Monad is a Layer 1 blockchain that runs Ethereum’s virtual machine (the EVM) but executes transactions in parallel and pipelines consensus and execution separately, targeting around 10,000 transactions per second with sub-second blocks. Ethereum apps and wallets work on it without code changes. After a long, heavily funded build-up, Monad’s mainnet and its MON token went live on November 24, 2025, following a public token sale on Coinbase. This page is updated for the post-launch reality: how the Monad crypto network works, who built it, how MON’s supply unlocks, and how to buy, bridge and stake.
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Key takeaways
- Monad is a live, EVM-compatible Layer 1 (mainnet since November 24, 2025), not an Ethereum Layer 2.
- It was founded by former Jump Trading engineers Keone Hon and James Hunsaker with Eunice Giarta, and raised a $225 million round led by Paradigm in 2024.
- MON has a 100 billion total supply; roughly half was locked at launch, with team and investor unlocks scheduled to begin around late 2026 and continue through 2029.
- MON can be staked by delegating to validators or through liquid staking tokens such as Magma’s gMON.
- The technology is impressive, but actual usage has been a small fraction of capacity, and upcoming unlocks are a major supply risk.
What Is Monad?
Ethereum processes transactions one at a time, in order, which keeps things simple but caps throughput. Solana proved parallel execution could be fast but required developers to learn a different programming model. Monad’s pitch is the middle path: keep the EVM, Solidity and Ethereum’s tooling, but re-engineer the client underneath so transactions run in parallel and the database is fast enough to keep up. For developers, deploying on Monad is like deploying to any EVM chain; for users, MetaMask and the usual wallets work.
History: From Jump Trading to Mainnet
2022: Monad Labs is founded
Keone Hon and James Hunsaker had spent years at Jump Trading building low-latency trading systems; Hon led a high-frequency trading team there and Hunsaker was a senior engineer. They left in 2022 to found Monad Labs with Eunice Giarta, betting that systems-engineering techniques from trading could fix the EVM’s performance limits.
2023–2024: Funding
Monad Labs raised a $19 million seed round led by Dragonfly Capital in February 2023. In April 2024 it raised $225 million in a round led by Paradigm, one of the largest crypto raises of that year for a network that hadn’t launched yet. A large community grew around testnet campaigns long before a token existed.
2025: Testnet, token sale and launch
A public testnet opened on February 19, 2025. In November 2025, MON became the first token sold through Coinbase’s new token-sale platform: the sale ran from November 17 to 22 at $0.025 per MON, offered up to 7.5% of supply, and raised roughly $269 million from about 86,000 participants. An airdrop of about 3.3 billion MON (3.3% of supply) went to early community members and users of other ecosystems; some in the community criticised its small size. Mainnet launched on November 24, 2025, and MON began trading on major exchanges the same day.
2026: Post-launch
Through 2026 Monad has focused on attracting apps and liquidity through ecosystem incentive programmes. In August 2026 the Monad Foundation reported completing an offer to buy back locked MON from certain early investors at a discount, using up to $60 million; reports said most approached investors declined. The first major team and investor unlocks fall around the first anniversary of launch.
How Monad Works
Monad combines four engineering changes:
- MonadBFT consensus: a pipelined, HotStuff-derived proof-of-stake consensus that finalizes blocks quickly. Blocks are produced roughly every 400 milliseconds, with finality around 800 milliseconds by the project’s figures.
- Asynchronous execution: validators agree on the order of transactions first and execute them afterwards, so slow execution doesn’t hold up consensus.
- Optimistic parallel execution: transactions run in parallel on the assumption they don’t conflict; any that touched the same state are re-executed in order. The final result is identical to running them one by one, which keeps EVM semantics intact.
- MonadDb: a custom database built for Ethereum-style state, reducing the disk-read bottleneck that limits most EVM clients.
Monad uses the same address format and JSON-RPC interface as Ethereum, so existing smart contracts and tools deploy as-is. Background on contracts: what is a smart contract.
Tokenomics: MON Supply and Unlocks
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total supply at launch | 100 billion MON |
| Locked at launch | About 50.6% (team, investors, treasury) |
| Unlocked at launch | About 10.8%, including sale and airdrop allocations |
| Public sale | Up to 7.5% at $0.025 on Coinbase |
| Airdrop | About 3.3 billion MON |
| Unlock schedule | Locked tokens begin unlocking around the first anniversary (late 2026), then quarterly through 2029 |
| Inflation | New MON is issued as staking rewards each year |
MON pays for gas, is staked to secure the network, and is used in governance of protocol parameters. The schedule matters because each unlock adds sellable supply; check a vesting tracker such as Tokenomist before buying around unlock dates. More on reading these tables in our tokenomics guide.
How to Buy MON
- Choose an exchange that lists MON in your country. Coinbase hosted the sale and lists it; many large global exchanges do too. Compare fees and availability before signing up.
- Verify your account and deposit funds by bank transfer or card.
- Buy MON with a limit order to avoid overpaying in fast markets.
- Optional: withdraw to your wallet. Add the Monad network to MetaMask or another EVM wallet from Monad’s official docs or a trusted directory like Chainlist, then withdraw MON selecting the Monad network. Our MetaMask guide covers adding networks.
Bridging to Monad
To use Monad apps you need MON for gas. You can withdraw it from an exchange, or bridge assets such as ETH or USDC from other chains using bridges that list Monad support. Send a small test first and confirm you receive the canonical version of any stablecoin.
For exchanges and mainnet wallet setup, follow our step-by-step guide on how to buy Monad (MON) before you stake or bridge.
If your funds already sit on Ethereum or another chain, our guide on how to bridge to Monad explains how to get MON and move assets in.
How to Stake MON
Monad is proof of stake, and MON holders can earn rewards in three ways:
For wallet choices, validator selection and the gMON liquid staking option, see our full guide on how to stake Monad.
- Exchange staking: simplest, if your exchange offers it, with the exchange taking a commission.
- Native delegation: in a supported wallet or staking dashboard, choose a validator and delegate. Delegations activate at an epoch boundary (epochs are several hours long), and unstaking is a two-step process: undelegate, then withdraw after the withdrawal delay. Compare validators on commission, uptime and how much stake they already have.
- Liquid staking: deposit MON into a protocol such as Magma (gMON), Kintsu or aPriori and receive a token you can use in DeFi while it earns staking rewards, adding smart-contract risk.
Rewards vary with total stake and network parameters; check the current rate in your wallet or on the validator dashboard rather than trusting a fixed number. Our general staking guide explains slashing, commissions and lock-ups.
Monad vs Other Fast Chains
| Monad | Ethereum L1 | Sei | Solana | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual machine | EVM (bytecode-compatible) | EVM | EVM (parallelised) | SVM (Rust programs) |
| Execution | Optimistic parallel | Sequential | Parallel | Parallel |
| Block time | ~0.4 s | 12 s | Sub-second | ~0.4 s |
| Ecosystem maturity | Young (2025 launch) | Largest | Mid-sized | Large |
See what is Sei for the closest direct competitor.
Another newer EVM layer 1 took a different route; our guide to Berachain and Proof of Liquidity explains how it routes rewards to liquidity providers.
Using Monad Safely: A First-Session Checklist
Most losses on a new chain come from the user side rather than the protocol. Before your first transactions:
- Find apps through neutral sources. Use Monad’s official ecosystem directory and DefiLlama’s Monad page to see which DEXs, lending markets and liquid-staking protocols hold real deposits, rather than following links from replies or DMs.
- Keep a gas buffer. Leave a small amount of MON unspent so you can always move funds or revoke approvals.
- Check the token you receive. Bridged stablecoins can exist in several versions on a young chain; confirm which one the main DEXs and lending markets actually use.
- Use a fresh wallet for incentive farming. Points and airdrop campaigns attract phishing; separating experimental activity from long-term holdings limits the damage if you sign something malicious.
- Track unlock dates. Large scheduled unlocks often coincide with volatility; avoid opening leveraged positions around them.
Risks and Is Monad a Good Investment?
- Unlock overhang: about half of supply was locked at launch and starts unlocking from late 2026; large holders may sell.
- Usage vs capacity: analysts have noted activity running at a tiny fraction of the 10,000 TPS design, and that early liquidity is incentive-driven.
- Competition: Ethereum L2s, Solana, Sei and other high-performance EVM chains chase the same developers.
- Concentration: reports in 2026 found the top wallets hold a large share of circulating supply.
- Young code: new clients and databases can have undiscovered bugs.
A bull scenario: Monad becomes the default home for performance-sensitive EVM apps like order-book exchanges, and fee demand absorbs unlocks. A bear scenario: activity stays thin and unlocks push price lower for years. Size any position for the bear case.
For another fast-chain token’s scenarios, see our Sei price prediction, which uses ranges instead of a single target and is not a reliable forecast.
FAQ
Has Monad launched?
Yes. Monad’s mainnet went live on November 24, 2025, after a public MON token sale on Coinbase from November 17 to 22. The old claim that Monad is “upcoming” is out of date. MON trades on major exchanges and the network runs EVM apps.
Is Monad a Layer 2?
No. Monad is an independent Layer 1 with its own validator set and consensus. It’s EVM-compatible, which is why it’s often compared with Ethereum L2s, but it doesn’t settle to Ethereum.
What is the MON token used for?
MON pays transaction fees on Monad, is staked by validators and delegators to secure the network, and is used for governance. Staking rewards are paid in newly issued MON.
Can I use MetaMask on Monad?
Yes. Add the Monad network using details from Monad’s official documentation or a trusted directory, and the wallet works as on any EVM chain. Hardware wallets connected through MetaMask also work.
Crypto is volatile and risky; this is education, not financial advice. Do your own research.
