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Layer 1 blockchain

Monad ticker MON

  • No public-data lookups yet
  • 4 reviewed developments
  • 40 cited sources

Summary

Monad's public mainnet launched on 24 November 2025 and is secured by proof of stake. MonadBFT, Category Labs' pipelined leader-based BFT protocol, orders blocks: each round a stake-scheduled leader sends its block to validators over RaptorCast, validators vote, and votes from over two-thirds of stake weight are aggregated into a quorum certificate with BLS signatures. Under asynchronous execution, validators agree on order without executing; every node then executes the block, and each proposal carries the state root from three blocks earlier so a diverging node is caught. Execution is optimistic and parallel: transactions run concurrently, results are committed one by one in block order, and a transaction whose inputs changed is re-run. Contracts are Ethereum Virtual Machine bytecode, and state lives in MonadDb, a database that stores Merkle Patricia Trie nodes directly on SSDs. 3456891323

Design

System
Layer 1 blockchainIndependent proof-of-stake layer 1 (mainnet chain ID 143) whose public mainnet launched on 24 November 2025; it does not settle to another chain. It runs Ethereum Virtual Machine bytecode and uses Ethereum's account format, transaction types and JSON-RPC interface, on consensus and execution clients that Category Labs wrote for Monad in Rust and C++ (monad-bft and monad). Those clients are not forks of an Ethereum client. No rollup or channel layer settling to Monad was found.
Settlement family
Its own design
Scarce resource
Stake (proof of stake)
State model
Accounts
Finality
Other
Who makes blocks
Each round has one leader, taken from a schedule every validator computes at the start of each epoch (every 50,000 blocks) with a deterministic pseudorandom function over stake weights. Only the top 200 validators by stake join consensus, each with at least 100,000 MON of self-stake and 10,000,000 MON in total; anyone meeting these thresholds can join. The Monad Foundation delegates stake to chosen validators through a program that requires KYC or KYB, a commission cap and 98% uptime. A Foundation post from August 2026 says roughly 200 validators take part.
Fork choice
No open weight-based chain selection. A block is Voted once a quorum certificate for it is seen (speculative finality, one 300 ms slot) and Finalized once a certificate on that certificate arrives (two slots). After a failed round the next leader must re-propose the highest tip in the timeout certificate unless over two-thirds of stake sign that they never received it; this is how MonadBFT prevents tail-forking. The docs say a speculatively final block reverts only if its leader equivocated, and a finalized one only through a hard fork.

Qualifications

Tradeoffs

This view follows one way of thinking about design priorities, often called the blockchain trilemma. The design-priorities lesson sets out the counter-view. Read the design-priorities lesson.

Emphasizes
Scalability and Decentralization Contested
Gives up
Low node requirements and, for now, stake-backed penalties. Every node needs a 16-core CPU at 4.5 GHz or more, 32 GB of RAM, two NVMe SSDs and at least 100 Mbit/s on bare metal; only the top 200 validators by stake take part in consensus; the Monad Foundation delegates stake through a program gated by KYC; and automated in-protocol slashing is not implemented.Monad's docs say its north star is making decentralization more powerful and eliminating the perceived tradeoff between decentralization and performance, with intentionally minimal hardware requirements so that anyone may run a node; reading that as both corners at once is contested. The published hardware floor is a high-end desktop, and without automated slashing the stake-at-risk side of the security argument rests on logging and accountability, not on the protocol taking bonded MON.
Full node at home
Demanding 710111217Monad lists one hardware profile for full nodes and validators: a 16-core CPU at 4.5 GHz or more, 32 GB of RAM, a 2 TB NVMe SSD for state plus 500 GB for consensus and the operating system, and 100 Mbit/s (300 for validators). Nodes must run on bare metal; cloud machines are not officially supported. A new node starts from a forkpoint and validator list fetched from Monad Foundation storage, then pulls state from validators or a Foundation or Category Labs snapshot, trusting those sources. Full nodes keep only recent state.
Throughput claims
  • Theoretical peak: 10,000 tx/s 1210Theoretical peak; not comparable across chains or with observed load.Design capacity stated on Monad's documentation, read 2026-09-29Not stated with the figure; Monad's node guidance lists a 16-core 4.5 GHz CPU, 32 GB RAM, NVMe SSDs and bare-metal hosting for every node.Monad's facts page gives the figure as 10,000+ and labels it design capacity for typical transactions, not a reading of current demand. No method, transaction mix, benchmark run or measurement window is published on the reviewed pages, so the figure cannot be reproduced. The figure ignores long-run state growth and load made of padding or spam transactions, and it cannot be compared across chains. No observed mainnet transaction rate was reviewed for this profile.
  • Theoretical peak: 500,000,000 22024Theoretical peak; not comparable across chains or with observed load.Gas per second: the 150 million gas block limit divided by the 300 ms block time, as Monad's facts page states.Block parameters in force since the MIP-12 hard fork of 23 July 2026This is arithmetic from block parameters, a ceiling, not a measured rate of executed work. The same ceiling applied before MIP-12, when blocks carried up to 200 million gas every 400 ms (Monad's changelog and MIP-12); MIP-12 shortened the block interval without raising it. Monad charges and counts each transaction's gas limit, not the gas it actually uses, so a full block can hold less executed work than the ceiling suggests. Monad reprices some opcodes and prices storage by page, so its gas units cannot be compared with another chain's gas or transaction figures.
Headline figures are not comparable across chains. A theoretical peak is never a like-for-like number.

Scaling layers

No scaling layer recorded in this profile.

Capabilities

Capabilities of Monad: how each one is provided, or its research status
CapabilityHow it is providedNotes and sources
Account abstractionStructured assessment pendingNot yet assessed for any chain.
Atomic swapsUnknownGarden, a third-party swap service, settles cross-chain swaps through hashed time-locked contracts that complete on both chains or refund. Monad's protocol registry lists Garden's mainnet contracts as live, and its USDC contract holds code on chain, but Garden's live chain list on 2026-09-29 did not include Monad, so a live swap route is not shown. The protocol has no built-in swap, and no Category Labs or Monad Foundation swap tool is cited. 16272829
Authenticated data publicationUnknownNot yet assessed under this row's current definition.
Light clientsBuilt into the protocolLimited scopeQuorum certificates and delayed state roots: consensus produces what a light client checks, since a block is finalized by a certificate on a certificate from over two-thirds of stake and each proposal carries the state root of a block a few positions earlier; Monad's docs say light clients can then ask full nodes for Merkle proofs of state at that block. Limited: no Monad light client was found, and new nodes start from a forkpoint and validator list downloaded from Monad Foundation storage. 34711
Native staking or delegationStructured assessment pendingNot yet assessed for any chain.
On-chain governanceStructured assessment pendingNot yet assessed for any chain.
Parallel executionStructured assessment pendingNot yet assessed for any chain.
Payment or state channelsUnknownNo payment or state channel layer anchored to Monad was found in the reviewed docs; absence was not verified.
Programmable spendingNative (protocol or core-team software) Earlier definitionEthereum Virtual Machine smart contracts paid in MON, and EIP-7702 delegation (type 4 transactions), which lets an ordinary account run delegated contract code; ERC-4337 entry-point contracts are deployed at listed addresses. These are contract-level spend conditions; an undelegated account signs with a single secp256k1 key. 141819
Protocol-verified messagingStructured assessment pendingNot yet assessed for any chain.
Reversible transfers or recoveryUnknownNo protocol-level reversible transfer or recovery path was found. Smart accounts (Safe and ERC-4337 contracts are deployed) and EIP-7702 delegation are building blocks that could host recovery rules, but no live mainnet recovery implementation was reviewed. 1419
RollupsUnknownNo rollup or validium settling to Monad was found in the reviewed docs; absence was not verified.
Shielded transfersStructured assessment pendingNot yet assessed for any chain.
Signed partial offersUnknownNot yet assessed under this row's current definition.
Reading these values
How this feature is provided
Built into the protocol, core-team software or independent software says where a feature lives and who can change it. These are implementation layers, not quality: core-team software is not closer to the protocol than independent software.
Structured assessment pending
The shared review has not assessed this feature for any chain yet (Account abstraction, Native staking or delegation, On-chain governance, Parallel execution, Protocol-verified messaging and Shielded transfers). That does not mean it is absent, and a chain’s profile may already describe it.
Unknown
The review has not established this for this chain under the current definition; the note beside it says why. Unknown is not absent and not a low score. A feature reads “Not present” only when a source shows it is absent.
Earlier definition
Payment or state channels, Programmable spending and Rollups keep the earlier definition until the next fact-check. There, “Native” does not separate the protocol from core-team software, “Ecosystem software” does not say who publishes it, and “Partial” does not say which layer.
Reading across rows
The list of capabilities is incomplete. Do not read these rows as a chain leading or lagging overall.

Definitions, schema version and review history

Ecosystem & custody

Ecosystem products for Monad
Product typeStatusNotes and sources
Automated market makersEstablished in the ecosystemUniswap v4, Curve, PancakeSwap v3Uniswap's own deployment list gives Uniswap v4 contract addresses on Monad (chain 143), Monad's token page links Uniswap, Curve and PancakeSwap pools for bridged assets, and DeFiLlama lists these exchanges on Monad along with others, including the Kuru order book. Operators, audits and liquidity depth were not reviewed. 153034 As of Sep 29, 2026.
Issuer-native stablecoinsEstablished in the ecosystemUSDC (Circle)Circle's USDC contract list gives a Monad mainnet address, and Circle's transfer protocol lists Monad as domain 15. Tether's supported-protocol list does not include Monad; the USDT0 token on Monad arrives over LayerZero, and Monad's token page lists other dollar tokens, such as AUSD and USD1, as bridged. 15313233 As of Sep 29, 2026.
Algorithmic stablecoinsUnknownDeFiLlama lists Mento (in its algorithmic-stablecoin category) and Reservoir (a collateralized debt protocol) on Monad; their designs, collateral and peg record on Monad were not reviewed. 34 As of Sep 29, 2026.
BridgesEstablished in the ecosystemCircle CCTP (USDC), LayerZero (Stargate), Chainlink CCIP (Transporter), Hyperlane (Nexus), Wormhole NTT (Monad Bridge), AxelarMonad's docs say assets issued elsewhere reach Monad over bridges usually chosen by each asset's issuer, and list these among many bridge and aggregator providers. No bridge run by Category Labs or the Monad Foundation was identified; who operates the Monad Bridge site, which describes itself as powered by Wormhole, was not verified. Risk: Each bridge adds its own trust: CCTP relies on Circle's attestations, and LayerZero, CCIP, Hyperlane, Wormhole and Axelar messages rely on their own verifier or signer networks and each token's settings. Monad's docs describe the wrapped ether route as a 2-of-2 NTT bridge without naming the two verifiers on the reviewed page. A bridged token is only as sound as its bridge and origin chain. 151632 As of Sep 29, 2026.
Block explorersEstablished in the ecosystemMonadVision (BlockVision), Monadscan (Etherscan)Monad's docs list MonadVision, built by BlockVision, and Monadscan, built by Etherscan, as mainnet explorers, plus Tenderly, Phalcon and JiffyScan for traces and user operations. Explorer data is provider-indexed, not consensus. 1422 As of Sep 29, 2026.
Hardware walletsEstablished in the ecosystemLedger (Ledger Wallet, lower confidence), Trezor (through MetaMask or Rabby)See custody rows: a Ledger Academy guide says MON can be held and transacted with a Ledger signer and the Ledger Wallet app, while Ledger's wallet code still ties Monad to a feature switch that is off by default in code; Trezor's Monad page says Trezor Suite does not support Monad and names MetaMask and Rabby. Monad's hardware-wallet page also lists SafePal and Tangem for mainnet, which were not reviewed. 21363940 As of Sep 29, 2026.

Hardware-wallet custody

Hardware-wallet custody for Monad
Device makerStatusWhat users can and cannot do
LedgerNative supportSame as native: UnknownCan: Hold and transact MON with a Ledger signer and the Ledger Wallet app, per Ledger's Monad guide (updated 12 January 2026)
Can: Sign with the device's Ethereum app: Ledger's wallet code defines Monad on chain ID 143 with MON at 18 decimalsLower confidence. Ledger's wallet code (develop branch, read 29 September 2026) ties Monad to a feature switch that is off in code unless switched on remotely; the production setting could not be read. As for other networks under the same custody rule, a readable Ledger page telling users they can use MON with Ledger Wallet (a Ledger Academy guide) is taken as the sign that the switch is on. Ledger's coin page returned not found and its support article did not render, so staking, swaps and token handling are not listed. 213536373839 As of Sep 29, 2026.
TrezorThrough an intermediaryMetaMask or RabbySame as native: UnknownCan: Manage MON with a Trezor Safe 3, Safe 5 or Safe 7 through MetaMask or Rabby, per Trezor's Monad page
Cannot: Manage Monad in the Trezor Suite app, which Trezor's page marks as not supportedTrezor's Monad page names the Safe 3, Safe 5 and Safe 7 and tells users to open a third-party wallet app. 40 As of Sep 29, 2026.

Public data

iKnow Blockchain has no public-data lookups for Monad yet. This is a limit of the service, not a statement about the network.

Public-data lookups for Monad
LookupStatusWhat it covers and its limits
Address or accountNot available yetPublic-data lookups for this chain are not built yet.
Tokens and assetsNot available yetPublic-data lookups for this chain are not built yet.
NFTsNot available yetPublic-data lookups for this chain are not built yet.
TransactionsNot available yetPublic-data lookups for this chain are not built yet.

A lookup covers one address or transaction from one provider. It is never a complete wallet, and an error or private value is reported as unknown, not zero. About public data · Connect your AI

Sourced developments

Developments: Reviewed Sep 29, 2026 Next review due Oct 9, 2026, 12:00 UTC.

Publication date · newest first

Topics your AI can explain

Your AI can explain these topics for Monad through the connection, with sources.

Known gaps

What this profile's review did not establish:

Sources

Oldest dated source check: Source checked Sep 29, 2026 Next check due Oct 29, 2026.

All 40 sources were checked in the last 30 days.

  1. Introduction (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  2. Current Facts for AI Agents (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  3. MonadBFT (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  4. Asynchronous Execution (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  5. Block States (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  6. Staking (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  7. Statesync (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  8. Parallel Execution (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  9. MonadDb (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  10. Hardware Requirements (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  11. Full Node Installation (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  12. Hard Reset Instructions (snapshot restore) (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  13. Validator Delegation Program (VDP) (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  14. Network Information - Mainnet (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  15. Tokens and Bridges (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  16. Cross-Chain (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  17. Differences between Monad and Ethereum (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  18. Transactions (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  19. EIP-7702 on Monad (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  20. Changelog (revisions and chain configs) (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  21. Hardware Wallets (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  22. Monad Block Explorers: MonadVision and Monadscan (external site)Monad Documentation (Monad Foundation) · retrieved
  23. Behind Monad's 100% Uptime (published 31 August 2026) (external site)Monad Foundation blog · retrieved
  24. MIP-12: Decrease Block Time (external site)Monad Improvement Proposals (Category Labs) · retrieved
  25. MonadBFT: Fast, Responsive, Fork-Resistant Streamlined Consensus (external site)arXiv (Jalalzai, Babel and others) · retrieved
  26. Monad Execution README (category-labs/monad) (external site)Category Labs (GitHub) · retrieved
  27. Atomic Swaps (external site)Garden documentation · retrieved
  28. Garden API: live mainnet chains (Monad not listed on 2026-09-29) (external site)Garden · retrieved
  29. monad-crypto/protocols: mainnet/garden.jsonc (external site)Monad protocols registry (GitHub) · retrieved
  30. Uniswap v4 deployments (Monad: 143) (external site)Uniswap Labs developer docs · retrieved
  31. USDC contract addresses (external site)Circle · retrieved
  32. CCTP supported blockchains and domains (external site)Circle · retrieved
  33. Supported Protocols and Integration Guidelines (external site)Tether · retrieved
  34. DeFiLlama protocols API (Monad entries) (external site)DeFiLlama · retrieved
  35. Ledger Wallet currency definition for Monad (ledger-live develop branch) (external site)Ledger (LedgerHQ/ledger-live on GitHub) · retrieved
  36. Ledger Wallet feature switch for Monad (currencyMonad) (external site)Ledger (LedgerHQ/ledger-live on GitHub) · retrieved
  37. Ledger Wallet feature-switch definitions (a switch declared without a value is off by default) (external site)Ledger (LedgerHQ/ledger-live on GitHub) · retrieved
  38. Ledger Wallet feature-flagged currency list (useFeatureFlaggedCurrencies, maps currencyMonad to Monad) (external site)Ledger (LedgerHQ/ledger-live on GitHub) · retrieved
  39. The Complete Guide to Monad Blockchain (updated 12 January 2026) (external site)Ledger Academy (Ledger) · retrieved
  40. Monad wallet (external site)Trezor · retrieved

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Funding disclosure

Funding disclosures appear here when an upkeep arrangement exists, in the form “Upkeep funded by [name]; verdicts unaffected.” The funder ledger has not been published yet. Neutrality & funding