Monad is making waves.
Over the last few weeks, the company has:
- Raised hundreds of millions of dollars through MON token sales on centralized exchanges
- Launched its mainnet on November 24
- Airdropped over $105 million in funds to loyal users and backers
At the same time, its token price jumped by over 70% to reach $0.047 to $0.048, as of November 26, 2025.
So what’s behind all the hype?
Monad is a new Layer 1 blockchain that delivers high performance, true decentralization, and EVM compatibility. It promises to reduce the trade-offs between scalability and decentralization that plague existing blockchains.
We take a deeper look at its technology and just how it works below.
Why Monad?
Monad can process thousands of transactions per second, with fast block times and quick finalization, while preserving all of the developer and user-facing semantics of Ethereum.
But how is this better than existing chains, you might ask?
Well, Ethereum’s architecture isn’t built for mainstream scale and speed, and Solana lacks native EVM capabilities.
Monad addresses these issues by changing how an EVM-equivalent chain processes, stores, and propagates data, increasing performance while preserving decentralization.
In short, Monad is the first L1 that doesn’t ask developers to choose between decentralization, performance, and EVM compatibility.
How Monad Works
Monad is similar to Ethereum in that it is also a proof-of-stake network that is maintained by validators, as every user can run a node to independently verify transaction execution.
Still, there are some differences.
Monad introduces parallel executions and superscalar pipelining to speed up transactions.
Parallel Execution:
- Runs transactions in parallel, using multiple cores to compute work at the same time.
- Developers and users get the speed of parallel processing with the predictability of serial execution.
Superscalar Pipelining:
- Creates stages of work and executes them in parallel
- Pipelining gets work done more efficiently by utilizing multiple resources simultaneously to minimize transition time
- Here’s a laundry example:
- You begin washing Load 2 as soon as Load 1 moves to the dryer. The tasks stay in order, but the total time drops dramatically.
Monad also introduced MonadBFT, the engine that is designed to give the chain fast finality, high throughput, and strong decentralization. Key characteristics include reduced latency in transaction confirmation, improved network resilience, and enhanced scalability without compromising security.
For most of the decentralized apps out there, EVM chains are unable to process activity at a mainstream scale due to overwhelming issues.
For example, each new transaction must wait for the previous one to complete, and these chains tend to struggle with storage costs and other storage-related constraints. This severely restricts transaction throughput, drives up transaction fees, and makes it impossible for applications requiring high-frequency, high-volume operations to scale effectively.
By delivering high throughput, low-cost fees, and EVM compatibility, Monad offers a faster, smoother dApp experience, significantly cheaper transactions, more reliable DeFi, gaming, and social apps at scale, and access to a global, permissionless system that anyone can use.
Which Big Applications are on Monad?
Not only are Monad’s key functions and features getting attention, but several applications are also gaining strong visibility and traction.
For example, Uniswap is now live on Monad Mainnet, giving Monad users a reliable trading experience from day one. Combined with Monad’s speed and low fees, Uniswap establishes a solid foundation for early DeFi growth.
Another standout app isKuru, a fully on-chain, central-limit order book exchange built specifically for Monad. Designed to combine traditional order-book precision with DeFi flexibility, Kuru has raised $2 million in a seed round led by Electric Capital to build a broader “liquidity hub” including token launches and advanced trading tools.
With Monad’s high throughput and low latency, Kuru aims to become the go-to platform for both casual DeFi users and professional traders.
Besides that, Magma, Monad’s equivalent of Aave or Compound, has raised about $4.2 million and serves as a core DeFi primitive, proving the chain can handle complex, high-frequency activity. Kintsu, backed by a $4 million seed round led by Brevan Howard Digital, is also gaining traction as a leading liquid-staking protocol. While Monad doesn’t yet have a flagship GameFi or NFT title, emerging projects like Nad.fun, a native launchpad, and Lumiterra, an open-world AI-driven MMORPG, are beginning to attract user attention.
Together, Monad’s expanding lineup of DeFi, staking, and gaming apps underscores the fast-growing ecosystem where high performance can be maintained, establishing a strong foundation for Monad’s early DeFi ecosystem growth.
How $MON Fuels Monad’s Transactions and Ecosystem
On November 24, Monad launched its native token MON to power its ecosystem. It will be used for transaction fees, staking, and participating in network governance as the ecosystem continues to evolve.
Beyond the core protocol, MON can also be used as a utility token for transactions within Monad dApps, used for payments, liquidity provision, staking, or unlocking premium features. In short, it can be used for DeFi, gaming, and other types of apps.
The question is whether or not developers and users will continue to flock to the emerging chain.
If you’re bullish on $MON after reading this article, trade MONAD-PERP with up to 20x leverage on BTSE here!
