Monad’s $105M Airdrop Sparks Mixed Reactions

Monad’s long-awaited airdrop saw 3.33 billion MON tokens distributed to network users, builders, and community members, representing approximately 3% of the token’s total supply and 30% of its circulating supply. According to crypto data provider CoinGecko, with MON trading around $0.0316 at the time of distribution, the airdrop carried a collective value of approximately $105.2 million. The distribution included owners of several NFT projects and traders on platforms like Hyperliquid and Pump.fun, marking one of the more significant token distributions in recent months.

The airdrop coincided with Monad’s public token offering, which saw 7.5 billion MON tokens sold at $0.025 per token, raising $187 million from approximately 85,800 participants. Combined with $244 million raised through previous funding rounds, Monad has secured $431 million in total funding according to CryptoRank data. This substantial financial backing positions the project as a well-capitalized competitor in the blockchain space, though the immediate market response to the token distribution has been mixed.

Within Monad’s official Discord server and on social media platform X, community members expressed varied reactions to the airdrop allocations. Some participants noted with surprise that MON was trading near the same price as previous token sales, including an offering on a platform recently introduced by Coinbase for nascent tokens. An individual known as Barnabas on X expressed disappointment with their allocation of 32,000 MON tokens, which they exchanged for nearly $950 in stablecoin USDC, despite having created Monad-themed comics for over six months to support the project.

Other recipients opted for immediate liquidation of their airdropped tokens. An X user named NikkiSixx7 reported selling 71,000 MON for $0.031 each on crypto exchange MEXC, stating through a Turkish translation that even if the price increased later, they wouldn’t regret the decision due to perceived limited opportunities within the Monad ecosystem. This immediate selling pressure reflects the challenge new blockchain projects face in converting airdrop recipients into long-term ecosystem participants.

Crypto projects frequently employ airdrops as mechanisms to incentivize product usage while rewarding early adopters and contributors. The practice has gained regulatory attention, with SEC chair Paul Atkins noting earlier this year that the regulator was working on purpose-fit disclosures and exemptions for such distributions. Monad’s approach follows other significant airdrops in the industry, including decentralized perpetual futures exchange Hyperliquid’s distribution of tokens initially worth $1.6 billion, though both cases included geographic restrictions that limited their potential scope.

Despite mixed community sentiment, industry observers have noted strategic merits in Monad’s approach. Trevor Thompson, co-founder and CEO of social platform Ethos Network, commented on X that Monad maximized the amount it raised while offering tokens to the public at a fair price. He described Monad’s initial coin offering as ‘basically perfect in terms of price discovery,’ noting the difficulty of ‘getting your IPO/ICO price correct without leaving money on the table.’ This perspective highlights the balancing act between rewarding early supporters and maximizing capital raised for project development.