TL/DR

• Funding and Valuation: Monad Labs has raised $244M to date and is valued at $3B. Their latest funding round, a Series A led by Paradigm, secured $225M. Notable investors include Paradigm, Electric Capital, and Coinbase Ventures.  

• Ecosystem and Programs: Monad Labs supports its ecosystem through a $30M fund, grants, and accelerator programs. They offer the Mach Accelerator for early-stage projects and Jumpstart for more established teams.  

• Mach Accelerator: This 4-week program helps teams accelerate growth through mentorship, workshops, and funding support. It covers topics like Monad's tech stack, product strategy, UI/UX design, branding, and community building.  

• Monad Madness: This global pitch competition offers $1M in prizes and $60M in potential investment. It targets venture-ready teams with working MVPs seeking to raise funds.  

• Hackathon: Monad's first hackathon offered over $100,000 in prizes and the opportunity for follow-up funding through milestone-based grants.  

• Testnet Launch: Monad launched its public testnet on February 19th, 2025, allowing developers and users to experience its features. The testnet aims for a throughput of 10,000 transactions per second (TPS).

  
  

Monad: A Quest for Speed without Sacrifice

Introducing Monad

The Monad blockchain is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the world of decentralized applications. Built for speed and scalability, Monad is an Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 that boasts an impressive 10,000 transactions per second. This is achieved through key innovations like MonadBFT, Deferred Execution, Parallel Execution and MonadDB, which optimize performance without sacrificing decentralization. What truly sets Monad apart is its seamless compatibility with the existing Ethereum ecosystem. Developers can effortlessly migrate their dApps, utilize familiar tools like Hardhat and MetaMask, and even leverage existing analytics platforms like Etherscan. This ensures a smooth transition and unlocks a world of possibilities for both builders and users alike. In this blog post, we'll delve deeper into the Monad ecosystem, exploring the key components and initiatives that are driving its growth and adoption.

The People behind the Network

Keone Hon - CEO & Co-Founder

Keone is a software developer and blockchain researcher. Prior to Monad, he spent eight years at Jump Trading, where he led an HFT team. In 2021, Keone joined Jump’s crypto division and led a team of engineers focused on blockchain research and dapp development.

James Hunsaker - CTO & Co-Founder

James is an expert at systems engineering and low-latency optimizations. Prior to Monad, he spent eight years at Jump Trading where he built an ultra-low-latency trading system responsible for tens of billions of notional daily volume in major futures markets.

Eunice Giarta - COO & Co-Founder

Eunice is a product and tech leader, with a background in traditional finance and fintech. With a CS degree from MIT, she was previously in trading at BofA Merrill Lynch, and led product teams building enterprise trading systems at Broadway Technology and payments and licensing infra team at Shutterstock.

Monad Investors and Funding updates

Monad Labs has raised $244M in Funding to date, with a valuation of around $3B. In their first round Monad raised $19M. Following that, their previous round, where they raised $225M, the round was led by Paradigm. Monad now has the abundance of resources to continue scaling their team and to produce Monad. The list of Monad’s institutional investors include, but are not limited to:  Paradigm, Electric Capital, Castle Island Ventures, Greenoaks, eGirl Capital, Rebirth Ventures, Amber Group, Animoca Ventures and others. 

Explore the Monad Ecosystem, Grants & Incubator Programs

Ecosystem Apps: Full list of Apps and Infrastructure Live of Monad Testnet here.

ByBit - Bybit Web3 is your gateway to Web3. Explore DeFi offerings, and trade thousands of tokens across various networks.

Dune - Dune is the leading data platform for onchain data, empowering users to query, visualize, and build across 90+ blockchains.

LayerZero - LayerZero is an omnichain interoperability protocol that enables seamless communication between different blockchains.

Thirdweb - thirdweb is a full-stack, open-source Web3 platform with SDKs, smart contracts, indexers & wallets for EVM chains. Build & scale apps fast!

Uniswap - The largest onchain marketplace. Buy and sell crypto on Monad and 11+ other chains.

Accelerator:

Monad's Mach Accelerator program is a 4-week intensive program designed to help teams accelerate their growth. The program includes 1-on-1 mentorship, bespoke MasterClasses and workshops, an Ignition Grant and fundraising support, and early access to the Monad Developer Testnet.

During the 4 weeks, participants will learn about a variety of topics, including:

1. Utilizing Monad's tech stack

2. Developing a product strategy

3. Leveling up UI/UX design

4. Building a distinctive brand

5. Deriving a go-to-market plan

6. Acquiring strategic partnerships

7. Building and engaging a community

8. Creative marketing ideas

After the 4 weeks, participants will have the opportunity to participate in curated networking sessions and receive fundraising support.

The Mach Accelerator program is designed to help teams take their projects to the next level. With the help of experienced mentors and a comprehensive curriculum, participants will gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.

Monad Madness

Monad Madness is a global pitch competition for founders building on the EVM, offering $1M in prizes and $60M in potential investment from top VC firms. The competition targets venture-ready teams with working MVPs who are looking to raise funds within the next 6 months, providing them with unparalleled visibility, funding opportunities, and network connections in the Monad ecosystem. Join Monad Madness in Hong Kong, an exclusive Mandarin-language pitch competition offering up to 2,000,000 HKD in prizes and direct access to top VCs for venture-ready teams building innovative solutions on Monad.

Monad Hackathon

The first ever Monad hackathon

Now ONLINE from Feb 26 - Mar 12.

This is not your run of the mill, traditional hackathon. For those accepted, they will receive exceptional support from the Monad team to bring their idea to completion. For teams who are ready to build something special - Monad is ready to make it a reality.

Teams will compete for over $100,000 in prizes to fuel their project's growth as well as an exclusive opportunity to secure follow-up funding of up to $30,000 through milestone-based grants to continue building after the hackathon.

Monad Testnet news

Monad announced their public testnet, launched on February 19th, marking a significant milestone after the completion of its closed testnet at the end of 2024. This allows developers and users to experience Monad's features. The testnet introduces core capabilities including a gas limit of 300M gas/s, anticipated to achieve a throughput of 10,000 transactions per second (TPS). Developers can now test the blockchain’s performance, dApp deployment and transaction processes in real-world scenarios.

Conclusion

With its impressive technology, strong team, and thriving ecosystem, Monad has all the ingredients for success. As the project continues to develop and attract new users and developers, we can expect to see even more innovative and exciting applications built on Monad. The future looks bright for this high-performance blockchain, and we can't wait to see what the future holds.