Monad (MON) Airdrop Full Analysis: Eligibility, Price Trends, and Ecosystem Outlook

Monad mainnet officially launched on November 24, 2025, followed by a large-scale airdrop distributing tokens to approximately 230,000 carefully selected participants. This is not only one of the most anticipated blockchain events of 2025 but also marks the beginning of the ecosystem development of this high-performance EVM chain. As of January 13, 2026, the price of the MON token on trading platforms like Gate is approximately $0.02311. The market is digesting the impact of the mainnet launch and the initial token release.

Monad Airdrop Overview: Targets, Standards, and Strategies

The core of the Monad airdrop emphasizes quality over quantity. Unlike some previous broad distribution methods, the Monad Foundation employs a hybrid mechanism of “AI analysis + manual review” to ensure rewards are precisely targeted at genuine crypto contributors. The airdrop mainly targets five user groups: core community members of Monad, highly active multi-chain DeFi users, blue-chip NFT holders, builders and security researchers contributing to the ecosystem, and crypto thought leaders nominated by peers through the “Monad Cards” program.

To prevent sybil attacks, the project excludes small, repetitive, mechanical on-chain operations, focusing instead on behaviors that demonstrate capital investment, long-term commitment, and substantial community engagement. For example, users with significant funds deposited in mainstream protocols like Aave and Uniswap, or those holding well-known NFTs such as CryptoPunks long-term, are more likely to qualify.

Gate Platform Exclusive Participation Channels and Activities

For users interested in MON but who did not receive the initial airdrop, Gate offers direct participation channels. The platform has launched MON in the flash swap zone and initiated exclusive airdrop incentive activities. Users can now trade MON and over 2,200 other assets with zero fees via Gate’s flash swap feature. To incentivize participation, the platform has launched a series of activities with a total prize pool of up to 800,000 MON, divided into three tasks:

New User First Claim Reward: During the event, users who complete their first-ever flash swap of any token worth ≥1 USD will be randomly awarded between 10 and 500 MON.

Daily Check-in: Users who complete at least 1 USD worth of flash swap transactions daily are considered checked in. After the event, rewards will be distributed based on the total number of days checked in, from a pool of 300,000 MON.

Additional Challenge: From all users with at least 5 days of check-ins, 1,000 lucky winners will be randomly selected to share a pool of 200,000 MON. These activities provide users with a zero-threshold opportunity to accumulate MON tokens.

03 Market Performance and Multi-Dimensional Price Outlook

The market performance of MON after launch reflects the supply and demand dynamics faced by new projects. On one hand, the airdrop release and early unlocking create supply pressure; on the other hand, the market remains interested in its long-term potential as a high-performance EVM narrative.

As of January 13, 2026, the trading price of Monad (MON) is approximately $0.02311. Market data shows that MON’s price has decreased by 4.89% in the past 24 hours, with a 24-hour trading volume of $9.64 million and a total market cap of about $248.65 million, accounting for roughly 0.07% of the overall crypto market. From a technical perspective, MON has been fluctuating within a downward channel since early November 2025, but there is some support around $0.023. The lower Bollinger Band indicates a potential rebound, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has risen to a neutral level, suggesting that the previous extreme bearish pressure is easing.

Based on technical analysis and tokenomics models, here are the long- and mid-term price forecasts for MON:

It should be noted that seasoned crypto analyst Arthur Hayes has issued warnings about MON, citing its “high fully diluted valuation (FDV) and low circulating supply” tokenomics, which could lead to significant price volatility after insider token unlocks. Investors should consider such structural risks carefully when referencing these forecasts.

Ecosystem Development, Risks, and Long-Term Narrative

The long-term value of Monad is deeply tied to its ecosystem development. Its core narrative is as a fully Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible Layer 1 blockchain with significantly improved performance. This means Ethereum developers can migrate applications to Monad with minimal costs while enjoying higher throughput and lower fees. This “Ethereum ecosystem inheritance with Solana-like performance” positioning makes it theoretically highly attractive.

Currently, the tokenomics are a key focus for market observation. Only about 10.8% of the total MON supply is in circulation, with the rest allocated to the team, investors, and ecosystem funds. The future token unlock schedule will interact with ecosystem development needs and is a critical variable influencing prices. Despite receiving $225 million from top-tier VCs like Paradigm, competition remains fierce—Monad must compete not only with established chains like Solana and Avalanche but also stand out among numerous Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solutions.

On Gate’s market page, the MON daily chart shows the price seeking support above $0.02. The Bollinger Bands are narrowing, indicating a potential period of reduced volatility and a decision point. “Monad is listed by some analysts as one of the top cryptocurrencies to watch in 2026, due to its technical potential and alignment with future institutional adoption narratives,” a market observer wrote in a post on Gate Square. This attention contrasts sharply with Arthur Hayes’ stark warning, who believes most Layer 1 networks will ultimately fail.