Looking back at these years in the crypto market, it’s really been a rollercoaster. Watching Monad go from fundraising in May 2022 to launching its mainnet now, it’s been a full three and a half years, spanning an entire market cycle. From the Luna crash to the bull market peak and now the current slump, Monad has had quite a journey.

It secured over $400 million in funding from top-tier institutions, setting a record at the time. But now, the market's attitude toward high-valuation projects has changed—people are paying more attention to actual adoption and usage. Can Monad become the last flourish of the VC era? We'll find out tonight.

From the public sale, the 144% oversubscription does show pretty good enthusiasm. But the pre-market book profit of 28-36% isn’t exactly stunning, reflecting the current cautious market sentiment. The expected FDV of around $3 billion also shows that while the market recognizes the project, it remains wary of high valuations.

The most noteworthy aspect is the 38.5% of tokens allocated for ecosystem development. How this double-edged sword is used will directly affect whether Monad can truly build a moat. We’ve seen too many projects fail due to improper use of incentives in the past, so hopefully Monad can learn from these lessons.

Seeing Solana backing Monad is definitely unexpected. This kind of competition and cooperation relationship might signal a new trend in the crypto market—whoever can offer the best trading experience and liquidity will attract users. For MON holders, having another highly liquid trading venue is definitely a good thing.

Still, even the best projects need to stand the test of the market. After tonight’s mainnet launch, MON’s price discovery process and the performance of ecosystem projects will be the real test of its strength. Let’s wait and see.