Mantle MIP-35: the Core budget for the fourth budget cycle

The Mantle Core Contributor team, posting as @MantleCore, put MIP-35 on the Mantle forum on 28 October 2026. It asks MNT holders to authorize the spending limits for Mantle Core operations across the fourth budget cycle, 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. The proposal is open on Snapshot from 4 November to 11 November 2026, and as of 8 November 2026 every unit of voting power cast so far sits with the Yes choice. It matters because these limits decide how much of the community treasury may be committed to running the network itself: the chain and its proving and sequencer work, its security coverage, and the team that maintains them.

The proposal reports that third-cycle spending stayed inside every published limit, with $17.11 million USDx and 39.63 million MNT spent against limits of $52.00 million USDx and 200.00 million MNT. The fourth-cycle limits it proposes are lower in USDx than in the third cycle and lower in most MNT categories, and the team describes the shape of the budget as a focused Network platform hosting and distributing real-world assets.

What it changes

• Total authorized limits for the fourth budget cycle: 40 million USDx and 150 million MNT, against $52.00 million USDx and 200.00 million MNT in the third cycle.
• Workforce, covering network, security, institutional coverage and core operations: $10,000,000 USDx and 30,000,000 MNT, down from $13.00m USDx and 50.00m MNT.
• General and administrative, covering legal, regulatory, finance, people and administration: $5,000,000 USDx and 2,000,000 MNT, with the USDx ceiling unchanged from the third cycle and MNT added.
• Marketing and institutional distribution: $7,000,000 USDx and 12,000,000 MNT, down from $12.00m USDx and 20.00m MNT.
• Ecosystem and builder programmes: $8,000,000 USDx and 96,000,000 MNT, down from $12.00m USDx and 120.00m MNT. The thread states that grants to ecosystem projects account for 6% and 30% of USDx and MNT spent respectively, down significantly from the past cycle.
• Infrastructure and security: $10,000,000 USDx and 10,000,000 MNT, unchanged from the third cycle.
• Excluded from the budget scope: financing and treasury-strategy activities such as node delegation and credit facilities, liquidity provisioning and investments, protocol gas costs for Network operations, other non-USDx and non-MNT programmes, and the operating costs of the mETH Protocol and UR product lines unless a recharge to Core is disclosed.
• The team says its headcount went from 72 to 35 full-time contributors during the third cycle, and that MNT awards for Core contributors continue in cycle four.
• The limits are ceilings rather than payments. Inside them, the thread's workforce section covers Mantle's Core team and its MNT awards for Core contributors. The thread names ecosystem projects as the recipients of grants, without naming individual grantees; marketing agencies, partners and research entities for marketing work; and professional service providers for recruitment, legal advisory and finance support.
• Any actual or forecast spending above a published category limit, or above the totals, requires a further discussion and vote.

The case for it

The team says the limits were cut and calibrated: "The budget limit for the fourth budget cycle has been reduced and calibrated given the operational confidence to operate within limits: 40 million USDx and 150 million MNT." It also points to its record in the closing cycle: "Mantle has demonstrated continued strong financial discipline and operational excellence in the third budget cycle, while simultaneously opening up borderless access to onchain capital markets." And it keeps the check on spending explicit: "Any actual or forecast spending above a published category limit, or above the totals, continues to require a subsequent discussion and vote."

Where it stands

The Snapshot vote runs from 4 November 2026 at 11:18 UTC to 11 November 2026 at 11:18 UTC. As of 8 November 2026, the tally is 40,036,518.81 of voting power for Yes and 0.00 for No, across 78 votes. Snapshot lists a quorum of 100,000,000, which the tally is below. The proposal text notes that the limits apply pro-rata for up to six months of the following cycle, to allow a subsequent budget to be proposed, discussed and approved.

The cycle the vote authorizes began on 1 July 2026, so the limits are being set for a period that has already started. The forum thread has a single post from the author and no replies so far, and the Snapshot vote closes on 11 November 2026 at 11:18 UTC. The proposal names no step after the vote.