Finst

Monad Offered Early Investors $60 Million to Sell

The Monad Foundation offered early holders a rare exit, but the tokens remain locked on schedule. Meanwhile, DeFi and stablecoin usage is growing on the Ethereum-compatible network.

By Zenz van der Wielen
• 2 min read
Monad Offered Early Investors $60 Million to Sell

Key Takeaways

  • Monad reserved up to $60 million for early investors to sell locked MON tokens ahead of schedule.
  • Almost all of the investors approached turned down the offer, while the tokens remain locked on schedule.
  • MON traded around $0.021, below the public sale price, while DeFi value on the network grew.

Monad gave early investors a rare chance to sell their locked MON tokens ahead of schedule, but almost everyone turned down the offer. The Monad Foundation set aside up to $60 million (€51.8 million) for a program meant to provide liquidity to early holders, while the tokens themselves remain locked on schedule.

Early Exit for Investors

According to the Foundation, this was a discounted transaction for a select group of early investors. Those who agreed could cash out now instead of waiting until the MON tokens become normally tradable. The Foundation did not say what price was offered exactly, how much of the budget was actually used, or how many investors took part.

What matters is that the tokens bought back will not hit the market earlier. They stay locked to the original unlock schedule, so the program does not add extra supply to the crypto market. For Monad, it was mainly a way to give existing investors an exit without speeding up the token distribution.

MON Remains Under Pressure

Monad is an Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 blockchain built for high speed and low costs. The MON token is used for transaction fees and to secure the network. The first major unlock for early investors is scheduled for November, after a one-year lockup and then monthly releases over the rest of a four-year schedule.

The market price of MON was around $0.021 (€0.018) on Tuesday, about 16 percent below the public sale price of $0.025 (€0.022). There are now about 11.8 billion MON tokens in circulation, giving it a market value of roughly $250 million (€216 million) versus a fully diluted value of about $2.1 billion (€1.8 billion). At the same time, usage on the network is growing: the value locked in Monad-based DeFi apps rose to about $895 million (€772 million), while stablecoins on the network are worth around $707 million (€610 million).

Why This Matters

For European crypto readers, this shows how early liquidity can sometimes matter more than a fast listing or a higher spot price. The fact that almost all of the investors approached said no may also say something about how long some early holders are willing to wait for unlocks, especially on a new network that is still being built out. At the same time, the mix of growing DeFi activity and a token trading below its sale price makes Monad an interesting case for the broader market for Ethereum alternatives.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. The information provided may be incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated and should not be relied upon as such. Nothing on this website should be considered a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any cryptocurrency. Investing in crypto-assets involves risk of loss.