Mina Blockchain Faces Transition Challenges Amid Low Prover Activity and Treasury Shift

In my analysis of the latest Mina blockchain report, I see that the Mina Foundation has handed over most of its functions, including development, marketing, and grants, to o1Labs. The foundation's current primary focus is on launching a decentralized treasury. During the first half of 2025, more than 1.2 million MINA tokens were distributed as grants, mainly through the Navigators program, accompanied by expenses related to restructuring and transitioning staff to o1Labs. The grants program directly from the foundation has been halted, with o1Labs now taking full support efforts, possibly benefiting personally. Looking at the metrics, the project has over 270,000 accounts, with around 54,000 delegators and 213 proposers. However, the low number of SNARK workers—just 13—is concerning as it indicates weak prover activity, which could impact network reliability and decentralization. There are 102 active developers, including 33 full-time, which is relatively strong for a ZK-focused project. Notably, there were about 110,000 commits in six months, primarily driven by o1Labs, showing significant development activity. Some treasury funds have been converted into Bitcoin, likely as a hedge against MINA's volatility, reflecting a cautious strategy or a lack of confidence in the token's stability. The author also promotes their validator for delegations, which shows ongoing support despite concerns about the project's current health. Overall, the project appears to be in a transitional and somewhat cautious state. While active development and a sizable user base are positives, the low prover activity and fund depegging suggest underlying weaknesses. The project is essentially a dead American project but might experience some hype in an altcoin season. This makes it a high-risk, high-reward scenario for speculative investors. Given these insights, I recommend cautious monitoring rather than aggressive investment. If considering delegation, it’s essential to weigh the project’s current stagnation against potential future hype during altcoin rallies. Keep a close eye on network activity and fund management strategies to assess if the project can rebound or remains primarily a speculative play.