Why BGA, Bybit and Mantle Backed Token Tails: A Conversation on Rescue Infrastructure, Stablecoin Rails and What Blockchain Can Actually Do
Most blockchain projects start with a whitepaper. Token Tails started with a shelter full of cats that nobody outside the local area would ever hear about.
That gap between real need and global visibility is exactly what Zygis set out to close. And it is exactly why BGA named Token Tails its top incubation project for 2025. On 13 March, BGA sat down with Freya from Bybit, Joshua from Mantle Network, and Zygis to get into why.
Here is what came out of that conversation.
The problem Token Tails is actually solving
Most animal shelters operate with almost no visibility beyond their immediate area. They do real work, but fragmented funding and limited reach mean that support stays local when the need is global.
Token Tails started from that frustration. Every rescue cat on the platform gets a digital identity tied to a real shelter. People can discover, collect, support, and follow them. The blockchain layer runs quietly in the background. Users feel like they are supporting a cat, not learning Web3.
As Zygis put it during the AMA: the goal is to turn rescue work into something globally visible and scalable, where no rescue cat stays invisible.
Why this model works for mainstream adoption
One of the recurring challenges in blockchain for good is onboarding people who have no prior exposure to crypto. Token Tails approaches this differently to most projects.
Rather than starting with wallets and gas fees, it starts with cats and rescue stories. Stablecoin payments mean purchases feel like normal digital transactions. The underlying infrastructure does not ask users to understand it.
Zygis described it clearly: “users should feel like they are supporting a cat, not learning Web3.”
This matters because the biggest barrier to mainstream blockchain adoption has rarely been technology. It has been the entry point. Token Tails makes the entry point a rescue story.
Why Bybit backed it
Freya, Head of Events and Sponsorship at Bybit and Executive Director of BGA, was direct about what drew Bybit to Token Tails.
Behind every cat on the platform is a real story. A real shelter. A real outcome. That level of transparency and connection is what Bybit looks for when supporting impact projects through the alliance.
She also made a point that landed well in the conversation: “Blockchain is more than Crypto, and Crypto is more than Trading.”
Technology should serve society. Token Tails is one of the clearest examples of that principle applied in practice, alongside other BGA projects like EthicHub, which supports coffee farmers, and collaborations with UNDP.
How Mantle powers the payments layer
Joshua from Mantle Network brought the technical context. Mantle is currently the third largest Layer 2 network in the industry and processes close to $800 million in stablecoins including USDC and USDT.
For Token Tails, this matters because the payment infrastructure needs to work at scale without eating into the funds that are supposed to reach shelters. On Mantle, transfers cost fractions of a cent. Unlike traditional merchant acquiring where multiple percentage points are taken at each stage, stablecoin rails on Mantle mean the overwhelming majority of what users spend actually goes where it is supposed to go.
Joshua also made a point about sustainability. Speculative token models ask users to pay for something that may or may not happen. Stablecoin purchases mean users know exactly what they are getting. That is a fundamentally more sustainable foundation for a platform built around real world rescue.
What is coming next
Two upcoming events give a sense of where Token Tails is headed.
The first is a shelter event in Lithuania, where Token Tails is launching a new app that lets users watch live streams from shelters, donate instantly, and sponsor individual cats in real time. It removes distance from rescue work entirely.
The second is a side event at Paris Blockchain Week in April, co-hosted with BGA and Bybit. Rather than another networking evening, Token Tails is hosting it at a cat cafe that fosters real rescue cats. Attendees will meet the cats, hear their stories, and the cats present will already be part of the Token Tails universe. Prizes for those who attend and adopt.
Both events reflect the same principle that runs through everything Token Tails is building: the digital and the real world are not separate layers. They are the same system.
What BGA looks for
Glenn Tan, Director of Global Affairs at BGA, summarised the selection criteria during the AMA. BGA looks for three things: real world impact, scalability through blockchain technology, and the ability to onboard mainstream users.
Token Tails demonstrated all three. It transforms something that traditionally relies on donation drives into a self-sustaining, entertainment-driven funding model. Instead of asking people to donate, it creates a system where people participate and support happens as a result.
That is the model BGA wants to see more of. Technology, culture, and real world impact combined.
Token Tails is currently in incubation with BGA and expected to graduate at BGAwards in November 2026. In the meantime, two events are worth keeping on your radar: the Lithuania shelter live stream event and the Paris Blockchain Week side event in April.
Follow @ChainforGood and @tokentails on X for updates and keep an eye on chainforgood.org for what is coming next from BGA's incubation programme.