Arthur Hayes labels Monad a retail trap driven by VC dumping

Arthur Hayes has raised concerns about Monad’s native token, MON, stating that the project is structured in a way that allows the founders and venture capital investors to reap the benefits at the expense of retail traders who enter the market. 

The co-founder of BitMEX asserted that the token model introduced by Monad, which is based on a large fully diluted valuation and a limited supply of circulating tokens, creates a mechanism by which early stakeholders can sell tokens when the public is aware of them. Despite his revelation of a small holding of MON, Hayes stated that he was 99% bearish and that Monad currently holds no competitive edge compared to major blockchains.

Arthur Hayes calls Monad’s setup favorable to early investors

Hayes said that MON, promoted in some conversations as a possible Ethereum competitor, is structured in a way that leaves retail buyers vulnerable during its first phase of price discovery. 

He described the token as a VC dump scheme, which was constructed to exploit retail investors, referring to the disparity between the fully diluted valuation and the initial amount of supply on the market. Hayes stated that a combination of small inflows can cause the price to rise, whereby the first to invest can decrease their exposure when late entrants arrive, resulting in unpredictable market dynamics.

Hayes also ruled out the opinion that Monad would compete with other major networks in his remarks. According to him, the project had a zero probability of success compared to Ethereum, and it also did not align with Solana’s current status. His comments centered on token economics and distribution, rather than technical specifications, citing issues he had already voiced about assets issued with limited supply and multibillion-dollar valuations.

Abrupt reversal on MON sparks further debate

Hayes’s criticism came shortly after he entered and exited a position in MON. On November 25, he announced that he had acquired the token, even though he referred to it as another high-FDV, low-float layer-1 asset.

Hayes then changed his mind after seven hours and released a chart showing the downward movement of the token, informing his followers that he had lost the position. He wrote, “I’m out. Send this dogshit to ZERO,” which once again intensified market interest in the asset’s rapid price change.

The turnaround also contrasted with the past, where he had been making public speeches about some of the assets. The traders cited an example of his action of dumping all his Hyperliquid in September, just a few weeks after he had informed them that he was optimistic.

Hayes made these comments as part of a broader suggestion regarding the behavior of early-stage assets in response to concentrated trade and high fully diluted valuations. During the early stages of the token market, supply limits were still being debated by market participants, with implications for liquidity and stability as trading volumes intensified.

MON still trades in a high-risk environment in its initial post-airdrop period. As of press time, the token was trading at $0.035874, recording a 4.16% decline over the past 24 hours, with a 24-hour trading volume of $ 379,410,603. 

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