The RWA project MANTRA has reached a $1 billion asset tokenization protocol with DAMAC

On January 9, the blockchain project MANTRA, which focuses on the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), announced a partnership with the renowned Dubai real estate group DAMAC Group, planning to tokenize at least $1 billion of the latter's assets in the UAE.

MANTRA has been very active in the RWA sector, and after its mainnet launch in October 2024, the price of its Token surged significantly. Data shows that MANTRA (OM) experienced an increase of up to 6418.3% throughout 2024, rising from $0.0584 at the beginning of the year to $3.81 by the end of the year, making it one of the best-performing RWA projects of 2024.

Key Focus on Middle East Business, Massive Asset Tokenization

John Mullin, co-founder and CEO of MANTRA, stated that DAMAC's support reflects great confidence in the prospects of RWA tokenization. DAMAC Group is a comprehensive group with businesses covering multiple fields such as real estate, capital markets, hotel resorts, and manufacturing. The group has acquired the Italian fashion brand Roberto Cavalli and the Swiss luxury jewelry brand de GRISOGONO, and has developed high-end real estate projects in London and the Maldives.

This collaboration aims to provide token-based financing solutions for DAMAC's portfolio, involving sectors such as real estate, hospitality, and data centers. This will enhance the accessibility of investments and simplify processes, with the tokenization of related assets expected to begin in early 2025.

Currently, MANTRA's business spans locations such as Hong Kong and Singapore, but its main operational focus is concentrated in the Middle East, particularly Dubai. Last year, MANTRA also reached a $500 million real estate asset tokenization agreement with developer MAG Property Development, with the first project starting from a residential project in Dubai.

In addition, MANTRA has signed a memorandum of understanding with Zand Bank, a digital bank authorized by the Central Bank of the UAE, to collaborate on developing a framework that supports RWA tokenization and distribution, while adhering to the regulations of the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).

Important Milestones of 2024

In 2024, MANTRA developed rapidly. In March, it completed a $11 million financing, and two months later, it received a strategic investment from a digital asset subsidiary of a securities company.

MANTRA has developed a set of RWA tools, including digital identity (DID), compliance system MANTRA Guard, token management system MTS, decentralized exchange (DEX), and liquidity efficient emission protocol (LEEP). These modules work together to achieve compliant management and liquidity of RWA tokenized assets.

MANTRA Token Service (MTS) is a comprehensive module that supports the creation and management of tokenized assets on the MANTRA Chain. MANTRA DEX introduces a protocol layer liquidity pool system that provides core support for the platform's decentralized finance (DeFi). MANTRA LEEP is currently in development, aiming to address the liquidity shortage in the cryptocurrency market, with a particular focus on assets beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The MANTRA mainnet will launch on October 23, 2024. Users can bridge OM tokens from ERC-20 to the MANTRA mainnet, stake OM to secure the network and earn rewards, as well as participate in new tasks to earn KARMA.

Future Development Plan

MANTRA CEO Mullin stated that the project's goal is to become a record ledger for asset issuance or RWA. He emphasized that the large-scale adoption of RWA requires a public blockchain compatible with the broader DeFi ecosystem. MANTRA is building a permissionless layer that allows asset issuers, tokenization platforms, and regulated trading venues to compliantly issue, distribute, and manage RWA.

MANTRA is expanding its DApp ecosystem, including a secondary market, the soon-to-be-licensed on-chain RWA liquidity center Omega, and partnerships with various DeFi providers in lending, borrowing, and fractional real estate products. At the same time, they are also exploring areas such as private credit, payments, and carbon credits.

Mullin outlined a three-stage development approach in the RWA field: the first stage focuses on bringing high-quality assets on-chain; the second stage emphasizes liquidity and secondary markets; the final stage will unlock the composability of RWA, allowing it to be used across different DeFi applications.

The goal of MANTRA is to reach $100 billion in RWA TVL by the end of 2026. Mullin stated that although progress is currently slow, they are attracting new funds and new participants into this space, and it is expected that over time, a snowball effect will form, ultimately positioning MANTRA as a leader in the RWA space.

Overall, the collaboration between MANTRA and DAMAC marks further application of blockchain technology in the Middle East real estate tokenization sector, providing new opportunities for the RWA track. As MANTRA continues to expand in the RWA field, the project demonstrates strong capabilities and is expected to become a leader in RWA.