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Monad, as a high-performance EVM-compatible L1, has already demonstrated excellent performance during the testnet phase, with over 10,000 TPS and 1-second finality. These figures have brought new expectations to the market. However, the success of the testnet is just the beginning. The key to Monad's future direction lies in the upcoming ecosystem construction, market expansion, capital operations, and mainnet launch plan.
This article will delve into Monad's next steps, analyzing its potential course of action from four aspects: mainnet launch, ecosystem expansion, capital layout, and competitive strategy.
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Phase One: Mainnet Official Launch (Expected in Q3-Q4 2024)
Objective: Ensure the stable launch of the mainnet and build the foundation for the early ecosystem
๐ Key Challenge: Transitioning from high-performance in the testnet to stability in the real environment
Mainnet Stability Optimization
Despite Monad's outstanding performance in the testnet phase, transitioning from a test environment to a real decentralized mainnet still requires addressing the following issues:
Decentralized Node Network: Transitioning from partial validators in the testnet to a globally distributed validation network.
Real Transaction Pressure Testing: How to maintain over 10,000 TPS under mainnet conditions and prevent transaction ordering bottlenecks.
Network Security: The testnet has not experienced large-scale hacker attacks. Monad needs to conduct rigorous security audits.
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Phase Two: Ecosystem Expansion, Building the Early Application Layer
Objective: Create a closed-loop ecosystem for Monad and attract more DApps and developers
๐ Key Challenge: Encouraging developers to stay long-term on Monad!
Focus on Developing the DeFi Ecosystem
During the cold start phase of a public chain, DeFi is one of the most important pillars. Monad needs to:
Further improve TayaSwap to attract more liquidity.
Launch lending protocols and stablecoin projects to form a complete capital circulation system.
Possible Incentive Methods:
Liquidity mining
Transaction rewards
Cross-chain asset bridge subsidies
Monad has announced partnerships with LayerZero and Wormhole. The next focus will be on:
Attracting users from the Ethereum and Solana ecosystems to migrate assets through cross-chain bridges.
A possible cross-chain asset bridge incentive plan may be launched to bring more TVL into Monad.
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Phase Three: Capital Layout, Expanding Market Influence
Objective: Obtain more capital support to drive ecosystem development
๐ Key Challenge: Attract more investment in the highly competitive L1 track
Possible New Round of Financing
Monad has already secured $19M in financing led by Dragonfly in its early stage. However, with the expansion of the ecosystem, it is expected to conduct a new round of financing (in the range of $50M-$100M).
Potential Investment Institutions: Paradigm, a16z, Sequoia, Multicoin Capital, and other VCs that have been closely following the L1 track.
Key Investment Directions:
Ecosystem funds (to encourage developers to join Monad)
Infrastructure construction (to enhance validators and network stability)
Market promotion (to attract more users into the Monad ecosystem)
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Phase Four: Competitive Strategy, Competing with Solana & Rollup Track
Objective: Find a unique positioning in the highly competitive L1 market
๐ Key Challenge: Capture market share among existing public chains
Advantages Compared to Solana
Fully compatible with EVM, while Solana uses the Rust language, which has a higher migration cost for developers. Monad maintains the Ethereum development environment.
More stable network architecture. Solana has experienced multiple outages in recent years, while Monad uses MonadBFT to reduce the risk of potential single points of failure.
Similar throughput (over 10,000 TPS), but with DeFi-friendly gas fees, making it more suitable for the DeFi ecosystem than Solana.
Objective: Capture DeFi projects from the Solana ecosystem and provide a more stable chain environment.
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Future Outlook: Is Monad Worth Long-term Attention?
The technology has been initially validated, and the mainnet progress is smooth. The future competitiveness depends on ecosystem construction.
The market competition is fierce, but Monad has the advantages of EVM compatibility, high throughput, and stability.
If financing and ecosystem expansion are successful, Monad may become a new force in the L1 track.
The biggest risk: After the mainnet launch, whether the ecosystem growth can keep up? Will DApps and TVL grow steadily?
Final Conclusion: Monad is at a critical breakthrough stage. The development in the next few months will determine whether it can truly become a dark horse in the L1 track.