The Layer 1 blockchain Monad (MON) successfully went live on Monday, igniting a significant surge in its native token. Within 24 hours of its launch, MON emerged as the best-performing asset among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
Last week, Monad’s token sale kicked off on Coinbase’s new token presale platform, gaining robust momentum by raising approximately $50 million. However, just 12 hours into the sale, that initial enthusiasm began to wane.
The fundraising effort only accumulated $95 million of the ambitious $187 million target for Circle’s USDC stablecoin. Yet, once the Monad blockchain launched, investor interest reignited, leading to an impressive over 80% rise in the MON token’s value.
According to CoinGecko data, this price surge elevated the token to a diluted valuation of about $4 billion. By consolidating its gains, MON has managed to stay above the $0.040 mark, reaching a market capitalization nearing $440 million.
Notably, the token also hit an all-time high (ATH) of $0.045 earlier on Tuesday, showcasing the heightened demand for MON in the past day.
This rally comes despite a broader challenging environment for the cryptocurrency market, where Bitcoin (BTC) has retraced more than 30% from its ATH of $126,000 set back in October, and Ethereum (ETH) has struggled above the critical $3,000 level.
The mainnet launch was accompanied by the listing of the MON token on several cryptocurrency exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini (GEMI).
According to data from DeFillama, excitement around the MON token goes beyond its price. The Monad blockchain has already processed over three million transactions from around 140,000 addresses, with developers deploying more than 18,000 smart contracts.
Investors who participated in the token sale had the opportunity to sell their holdings immediately after the launch. However, Coinbase has issued a warning to discourage early selling, stating that those who choose to sell their tokens within the first 30 days may face reduced allocations in future token sales. This aims to prioritize genuine enthusiasts of the project over traders looking for quick profits.
Furthermore, trading volume for MON on the Solana (SOL) blockchain exceeded $87 million in just 24 hours, surpassing the trading volume on Monad itself.
This performance outstripped that of Hyperliquid (HYPE) by 149% and positioned MON ahead of platforms such as KuCoin, Gate, Kraken, and Bitget, making Solana the fifth-largest venue by total trading volume across exchanges.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com