Bybit Taps Aave to Link 80M Users with $1.25B Mantle DeFi

Edgen Crypto

·Mar 18 2026, 01:37

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Key Takeaways

Bybit, Aave, and CIAN have launched a strategic alliance on the Mantle network, aiming to create a seamless bridge between centralized and decentralized finance. This integration combines Bybit's massive user base and liquidity with Aave's established lending markets and CIAN's automated yield strategies, building on Mantle's recent growth surge.

Strategic Alliance: Bybit's Mantle Vault has integrated with Aave and CIAN to channel liquidity and automated strategies onto the Mantle network.
Massive Scale: The partnership provides Bybit's 80 million users with direct access to a DeFi ecosystem managing over $1.25 billion in total value locked (TVL).
Building Momentum: The move follows a period of rapid expansion for Mantle, which recently surpassed $1 billion in TVL and established a $1.25 billion lending market on Aave.

Bybit Connects 80M Users to $1.25B DeFi Market

Bybit announced a strategic alliance on March 17 with DeFi lending giant Aave and automation protocol CIAN to deepen its integration with the Mantle network. The partnership connects Bybit's pool of 80 million users to an on-chain ecosystem with over $1.25 billion in total value locked (TVL). By integrating Bybit's Mantle Vault, the collaboration channels centralized exchange liquidity directly into Aave's lending markets, with CIAN providing automated strategies to optimize yield for users.

This initiative effectively creates a powerful bridge between centralized finance (CeFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). It allows Bybit's customers to access on-chain financial products with reduced friction, leveraging Mantle's Layer 2 infrastructure for efficient transactions. The integration aims to dissolve the barriers between the two financial paradigms, enabling capital to flow more freely into the growing Mantle ecosystem.

Mantle's TVL Surpassed $1B Ahead of Partnership

The alliance capitalizes on Mantle's significant growth trajectory. Just before the announcement, on March 10, the network's DeFi TVL crossed the $1 billion threshold for the first time, while its stablecoin market capitalization approached $980 million. These milestones signaled strong market confidence and accelerating adoption of Mantle as a key layer for on-chain finance.

This momentum was particularly evident within the Aave protocol itself. Prior to the new alliance, the Aave market on Mantle had already grown to over $1.25 billion in total lending and borrowing market size, making it one of the most significant DeFi lending venues in the Ethereum ecosystem. The new integration with Bybit's user base is set to inject substantial new liquidity and activity, amplifying Mantle's strategy of merging the scale of CeFi with the composability of DeFi.