The beginning of the year turned out to be successful for MON. The token briefly reached a weekly high amid increased activity on the Monad network and a revival of the DeFi segment.
However, the upward movement was not so straightforward. The key factor was not an inflow of long-term demand, but a series of short position liquidations. After the shorts were cleared out, the momentum began to weaken.
The price of MON is still far from post-launch levels. The all-time high of $0.045 remains out of reach.
Surge on liquidations
Over the weekend, MON gained more than 17% and climbed to $0.028. This is the best result in the last seven days, but the token is still far from its November values.
The market was expecting a technical rebound. In December, MON noticeably lagged behind most altcoins, which increased expectations of growth. However, the overall picture remains tense. The recovery of the crypto market looks unstable, and investor interest in new L1 platforms is still weak.
The launch of Monad came at a difficult time. Despite this, the project continues to develop its DeFi ecosystem and increase on-chain activity.
Network TVL hits record high
Monad is showing progress in key metrics. Total value locked reached a record $251 million. About $397 million in stablecoins are already placed on the network. The ecosystem includes several DeFi applications that are gradually gaining momentum. This data is confirmed by DeFiLlama statistics.
At the same time, application yields remain uneven. Most of the revenue depends on incentives and temporary campaigns. Peak fees were recorded at the end of 2025 and exceeded $200 million per day. After the holidays, activity decreased amid a general decline in trading.
Upshift strengthens network economy
The key application of Monad remains Upshift — a platform for capital placement and redistribution. Over the past month, the service’s liquidity has grown by more than 82% and, according to the project, reached $476 million.
The growth of app liquidity indicates deeper network usage. Monad is betting on applications as the main centers of value creation, rather than high payouts to validators. This approach is reminiscent of the Solana model, where the key role belongs to the application ecosystem.
Infrastructure instead of yield chasing
Monad is increasingly positioning itself as an infrastructure network. The main value is shifting towards services, transfers, and financial products, rather than the blockchain itself.
At the same time, MON retains its role as a staking asset. About 14% of the supply is locked, and the stated yield reaches 12% per annum. However, the final efficiency directly depends on the token price behavior.
Derivatives increase pressure
Interest in MON derivatives has grown significantly. Open interest approached an all-time high, and the total position volume exceeded $127 million.
Most market participants are betting on growth. Short positions remain vulnerable. Over the past day, the volume of short liquidations exceeded $133 million, which became the main fuel for the recent price jump.
The bottom line is simple. The current growth of MON is largely explained by a short squeeze. The market still has to confirm a sustainable recovery based on the real development of the Monad ecosystem.
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