Manifold
Manifold is a middleware protocol aimed to improve connectivity between DeFi projects. Its first product (OpenMEV) protects traders against on-chain arbitragers via its MEV-based solution.
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- Code not reviewed by any experienced auditors
- Public team promotes accountability
- No documented protocol hacks since launch
- Core protocol launched in 2021; maturity over one year minimizes technical risk as smart contracts are well battle-tested
- Top 20% by total value locked slightly reduces risk
- Requires members of a DAO to vote on-chain for approving contract upgrades
- No timelock exists or no information documented, which mean a malicious actor could approve upgrades without any delay
- Low voting power concentration reduces risk
- No death spiral concerns
- This protocol is susceptible to risks related to staking a token to secure a network, such as slashing events
How Manifold works
Manifold is a middleware protocol that aims to improve connectivity between DeFi products. The first product, OpenMEV, was built to protect users from MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) attacks. MEV is the value that can be extracted from user transactions by changing the ordering of transactions within a block. This power to reorder transactions lies with miners on Proof-of-Work (PoW) chains and with validators on Proof-of-Stake (PoS) chains. Common attack vectors for MEV bots and arbitragers include frontrunning and sandwich attacks, both of which work to extract value from users. Manifold's OpenMEV product serves to protect users from such attacks by taking advantage of the MEV opportunities and returning a portion of the funds to the initial user who placed the trade. The platform achieves this through a mix of MEV and smart contract techniques, and end-user partnerships with exchanges like SushiSwap. Before OpenMEV, every user would send a transaction directly to the network mempool (an off-chain pool of submitted but still pending transactions), which results in MEV attacks. With OpenMEV, the matching engine matches all Sushi trades that enabled MEV protection (Sushi Guard), thus allowing the protocol to extract the MEV gains through a private communication channel. The MEV earnings are then returned to eligible traders as a transaction cost refund. Otherwise, the trade still benefits from a protected trade submission through a private RPC endpoint, which is a unique URL that only the owner can use to send transactions to the mempool. Manifold has its own private RPC called SecureRPC.
How Manifold makes money
Manifold generates revenue from its OpenMEV product and distributes them to all parties involved. Currently, 25% of all MEV opportunities captured are distributed back to FOLD stakers (xFOLD), 25% to validators, and the remaining 50% to the users (Sushi traders).
How you make money on Manifold
You can earn a portion of MEV revenue by staking FOLD to receive xFOLD. xFOLD revenue is directly correlated with the platform's growth as more protocols integrate with OpenMEV.
Additional resources
Learn more about MEV and Manifold