• Swap wETH to Mantle’s mETH from major chains in under 60 seconds.
• No traditional bridges, slippage, or complex onboarding steps required.
• Netting + rebalancing cuts liquidity fragmentation and operational costs.

The blockchain industry’s liquidity fragmentation problem has a new solution.

Everclear, the interoperability protocol formerly known as Connext, has launched cross-chain asset settlement on Mantle Network.

The partnership will allow users to convert wrapped Ethereum (wETH) from major chains including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, and Polygon directly into Mantle’s mETH token in under 60 seconds.

The integration bypasses traditional bridging entirely, marking a significant infrastructure breakthrough for decentralized finance adoption.​

The partnership tackles one of DeFi’s most stubborn challenges: liquidity fragmentation.

As blockchain ecosystems have proliferated, identical assets now exist in multiple representations across different networks.

This fragmentation creates inefficiency, higher costs, and friction that deters both retail and institutional participation.

Everclear’s clearing infrastructure solves this problem by netting cross-chain flows and automatically rebalancing inventory, dramatically reducing redundant liquidity and operational costs.​

How the settlement layer works

The mechanics are elegant in their simplicity. Users holding wETH on any supported chain select Mantle as their destination.

Everclear’s solver network fills the intent immediately, delivering mETH to the user’s wallet while managing settlement and rebalancing operations behind the scenes at optimal pricing.

The result is zero slippage, fast execution, and capital efficiency that traditional bridges cannot match.​

Nikita Bulgakov from the Everclear Foundation explained the vision:

Everclear was built to be the settlement layer for a fragmented, multi-asset future. By connecting different representations of the same asset, we enable partners like Mantle and mETH Protocol to offer a truly chain-abstracted experience to users.​

Accelerating Mantle’s institutional adoption

Mantle has emerged as a serious contender in the liquidity infrastructure space, anchoring over $4 billion in community-owned assets and positioning itself as the premier gateway for institutions connecting with on-chain liquidity and real-world assets.

The mETH Protocol, Mantle’s flagship liquid staking solution, achieved a peak total value locked of $2.19 billion and is now integrated across 40+ major platforms including Bybit, Ethena, and leading custody providers like P2P and Copper.

“Real-world usability of on-chain assets depends on efficient settlement across chains,” said Emily Bao, Key Advisor of Mantle.

This integration reinforces Mantle’s RWA and ETH-native strategy by removing onboarding friction and enabling capital to flow into the ecosystem in a more scalable, institutional-grade way.

The Everclear partnership removes a critical barrier to growth.

Previously, users navigating multiple chains faced bridge risks, slippage costs, and complexity that discouraged participation. Now, onboarding becomes frictionless.

Expanding the settlement layer

Everclear already processes approximately $400 million in monthly volume across blue-chip assets and stablecoins, serving professional users including market makers, solvers, bridges, and exchanges.

The Mantle launch marks the beginning of expanded cross-asset settlement capabilities, with plans to support additional ETH-based assets, stablecoins, and emerging blockchain networks.​

This development underscores the industry’s evolution toward chain-abstracted finance, where users and institutions interact with blockchain infrastructure without managing underlying complexity.

For the DeFi ecosystem, it represents a meaningful step toward mainstream adoption.

The post Everclear launches cross-chain asset settlement on Mantle, enabling 60-second wETH-to-mETH swaps appeared first on CoinJournal.

Mantle partners with Everclear to enable instant, frictionless wETH-to-mETH swaps across major Ethereum chains, eliminating traditional bridging.

• Arbitrum price is hovering near $0.20 amid a 3% dip in the past 24 hours.
• The altcoin could dip further as investors await an upcoming $19 million ARB unlock.
• Overall market sentiment and network milestones will help bulls.

Arbitrum’s ARB token has returned to the $0.20 level, as the Ethereum-based layer-2 network prepares for another sizeable token unlock that will add to the circulating supply.

ARB was trading about 3% lower over the past 24 hours, while sentiment across the broader cryptocurrency market remained mixed amid continued volatility.

Supply-related concerns, alongside wider market conditions, are expected to influence Arbitrum’s near-term price performance.

Arbitrum faces $19 million token unlock this week

Arbitrum is set to undergo a major cliff unlock on January 16, 2026.

Details show the L2 is poised for the release of 96 million ARB tokens worth about $19.6 million.

This unlock, representing about 1.68% of the adjusted circulating supply, is directed primarily to the Arbitrum DAO Treasury.

It’s part of Arbitrum’s structured vesting schedule, which allocates tokens across categories including the DAO Treasury, team, investors, and ecosystem participants.

According to data from Tokenomist, the ARB unlock occurs amid a busy week for token releases across the crypto space.

Some of the large cliff unlocks scheduled for January 12 to January 19 include ONDO with over $770 million and TRUMP with over $299 million.

UPCOMING TOKEN UNLOCKS 🚨

One-time large unlocks (>$5M):$ONDO, $CONX, $ARB, $DBR, $CHEEL, $STRK, $SEI, $ZK

Linear daily unlocks (>$1M/day):$RAIN, $SOL, $TRUMP, $WLD, $RIVER, $DOGE, $AVAX, $ASTER, $TAO

Total unlock value: >$1.69B

Unlocks don’t guarantee dumps but they do… pic.twitter.com/t4Ojf9TEZl

— Wise Advice (@wiseadvicesumit) January 12, 2026

Notably, these supply injections can introduce selling pressure if recipients liquidate holdings, particularly in a cautious market environment.

While the impact may not be so devastating, historical patterns show that such events often trigger short-term volatility.

ARB price outlook

ARB has declined nearly 5% in the past week.

Bulls pushed to highs near $0.23 earlier in the week, but have since pared gains as prices fall below $0.21.

Currently, buyers are regrouping near $0.20 as the impending unlock appears to shape immediate market action.

Risk-off behaviour that has pushed Bitcoin and Ethereum off recent highs, and tokens like XRP to key support, could impact the ARB price too.

“US-hours BTC selling, while less concentrated than in prior weeks, remains a persistent feature, and uncertainty around the remaining overhang of supply continues to cap upside. Combined with rising macro volatility, the relative appeal of crypto looks increasingly challenged, particularly when set against the resilience of precious metals and equities,” QCP analysts said in a note.

As per the analysts, investor focus will be on key events such as the US CPI data release and the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling.

Short-term, Arbitrum price could fall to support in the $0.19-$0.17 region.

On the upside, ARB could rally to $0.25 and then $0.30 with long-term targets of $0.60 and $0.80.

Arbitrum’s key milestones, including Orbit for Layer-3 chains, gaming initiatives and institutional integrations like the Robinhood partnership, are crucial to this outlook.

The post Arbitrum price forecast as investors ponder $19M ARB unlock appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Wyoming has launched FRNT, the first stablecoin issued and backed by a US state government.
• The dollar-pegged token is fully backed by cash and Treasuries and managed by Franklin Templeton.
• Interest from reserves is directed to Wyoming public schools rather than token holders.

Wyoming has formally entered the digital asset market by issuing the first stablecoin created and backed by a US state government.

The launch places a publicly managed dollar-pegged token directly onto open crypto networks, marking a shift from privately issued stablecoins that currently dominate the market.

Known as the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT), the project reflects years of legal and technical groundwork and positions Wyoming as a testing ground for how blockchain-based money could function inside public finance systems.

The token’s debut also arrives as US regulators continue to debate how digital dollars should be governed, leaving states to explore their own approaches within existing frameworks.

How the token enters crypto markets

The Frontier Stable Token went live on January 7, according to an announcement carried by Wyoming Public Media and confirmed by the state’s Stable Token Commission.

Trading is initially available on Kraken, a Wyoming-based cryptocurrency exchange, with issuance beginning on the Solana blockchain.

While Solana is the first network used, the token has been designed for broader reach.

Through Stargate, the stablecoin can move to Ethereum, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Optimism, Polygon, and Solana.

This multi-chain structure allows the token to circulate beyond a single ecosystem, increasing its potential use across decentralised finance applications and payment rails without being locked into one network.

Backing structure and reserve controls

Wyoming has allocated $6 million to the project so far, with further funding still under discussion as public trading begins.

The reserves backing the token are held in a Wyoming-chartered trust and managed by Franklin Templeton.

Those reserves are reported to be fully backed, consisting of US dollars, cash equivalents, and short-term US Treasury securities.

Rather than being distributed to token holders, interest generated from the reserve assets is directed to Wyoming public schools.

Why holders receive no yield

At launch, the stablecoin does not offer yield to users who hold it.

State officials have linked this decision to regulatory uncertainty in the US surrounding interest-bearing digital assets.

By avoiding yield payments, Wyoming aims to reduce legal risk while federal rules remain unsettled.

Officials have indicated that the structure could be revisited in the future if clearer guidance emerges at the national level. Any changes would depend on how regulators define the boundaries between stablecoins, securities, and banking products.

Testing payments inside government systems

Beyond acting as a digital dollar, the stablecoin is also being explored as a payment tool for government services.

Wyoming officials have highlighted the cost of card processing fees, which can significantly reduce net revenue for local administrations.

In counties with high transaction volumes and fixed margins, these fees are seen as a growing strain.

By settling payments on-chain, the state is examining whether digital tokens could lower costs and speed up settlement while keeping more value within public systems.

The public launch follows several delays over the past year, although no technical or liquidity issues have been reported so far.

Early trading volumes remain modest, which is typical for a newly issued stablecoin, particularly one issued by a government.

The Wyoming Stable Token Commission is scheduled to meet on January 15 to review early performance and discuss next steps as the experiment moves forward.

The post Wyoming launches state-backed stablecoin as public finance experiment appeared first on CoinJournal.