Monad completes $269 million token sale: oversubscribed by 1.43 times, number of participants exceeds 85,000, setting a new record

On November 23, 2025, next-generation Layer-1 blockchain Monad completed a $269 million token sale, attracting 85,820 participants and reaching an oversubscription rate of 1.43x. The project’s original fundraising target was $187 million. Although only 45% of the target was met on the first day, strong late-stage momentum pushed the sale beyond expectations. The MON token will launch on multiple major exchanges in sync with the mainnet on November 25. Its EVM bytecode-level compatibility and architecture with over 200 validator nodes provide Ethereum ecosystem developers with seamless migration possibilities.

Fundraising Recap: From Slow Start to Oversubscription

Monad’s token sale on the Coinbase platform showed a classic “slow start, strong finish” pattern. On November 17, the first day of the sale, only $45 million worth of tokens were subscribed—just 45% of the original $187 million target—raising questions in the crypto community about the project’s popularity. Many market observers attributed the sluggish start to shaken investor confidence after a previous crypto market crash, which wiped out over $1 trillion in global crypto market cap and significantly reduced risk appetite.

Facing early-stage challenges, Monad co-founder Keone Hon maintained a pragmatic stance. He responded on social media, stating that the number of participants is a better reflection of real project appeal than total funds raised. Hon specifically criticized “hype-driven” marketing tactics used in some token sales to create a “false boom,” emphasizing that Monad adheres to principles of transparency and authenticity. This candid communication strategy eventually won market approval, resulting in a surge of subscriptions in the final three days and a record 85,820 participants—the highest number for a public chain fundraising in H2 2025.

Analyzing participant composition, Hon acknowledged that industry insiders made up a significant proportion, but also pointed to evidence of first-time crypto users joining in. This user structure is positive for Monad’s long-term ecosystem: insiders provide initial liquidity, while new users represent genuine market expansion. Notably, the $269 million raised puts Monad among the top five blockchain fundraising projects of 2025, behind only Mystic Labs ($320 million) and Apex Protocol ($290 million).

Monad Token Sale Key Data

Total Raised: $269 million (original target $187 million)

Number of Participants: 85,820

Oversubscription: 1.43x

First Day Performance: Only 45% of target completed

Duration: 7 days

Monad Technical Architecture: Performance Breakthrough with EVM Compatibility

Positioned as a “next-generation” Layer-1 blockchain, Monad’s technical innovation centers on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility. According to official project materials, Monad achieves compatibility at the bytecode level, allowing developers to deploy existing Solidity smart contracts on Monad without modification, while maintaining full compatibility with Ethereum addresses, infrastructure, dev tools, and codebases. This seamless migration is crucial for attracting Ethereum ecosystem developers, especially amid intensifying multi-chain competition.

Monad’s performance advantages are mainly in low fees and high throughput. Through optimized consensus mechanisms and execution engines, its network transaction processing capacity is expected to exceed that of traditional EVM chains by over 10x, while gas fees can be reduced to negligible levels. Importantly, the Monad team highlights low hardware requirements for validators—consumer-grade hardware can participate in network maintenance. This design choice directly serves decentralization goals, avoiding centralization risks from excessive node operating costs.

Ecosystem partnerships are already taking shape. Monad has announced collaborations with leading blockchain infrastructure projects such as LayerZero, Pyth Network, and Chainlink. These cover key areas like cross-chain communication, oracle services, and smart contract automation, providing comprehensive technical support for decentralized applications (dApps). In particular, integration with LayerZero will enable Monad to interoperate assets and data with over 50 major blockchains, vastly expanding its connectivity.

On mainnet launch day, Monad boasts over 200 active validator nodes, surpassing Solana’s early stage and approaching mature Cosmos ecosystem levels. Validator geographic distribution is roughly one-third each in North America, Europe, and Asia, supporting network resilience and decentralization. Node operators include professional staking services, institutional investors, and community representatives, forming a diversified governance foundation.

MON Tokenomics: Distribution Structure & Market Impact Analysis

The MON token distribution plan reveals the project’s strategic focus. Public documents show insiders (team and early investors) hold over 50% of total supply, while the public sale accounts for less than 8%. This distribution is common in emerging blockchain projects to reward early contributors and maintain core team motivation, but also raises community concerns about token concentration. The remaining tokens are allocated to ecosystem development funds, community incentives, and foundation reserves for long-term network building.

In terms of vesting, public sale tokens are expected to be freely tradable immediately after mainnet launch, while insider holdings are subject to graded vesting. Specifically, team tokens may be locked for 12 to 36 months, with monthly linear releases. This design is intended to prevent large quantities of tokens from flooding the market in the short term, alleviating price pressure. Historical data shows projects with similar vesting schedules tend to be more stable in early trading, as the market doesn’t fear sudden mass sell-offs.

Market liquidity plans are clear. The MON token will debut on multiple major CEXs at the mainnet launch on November 25, with these platforms covering over 80% of global crypto trading volume. Market making agreements are reportedly in place, and several professional market makers will provide initial liquidity to ensure smooth trading. On the derivatives front, one exchange has confirmed it will list MON perpetual contracts with up to 20x leverage, catering to traders with different risk appetites.

For investors who missed the public sale, the mainnet’s secondary market will be the only avenue for purchase. Analysts recommend watching the price discovery process during the early listing, especially the relationship between trading volume and hourly price, which often reflects real demand strength. Historically, strong-tech, community-backed Layer-1 projects averaged a 67% return in the first three months post-listing, but individual results vary widely, so investors should consider overall market sentiment.

Mainnet Outlook: New Journey of Opportunity and Challenge

Monad’s mainnet launch comes at a critical turning point for the crypto market. On one hand, Bitcoin has recently fallen back to around $85,000 and Ethereum faces resistance at $3,000, with market sentiment remaining subdued; on the other, regulatory uncertainty persists, as the SEC’s stance on public chain token classification could affect the project’s long-term prospects. In this complex environment, Monad’s market performance will serve as a barometer for investor confidence in the Layer-1 sector.

Competitively, Monad faces challenges on multiple fronts. In traditional EVM chains, Ethereum maintains dominance with its first-mover advantage and massive developer community; new rivals like Aptos and Sui compete with the Move programming language and innovative consensus mechanisms. Monad’s differentiated approach is to balance compatibility and performance—enjoying Ethereum ecosystem benefits while solving congestion and high fees through tech optimization. If this “middle path” succeeds, it could chart a new course for public chain development.

From a cyclical perspective, the Layer-1 narrative, having gone through the frenzy of 2021 and the calm of 2023, is entering a more rational phase. Investors no longer focus solely on transaction speed and theoretical throughput, but prioritize real-world applications, developer activity, and sustainability. Monad’s core team comes from traditional high-frequency trading firms and well-known blockchain projects, providing a dual guarantee of technical implementation and marketization, but also raising community expectations.

For early participants, key post-mainnet metrics include: on-chain active addresses, smart contract deployments, total value locked (TVL), and decentralized exchange trading volume. The combined performance of these indicators will determine the long-term value base for the MON token. It’s important to note that with insiders holding over 50%, team and investor interests are highly aligned—this “alignment” can either stabilize price or, if performance falls short, amplify selling pressure.

Market Significance: Can Layer-1 Innovation Rekindle Market Enthusiasm?

Monad’s successful fundraising and mainnet launch mark the official start of the most important Layer-1 tech experiment in the second half of 2025. The $269 million funding reserve and support from over 80,000 community members provide ample room for trial and user base. If its “compatibility without performance compromise” approach proves viable in the market, it could prompt existing public chains to rethink their technology strategies and potentially spark a new Layer-1 upgrade wave. For the entire crypto industry, Monad’s performance will test whether the market is still willing to assign high valuations to core infrastructure innovation—or if attention has shifted entirely to breakthroughs at the application layer.

FAQ

1. What are the main differences between Monad and Ethereum?

Monad is fully compatible with EVM bytecode but achieves higher throughput and lower transaction fees through optimized consensus and execution engines, while maintaining full compatibility with Ethereum ecosystem tools and smart contracts for a seamless developer migration experience.

2. How can ordinary investors buy MON tokens?

MON will be listed on major exchanges such as Coinbase and Bybit after the mainnet launch on November 25. Investors can purchase directly on these platforms once trading is open. The public sale has ended, so the secondary market is the only purchase channel—be sure to choose compliant platforms and manage risk properly.

3. Is Monad’s token distribution centralized?

It is true that insiders and team members hold over 50% of tokens, posing centralization risk. However, the project states these tokens have multi-month to multi-year vesting periods and will be used for ecosystem development. At the same time, a network of over 200 validator nodes helps maintain operational decentralization.

4. What advantages does Monad have over other emerging Layer-1 projects?

The core advantage is bytecode-level EVM compatibility, allowing Ethereum developers to migrate without learning a new programming language. Partnership with top infrastructure projects like LayerZero and Chainlink provides comprehensive support for ecosystem applications. Low validator hardware requirements promote decentralization.

5. What are the main risks of investing in MON tokens?

Risks include potential sell pressure from high insider holdings, execution risk amid fierce public chain competition, overall crypto market volatility, and regulatory uncertainty affecting project development. Investors should evaluate their own risk tolerance accordingly.