The challenge DeFi faces today
Decentralized finance has done something remarkable: it’s given people all over the world access to tools once reserved for banks, brokers, and hedge funds. But behind the excitement lies a stubborn problem.
Liquidity — the money that flows through lending markets, decentralized exchanges, and yield farms — is often stuck. Once you deposit, your capital usually just sits in a pool, waiting. It can’t move, it can’t adapt, and it can’t easily be reused. Add to that the fact that liquidity is spread across different blockchains, and you get a system where capital is fragmented and underutilized.
For everyday users, this means limited opportunities. For developers, it means rebuilding the same infrastructure over and over. For institutions, it means opaque markets and inefficient capital deployment.
The Mitosis approach
Mitosis is built on the idea that liquidity shouldn’t be passive. Instead, it should be programmable — something you can use as a building block for new financial products.
When a user deposits an asset into Mitosis, they receive what’s called a Hub Asset. Think of it as a smart receipt that represents your deposit across chains. But unlike a regular receipt, it doesn’t just prove ownership — it unlocks the ability to do more with your liquidity.
From there, you can supply your Hub Asset to one of two systems:
Ecosystem-Owned Liquidity, where capital is pooled under community governance and participants receive miAssets.
Matrix, the flagship marketplace that offers curated deals with clear terms and rewards, issuing maAssets in return.
These assets aren’t just static tokens. They can be traded, combined, used as collateral, or even split into principal and yield. In other words, Mitosis transforms your deposit into a flexible, composable position.
Why programmable liquidity matters
By turning deposits into living, programmable components, Mitosis makes possible things that were previously out of reach:
Yield baskets and portfolios that diversify risk
Stablecoins that are backed by yield-bearing assets
Hedging tools that let you separate yield from principal
Lending markets where your collateral continues earning while backing loans
This opens the door to a more efficient and creative financial system, where liquidity flows more like energy than concrete.
Under the hood
Mitosis is more than just a protocol; it’s its own blockchain. Built as a modular Layer 1, it combines an EVM execution layer — familiar to Ethereum developers — with CometBFT consensus powered by the Cosmos SDK.
Security has been a clear focus, with audits from firms like Zellic, Omniscia, and Secure3. There’s also a seven-day withdrawal buffer built into the system, giving strategists time to unwind positions safely when liquidity moves.
The role of the MITO token
The ecosystem is powered by three tokens that work together:
MITO, the native token, used for staking, incentives, and network activity.
gMITO, earned through staking MITO, which grants governance rights and a say in how the protocol evolves.
tMITO, a time-locked variant designed to reward long-term alignment.
Together, they fuel both the economic incentives and the decision-making process that drives Mitosis forward.
A growing ecosystem
In late 2025, Mitosis is still young but already gaining traction. Total value locked has spread across multiple chains, with early adoption strongest on BNB Smart Chain and Linea. Major players like Binance Research and Binance Academy have featured the project, signaling that it’s beginning to capture mainstream attention.
Importantly, Mitosis is designed to avoid the pitfalls of traditional bridges. By relying on Hub Assets instead of wrapped tokens, it positions itself as part of the new wave of bridgeless DeFi — safer, more efficient, and easier to use.
Looking ahead
The first wave of DeFi gave us access. Anyone with an internet connection could lend, borrow, or trade. The next wave will be about programmability — making liquidity itself flexible, efficient, and reusable.
That’s the world Mitosis is building toward. A financial system where deposits aren’t locked away, but instead become infrastructure. Where users of any size can access advanced strategies. And where innovation compounds because every position is a tool that others can build on.
Mitosis isn’t just making liquidity more efficient. It’s making it more human — accessible, democratic, and open to anyone who wants to take part.