus on anticipating increased regulatory efforts in many jurisdictions, retail and institutional users will be able to access on-ramp and off-ramp services for fiat, equities, tokenized securities and digital assets through MANTRA Chain in a regulatorily compliant environment.

Governance
MANTRA Chain utilizes on-chain governance. We intend MANTRA Chain to continually upgrade and improve over time through community member participation. Members can coordinate formally on-chain and informally off-chain to participate in discussions and debates about the Chain’s operations, propose changes, and vote on them. As some networks, like Ethereum, do not offer any sort of on-chain governance features, MANTRA Chain’s on-chain governance offers significant differentiation through participatory engagement from all stakeholders involved.

IBC compatibility
The Cosmos Hub is a blockchain that hosts a multi-asset distributed ledger, where tokens can be held by individual users or by zones themselves. These tokens can be moved from one zone to another in a special IBC packet known as a “coin packet”. IBC coin packet transactions must be committed by the sender, hub, and receiver blockchains.

Unlike other chains that build their infrastructure and then look for developers to build on their platform, MANTRA Chain will already have a thriving ecosystem in place. This is because we are bringing pre-built, compliant dApps from two well-known brands: SOMA.finance and MANTRA Finance. MANTRA Chain is also partnering with several on and off-ramp solution providers to ensure a seamless user experience. Lastly, MANTRA Chain is set to bring a new set of audiences to the Cosmos ecosystem, making it a dynamic and diverse platform for all.