‘Monad Is a Scam’: How Bad Is MON’s Token Situation?

One of the most anticipated token sales of 2025 has so far left many participants disappointed after launch.

The price of Monad (MON) at the end of the pre-sale and at the moment it hit exchanges sat around $0.026. On-chain data showed roughly $0.028, while Hyperliquid (HYPE) listed it at $0.024. The key issue is that a portion of pre-sale buyers were already underwater, with the token trading below the initial price.

MON’s first trading day did not deliver the “wow” effect many expected. Hopes that Coinbase would serve as an informal guarantee against a weak token sale look fragile for now. MON saw a brief pump to $0.035, which allowed some traders to take a small profit, but the move did not last.

This partly confirms one of Cryptonews’ hypotheses that early holders may be quick to sell. The concern is tied to the project’s tokenomics, where 50% of the supply belongs to the team and insiders.

A bigger question now is whether it makes sense to hold the MON token or prepare for another disappointment. A similar story unfolded with Berachain (BERA), another hyped Layer 1 (L1). Its token distribution and first trading day were a disaster, followed by accusations of insider activity. Will Monad face the same outcome?

Coinbase’s First ICOM

Monad became Coinbase’s first ICO launch, and even U.S. users were able to participate, which is normally complicated by regulation. The pre-sale price initially showed around $0.13, which many found attractive. But over time, MON’s price kept sliding. Juluis Elum, founder of CoreNex, shared his frustration:

I’m beginning to think Monad is a scam. Making me think they hiked the price on the open market to lure in pre-sale buyers, so they will dump it.

Despite this, Monad still has plenty of “fans.” It is difficult to know whether they genuinely support the technology or simply belong to the group of insiders who have been positioned long before the token sale.

The first warning signs appeared when users who had been active across the Monad ecosystem in hopes of qualifying for an airdrop received almost nothing.

Thanks @monad for kebab.

🤡🤡🤡#MonadScam #monad pic.twitter.com/o11aR2wFxM

— PugOnly (@Pugonly) October 30, 2025

The hashtag #MonadScam has been circulating on X for some time. The question is whether these early critics were right or whether Coinbase will take corrective action.

Does Monad Price Have a Chance to Recover?

A positive scenario for MON token would involve the price stabilizing at a bottom and gradually recovering toward the initial pre-sale zone. Something similar happened with Pump.Fun and its token PUMP. Pump.Fun is a functioning product with real users and real revenue. Whether Monad falls into that category is still unclear.

Another important point is the support from major crypto projects. Coinbase was the sole venue for the ICO. Solana (SOL), which is essentially one of Monad’s competitors, also expressed public support.

Every asset.

Available at launch on Solana. pic.twitter.com/lM8PgEJe42

— Solana (@solana) November 23, 2025

Uniswap (UNI), MetaMask and others joined in as well, sharing custom visuals and promotional content tied to Monad’s launch. It is possible that coordinated marketing was prepared ahead of time, although it is still unclear whether these projects know something or are simply risking their reputations.

Monad mainnet is in the cards pic.twitter.com/k1vaiKS20e

— Uniswap Labs 🦄 (@Uniswap) October 14, 2025

For now, MON remains a high-risk token. We are seeing a small post-launch rebound, which could turn into a broader recovery or result in another drop to a second bottom. Coinbase may step in to stabilize sentiment, but nothing is guaranteed.

The recent wave of large token launches has been underwhelming, and MON fits that trend. For now, caution may be the wiser approach. Monad could still become one of 2025’s major runners or end up as another forgotten token.