Can Monad, after its mainnet launch, become a key driver for the large-scale on-chain deployment of Web3?

Blockchain technology has evolved from a niche concept into a core tool in finance, gaming, and e-commerce. However, mainstream blockchains like Ethereum still face issues such as high transaction fees, slow transaction speeds, and limited throughput . These bottlenecks not only affect user experience but also constrain developers, thus hindering the large-scale adoption of decentralized applications (dApps).

Monad offers a completely new solution. This Layer 1 blockchain is not only compatible with the Ethereum EVM , but also provides ultra-fast transaction speeds, ultra-low fees , and combines parallel execution, innovative consensus mechanisms, and customizable data storage systems , aiming to create an efficient and user-friendly blockchain network to support large-scale practical applications.

This article will take you deep into Monad's origins, technical architecture, and development roadmap. If you are a developer looking for a more efficient blockchain, or interested in the future trends of the Web3 ecosystem, this article will help you understand the importance of Monad and how it may reshape the market landscape.

Key points

• A high-performance L1 blockchain that challenges Ethereum – Monad aims to solve Ethereum's scalability issues, offering up to approximately 10,000 TPS, approximately 0.4 seconds of block generation, sub-second confirmation speeds, and low transaction fees.
• EVM compatibility ensures easy migration for developers – Monad is compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing Ethereum-based dApps to be deployed directly to Monad with almost no code modifications, lowering the development threshold.
• Innovative technical architecture for enhanced performance – Through the MonadBFT consensus mechanism, parallel transaction processing, and a dedicated MonadDB database, Monad makes transactions faster, fees lower, and the blockchain more stable.
• Mainnet and tokens launched – The Monad mainnet launched on November 24, 2025, simultaneously completing the MON token generation event and airdrop. Users can participate in trading on multiple exchanges.
• Well-funded but fiercely competitive – having secured $225 million in Series A funding, but facing rivals such as Solana, Avalanche, and Ethereum Layer 2, its future success hinges on developer adoption, ecosystem development, and mainnet launch progress.

Who is the founder of Monad?

Monad 's story dates back to February 2022 , when three experts in blockchain and fintech co-founded the project to address the current scalability issues of blockchain:

• – Keone Hon (Chief Executive Officer, CEO) – A seasoned blockchain researcher and mathematician focused on developing innovative technologies that can address blockchain performance bottlenecks.
• – James Hunsaker (Chief Technology Officer, CTO) – An expert in cryptographic protocols and distributed systems, responsible for Monad's technology strategy, ensuring optimal performance in terms of speed and scalability of the blockchain.
• – Eunice Giarta (Chief Operating Officer, COO) – Responsible for Monad's operational structure, managing resource allocation, partnerships, and strategic planning to drive the project's stable development.

The three founders have extensive backgrounds in blockchain technology and experience in the financial field. Their shared vision is to build a high-speed, stable, and low-cost blockchain platform while maintaining Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility , allowing developers to seamlessly migrate existing applications and easily deploy new dApps.

Image Credit: Bankless

What is Monad?

Essentially, Monad is a Layer 1 (L1) public blockchain focused on solving the two major challenges of low blockchain scalability and high transaction fees . Through technological innovation, Monad aims to stand out in a highly competitive market by providing:

• High Throughput: The target is to reach approximately 10,000 TPS, with a block time of approximately 0.4 seconds and an overall confirmation time that can be controlled within 1 second, making on-chain interactions closer to a real-time experience.
• Low Latency: Through a single-slot finality design, the vast majority of transactions can be confirmed in about 1 second.
• Low Fees: Reduces transaction costs, making DeFi, NFTs, GameFi, and other blockchain applications more accessible and affordable. All transaction fees on the Monad network are paid in the native token MON.
• Full EVM Compatibility: Developers can migrate dApps to Monad without making significant modifications to existing Ethereum smart contracts, lowering the technical barrier.

By focusing on speed and accessibility , Monad aims to be a versatile blockchain platform that can function and thrive in decentralized finance (DeFi), the NFT ecosystem, and enterprise applications.

Image Credit: Monad

Development History and Current Status

Monad 's development can be traced back to 2022, from early concepts to testnet launch, gradually moving towards a complete blockchain ecosystem.

• February 2022 : The Monad founding team began to conceive and design the basic concepts of the blockchain protocol.
• February 2023 : Successfully secured $19 million in seed funding , which helped drive early-stage technology development, including the development of consensus mechanisms and testing of prototype systems.
• April 2024 : Completed a $225 million Series A funding round , demonstrating investors’ high confidence in the project and further accelerating technology development and community expansion.
• December 2024 : The Monad Foundation was established to oversee protocol governance, the Grants Program, ecosystem development, and technology upgrades. Many open-source blockchain projects rely on foundations to drive long-term development and ensure the stable growth of the blockchain community.
• February 2025 : Monad officially launched its Public Testnet , providing developers with a testing environment that supports EVM-compatible tools , allowing dApps to be deployed and performance tested in advance. This is an important step before the mainnet launch, ensuring system stability and optimizing the development experience.
• November 24, 2025 : The Monad mainnet officially launched, simultaneously completing the MON token generation event (TGE) and the first airdrop. At the time of the mainnet launch, the total supply of MON was set at 100 billion, with approximately 10.8 billion in circulation, mainly from airdrops and public sales.

As of late November 2025,the MON/USDT spot price was expected to fluctuate between $0.03 and $0.05, with a total market capitalization hovering around $300 million. Prices are subject to rapid changes; please refer to market data at the time of actual trading for the most accurate information.

With the official launch of the mainnet and MON token, market focus has shifted from "when to launch" to "how to implement it." While the official total supply and initial circulating supply have been announced, there is still room for discussion regarding the long-term unlocking schedule, the speed of ecosystem incentive distribution, and the allocation of governance weights.

Monad's Position in the Blockchain Ecosystem

The current blockchain market is highly competitive, with various solutions attempting to overcome the limitations of Ethereum . Whether it's Layer 2 scaling solutions (such as Arbitrum and Optimism ) or other high-performance Layer 1 public chains (such as Solana and Avalanche ), they are all vying for the favor of developers and users. With the official launch of the Monad mainnet, it has moved from being seen as the "next potential L1 blockchain" to directly competing with Solana, Avalanche, and various Ethereum Layer 2 blockchains.

Monad's unique positioning combines two core advantages:

• – Native Scalability : Unlike Layer 2 blockchains that rely on Ethereum's security and cross-chain bridge mechanisms, Monad, as an independent Layer 1 public chain , is designed with high throughput (10,000 TPS) and does not require additional scaling layers to improve performance.
• – Seamless EVM Compatibility : Fully compatible with Ethereum, meaning developers can migrate existing smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) to Monad with almost no code modifications , reducing migration costs and technical barriers.

With these features, Monad's ecosystem is particularly well-suited for applications that require high performance and low transaction fees , such as:

• – Decentralized Finance (DeFi) – High-frequency trading, liquidity mining, and Automated Market Makers (AMMs) require low latency and high throughput , and Monad's architecture perfectly meets these needs.
• – Blockchain Games (GameFi) – Due to the frequent transactions and item transfers within games, developers prefer to use blockchains with low fees and instant settlement, and Monad provides a more attractive environment for this.
• – NFT Ecosystem – Whether it's NFT minting or marketplace trading, Monad's low-cost, high-performance design ensures that the user experience is unaffected by gas fees and improves market liquidity.

With this market positioning, Monad aims to become one of the preferred platforms for developers and enterprises to build blockchain applications, challenging current mainstream L1 and L2 solutions.

Why is Monad important?

Solving scalability issues

Ethereum network congestion frequently leads to slower transaction speeds and soaring gas fees , especially during NFT minting or popular DeFi events. This bottleneck makes small transactions uneconomical and limits the large-scale adoption of Web3 applications.

Monad, with its 10,000 TPS high-throughput architecture, is attempting to address this issue through its already launched mainnet architecture, providing a smooth and scalable infrastructure for DeFi platforms, the GameFi ecosystem , and even enterprise solutions , thereby facilitating the large-scale adoption of Web3.

Improve user experience

Monad uses a 1-second block time and supports single-slot finality , which means that transactions can be confirmed instantly without waiting for confirmation of multiple blocks like Ethereum.

This low latency is crucial for everyday users, especially in applications requiring rapid response, such as decentralized exchanges (DEXs), in-game transactions, and NFT marketplaces , where it delivers a smoother experience.

Lowering the barriers to entry and costs

Ethereum's high gas fees have become a major obstacle to the adoption of Web3, deterring many small investors and gamers from participating due to excessive transaction costs. For example, purchasing a $5 NFT on Ethereum may require paying over $20 in fees , causing many users to abandon the transaction altogether.

Monad's low-fee design makes small, frequent transactions feasible . Whether you are a DeFi user, a gamer, or an ordinary user, you can participate in Web3 applications on Monad at a lower cost , thus expanding the overall user base.

Preserve the tools and environment familiar to developers

Developers typically prefer to use development frameworks and tools they are familiar with, and Monad is fully compatible with Ethereum's EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) , which means:

• Existing smart contracts can be migrated to Monad with minimal modification.
• – dApp developers can continue to use familiar development tools such as Solidity, Hardhat, and Remix without having to learn a completely new language or architecture.
• – Reduce technology migration costs, making Monad a more attractive alternative to Ethereum.

This EVM compatibility makes Monad more attractive to developers , accelerates the growth of the ecosystem, and further promotes the adoption of Web3.

Image Credit: The Coinomist

How does Monad work?

Monad's high performance stems primarily from three core technological innovations , which complement each other to enhance the speed, throughput , and scalability of the blockchain:

MonadBFT Consensus Mechanism

Monad employs the Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus mechanism , which ensures that even if a minority of nodes (less than 1/3) act maliciously or malfunction, the entire system can still operate securely and confirm transactions quickly .

The advantage of BFT-based consensus lies in its low latency , allowing for rapid block generation and ensuring transaction finality. With MonadBFT, Monad can achieve a 1-second block time , enabling near- instant transaction confirmation and significantly improving the user experience.

Parallel execution

Traditional blockchain transaction processing typically executes transactions sequentially , meaning all transactions must be confirmed in turn . This approach can become a performance bottleneck as blockchain traffic increases.

Monad employs parallel execution , separating transaction ordering from execution , allowing non-conflicting transactions to run concurrently. This technology significantly improves throughput, enabling multiple transactions to be processed at the same time , thus achieving the goal of 10,000 TPS .

MonadDB (a database specifically for blockchain applications)

Data storage is an often overlooked aspect of blockchain infrastructure. Traditional data storage methods can overburden nodes and negatively impact transaction processing performance.

Monad has developed its own proprietary database technology — MonadDB , a key-value storage system optimized for blockchain verification and querying . It features:

• -Fast Read/Write: Ensures that transaction data can be accessed instantly, reducing latency.
• – Authenticated Storage: Ensures the integrity of each piece of data through cryptographic verification, maintaining the security of the blockchain.
• – Optimized Hardware Efficiency: Reduce the node's reliance on high-end hardware and ensure that Monad can run efficiently on standard equipment.

Through these three core technologies, Monad not only provides a high-throughput, low-latency blockchain environment but also ensures system security and stability , providing an ideal operating foundation for applications such as DeFi, NFTs, and GameFi. This is also one of the key infrastructures supporting its high TPS and sub-second confirmation experience.

Image Credit: The Coinomist

The potential and applications of MONAD tokens

Monad 's native token, MON, was launched simultaneously with the mainnet on November 24, 2025. The total token supply is fixed at 100 billion , with an initial circulating supply of approximately 10.8 billion tokens at the time of the mainnet launch, primarily from public sales and the first round of airdrops.

With the mainnet launch, on-chain and centralized exchange liquidity for MON is rapidly being established . On XT.COM ,the MON/USDT perpetual contract and spot market provide users with convenient ways to participate, helping traders to more flexibly open, reduce, and manage their exposure in the early stages of the ecosystem.

Potential uses

• Transaction Fees : MON is used to pay on-chain gas fees and reduces junk transactions through an economic cost mechanism, incentivizing validators to process legitimate transactions.
• Staking & Security : Users can participate in the MonadBFT consensus mechanism by staking MON in the future. Stakers will have the opportunity to earn rewards while assisting in verifying transactions.
• Community Governance : Similar to most blockchain projects, MON holders are expected to participate in protocol governance, including upgrade decisions, use of treasury funds, and ecosystem reward programs.

Parts that are still not fully clear

Although the official framework for MON allocation has been announced, the market is still closely watching the following issues:

• Long-term unlocking pacing and Cliff setup for the team and early investors
• The speed of disbursement and the pathway of use of the ecological incentive fund
• Governance weights and power distribution among the foundation, core team, early institutional investors, and community

These factors will all influence the medium- to long-term supply and demand structure and market sentiment of MON.

Image Credit: Kaito AI

Challenges and Future Outlook

competitive pressure

Monad has entered a highly competitive market . Currently, many high-throughput public blockchains and Layer 2 solutions are vying for developers and users, including:

• Solana – features high-speed transactions and low fees and already boasts a large DeFi and NFT ecosystem.
• – Avalanche – offers high scalability through its subnets mechanism, attracting enterprise applications and gaming projects.
• – Aptos & Sui – uses the Move programming language and focuses on improving transaction efficiency to compete in the next-generation high-performance blockchain market.
• Layer 2 solutions (such as Arbitrum and Optimism ) rely on Ethereum's security while significantly reducing transaction costs and increasing processing speed, making them a popular choice for developers.

To break through, Monad must emphasize the combination of its parallel transaction execution and EVM compatibility , allowing developers to experience its technological uniqueness and advantages . After its mainnet launch, Monad will officially enter a phase of competition with Solana, Avalanche, Aptos, Sui, and various Ethereum Layer 2 platforms.

Developer adoption

The success of a blockchain depends on the quantity and quality of applications within its ecosystem . Currently, developers are not easily migrating from Ethereum or other L1/L2 blockchains , and Monad needs to invest significant resources to attract developers, for example:

• – DeFi protocols – such as DEXs, lending protocols, derivatives markets, etc., are the core of the blockchain ecosystem.
• – NFT Platforms – NFT marketplaces, art transactions, digital identity verification, and other applications require blockchain support with low transaction fees and high throughput.
• – Blockchain Games (GameFi) – High-frequency trading blockchain games require a fast, low-cost blockchain to enhance the gaming experience.

The team has begun to accelerate the ecosystem's cold start through hackathons, the Grants program, and upgrades to developer tools. The key is whether it can incubate leading DeFi, NFT, and GameFi projects with a demonstrative effect.

Regulatory environment

Regulatory policy changes around the world may affect Monad's development, particularly in the following aspects:

• – Token Launch – Many countries have strict regulations on the issuance of new tokens. If MONAD tokens are considered security tokens , it may affect their circulation and trading.
• – Staking – Some jurisdictions have regulations governing staking, which may affect the availability of MONAD in different regions.
• – Decentralized Governance – Governance mechanisms involving DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) may be subject to regulatory scrutiny in regions such as the United States and the European Union.

If the regulatory environment becomes more stringent, Monad may need to adjust its token economic model or legal structure to ensure compliance.

Uncertain development roadmap

With the launch of the mainnet and tokens, the market's focus on Monad has shifted from "timeline" to "execution".

In the coming years, the team needs to continue to provide transparent information and a clear timeline in the following areas:

• Roadmap for mainnet feature upgrades and performance optimizations;
• The pace of launching large-scale ecological incentive programs;
• The team and investors unlocked the long-term impact on the secondary market.

If there is a lack of communication or performance falls short of expectations in these areas, the confidence of developers and users may still be affected.

Image Credit: Monad

in conclusion

Monad is an ambitious attempt to address the long-standing scalability bottleneck of blockchains. It combines EVM compatibility with a high-performance architecture , including parallel execution and the MonadBFT consensus mechanism, aiming to provide a fast, low-cost on-chain experience while maintaining security, and supporting a wider range of real-world applications.

With the mainnet and MON tokens launching simultaneously , market focus has shifted from "whether the launch will be successful" to "its performance after launch." Although uncertainties remain regarding token allocation, unlocking schedules, and governance structure, these variables are now being digested in real-time in the open market, rather than remaining in the stage of expectation and speculation.

For users who wish to directly participate in the growth of the Monad ecosystem, MON is now available for trading through theMON/USDT spot andMON/USDT perpetual contract markets on XT.com . Whether for long-term holding or more flexible leverage and risk management strategies, there are corresponding tools to choose from.

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