The MON token of the newly launched Monad blockchain has risen 78% since its debut, reaching nearly a $4 billion valuation. This rally follows a successful initial coin offering and coincides with a broader crypto market recovery. The Ethereum-compatible chain, developed over three years, has quickly attracted significant activity.
Monad, an Ethereum-compatible blockchain designed for fast and low-cost transactions, officially launched on Monday after more than three years of development. Co-founded by former Jump Trading employees Keone Hon and James Hunsaker, the project has secured $248 million in funding from investors such as Paradigm, Coinbase Ventures, and Dragonfly Capital.
Prior to the launch, between November 17 and 22, Monad sold 7.5 billion MON tokens to the public at $0.025 each, implying a $2.5 billion valuation. Post-launch, investor enthusiasm drove the token's price up 78%, pushing the valuation close to $4 billion. This surge aligns with a crypto market rebound, where Bitcoin has recovered about 5% from recent lows following a leverage wipeout on October 10.
Early metrics show promise: the blockchain has processed over three million transactions from 140,000 addresses, with more than 18,000 smart contracts deployed, according to Nansen data. A token sale condition via Coinbase discourages immediate selling by limiting future allocation access for early sellers, potentially stabilizing the price.
However, the crypto space has seen similar hype fade. Bitfinex's Plasma blockchain, launched in September, reached a $3 billion valuation and $10 billion in DeFi deposits but has since dropped 87% in token value, with deposits halving to $4.7 billion. Berachain, another project, saw DeFi deposits fall below $300 million from an initial $3.4 billion, and its BERA token declined 92% from its peak. These examples underscore the risks for new blockchains like Monad despite their strong starts.