If you're into meme coins, you've probably felt the frustration of slow transactions and sky-high fees on overcrowded networks. Well, buckle up because Monad just dropped its mainnet on November 24, 2025, along with its native $MON token, and it's looking like a game-changer for the meme token scene.

What Went Down on Launch Day

Monad, a Layer 1 blockchain that's all about scalability while staying fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), kicked off its public mainnet with a bang. This means developers can port over their smart contracts without any tweaks, making it super easy to build and launch projects—including those viral meme coins we all love.

The token generation event (TGE) for $MON came with an initial circulating supply of about 10.83 billion out of a total 100 billion tokens. Right out of the gate, the network handled over 2 million transactions in the first 24 hours. That's impressive throughput, averaging over 60 transactions per second (TPS) with peaks pushing toward their 10,000 TPS goal. Block times? A snappy 0.4 seconds on average, and finality in under 0.8 seconds. For context, finality is when a transaction is locked in and can't be reversed—crucial for avoiding those pesky double-spends.

On the price front, $MON started trading at around $0.0221 on exchanges like Coinbase, MEXC, and even decentralized spots via cross-chain bridges like Wormhole's Sunrise on Solana. But as with any big launch, especially one with airdrops and public sale unlocks, there was some serious volatility. It dipped to a low of $0.02056 amid selling pressure, then bounced back to hit an all-time high of $0.038. Despite a broader crypto market dip (we're talking a $1 trillion drop in market cap since October), $MON managed a 23% gain in those first 24 hours, per CoinGecko.

Tokenomics and Airdrops: The Basics

Out of the total supply, a whopping 89.17% is locked up in vesting schedules for the team, investors, and ecosystem growth—think one-year cliffs to prevent dumps. The public sale grabbed 7.5%, and there was a generous airdrop of 3.33 billion $MON tokens. This setup aims to keep things fair and sustainable, but it did contribute to that initial price swing.

Monad raised $269 million in funding before this, so they're not short on resources to build out the ecosystem. And speaking of ecosystem, they're using unclaimed airdrop funds for grants to lure in more developers.

Why This Matters for Meme Coins

Here's where it gets exciting for us at Meme Insider. Monad's design—optimistic parallel execution, where transactions get processed simultaneously instead of one-by-one—means lower costs and faster speeds. Gas fees are built to stay low even as the network scales, which is perfect for launching and trading meme tokens without breaking the bank.

In the first day alone, over 50 apps went live on Monad. We're talking bridges like Portal, Stargate Finance, and Wormhole for easy cross-chain moves; DEXes such as Kuru Exchange, Monorail, Uniswap, PancakeSwap, and Curve Finance; and DeFi protocols like Curvance for lending and Pendle for yield farming.

But the real meme magic? Memecoin launchpads and rewards campaigns are already rolling out. Tools like GMGN.ai for trading and GeckoTerminal for tracking make it a breeze to spot and jump on new memes. Plus, integrations with NFT platforms like OpenSea and even AI-driven strategies from Infinit Labs open up wild possibilities for meme-themed projects. Imagine meme coins with real-world incentives via LootGo or liquid staking for $MON to earn while you hold.

The network saw activity from over 16,800 unique addresses and 170 validators, with no major crashes—though some folks reported failed txns during peaks. That's solid for day one, and it shows Monad could rival Solana or Ethereum L2s for meme coin dominance.

Looking Ahead

As Monad settles in, keep an eye on total value locked (TVL) and app adoption. With low fees and high speeds, it could become the go-to for meme coin creators looking to avoid Ethereum's bottlenecks. Competition is fierce, but Monad's EVM compatibility and tech edge might just give it the win.

This buzz started with a heads-up from BSC News on X, calling it potentially the biggest token launch of 2025. If you're a blockchain practitioner or just a meme hodler, Monad's worth watching. Head over to their official site for more deets, and stay tuned to Meme Insider for updates on how this shakes up the meme token world.