Inside Story of Monad Token Public Sale: The Transparency Game Behind the $2.5B Valuation

Not long ago, Monad launched a public sale on Coinbase, and an 18-page disclosure document sparked discussions in the market. This document breaks down the complete logic of the project from fundraising to token allocation in detail, making it worth a deep dive.

The Story Behind the Numbers

Fundraising Path: Monad began fundraising in June 2022, raising $19.6 million in the Pre-Seed round, $22.6 million in the Seed round, and a whopping $220.5 million in the Series A. Adding the $90 million operational grant from Category Labs later on, the total raised amounts to $262 million.

Token Sale Details:

• Price: $0.025 per token
• Total: Up to 750 million MON (7.5% of initial supply)
• If fully sold: $187.5 million raised
• FDV valuation: $2.5 billion
• Participation threshold: $1,000–$100,000

Interestingly, the sale uses a “bottom-up” allocation mechanism. Simply put, small retail investors are prioritized, with larger investors queued after them. This design is clearly intended to prevent large funds from monopolizing the tokens.

The Most Interesting Part: Market Maker Arrangements

Unlike other projects that try to hide this information, Monad directly disclosed the list of market makers—CyantArb, Auros, Galaxy, and GSR each borrow tokens for one month, while Wintermute borrows for one year. A total of 160 million MON is lent out.

At first glance, this number isn’t large, accounting for only 0.16% of the total supply. Compared to other projects that allocate 2-3% for market making, Monad is indeed conservative. But there’s more to it:

Advantages:

1. Maximum transparency—Coinwatch is brought in as a third-party supervisor to ensure the borrowed tokens are truly used for market making and not for other purposes.
2. Risk control—Monthly contracts are flexible, allowing for replacement if necessary; Wintermute’s one-year contract ensures long-term liquidity.
3. Benchmarking traditional fundraising logic, reducing moral hazard.

Concerns:

• The 0.16% scale may not be enough to handle large-scale selling pressure.
• Initial DEX liquidity is capped at 0.2% (200 million tokens), which is a maximum, not a guarantee.
• The document explicitly lists liquidity risks—if there’s no real buying after launch, prices may be very volatile.

Token Unlocking Schedule

On the first day of mainnet launch, about 4.94 billion tokens will be unlocked, including:

• Circulating portion: 108 million (from public sale + airdrop)
• Ecosystem development: 385 million (managed by Monad Foundation for incentives and delegation)

All investor, team, and treasury tokens are locked for at least one year, with all tokens expected to be unlocked by Q4 2029.

Additionally, 2% new tokens will be issued annually (as rewards for validators/stakers), but these will be offset by transaction fee burns.

What Should Investors Think

Monad’s disclosure is indeed more transparent than the industry average. But transparency ≠ no risk. Here are a few points to watch:

1. Tight initial liquidity — With a small market-making scale, if retail investors participate but institutions don’t continue buying, volatility could be wild.
2. Medium-term unlocking pressure — Investor and team tokens will gradually unlock over 1-4 years, which could put pressure on the price.
3. Ecosystem adoption — Whether the 385 million ecosystem development fund can truly incentivize valuable applications will determine long-term prospects.

Overall, Monad has chosen a “controlled but conservative” sale strategy. This is rare in crypto projects, but it also means short-term upside may be limited. It’s suitable for stability-seeking participants, not those betting on a quick pump.

Before entering: Besides looking at valuation and fundraising, focus on whether real demand after the mainnet launch can support the $2.5B valuation.