What I Wish I Knew Before I Got Into Crypto

Nothing in crypto surprises anyone anymore, but selling the token of a blockchain that doesn’t even exist yet is extreme even by Web3 standards. Monad is presented as a “Solana from the future that hasn’t arrived,” Coinbase plays the role of a bank wearing a decentralization costume, and retail, as always, is the one expected to sponsor someone’s new luxury car.

What is Monad? Essentially, it is a PowerPoint presentation being sold for billions. There is no mainnet, no real transactions, no gas fees, no TVL, no users, no ecosystem — nothing. Yet the token is already for sale. If they were selling a cardboard box with the words “work in progress” on it, it would actually be more honest.

What exactly is being sold? A concept, slides, a promise of the future, the idea of “the next Solana,” and retail FOMO. It is a perfect replay of 2017, only this time executed through Coinbase to make it look more respectable.

Coinbase is fully involved. They launched Token Sales and needed a headline project to kick it off. Monad, with their “the blockchain exists in our mind,” fit perfectly. From there, it’s onboarding new investors and monetizing retail optimism.

A 2.5 billion FDV for something that doesn’t exist is no longer crypto — it’s modern art. Solana in 2020 had a smaller valuation, and even Aptos and Sui launched with real blockchains. Monad is selling a token while having only a testnet — a sandbox, a playground — yet the market cap is already set in the billions.

The comparison with ChainGPT is almost comedic: at least ChainGPT has a product interface. Monad, meanwhile, doesn’t do anything: it cannot handle orders, cannot process transactions, cannot support wallets. But it can be sold. It is like paying for a gym membership before the gym is even built.

From the market’s perspective, the situation looks surreal: a token for a non-existent network is pushed by Coinbase, retail is buying, and FDV is 2.5 billion. The market simply shrugs and says: this is normal now.

Why do they do it? Because they can. Venture funds entered early, and now they need hype, a listing, liquidity, and exit liquidity. Retail enters last, as always. And retail dreams, as always: “What if this is the next Solana? What if it does X10?” Maybe. Or maybe it becomes the next Sui.

What is the difference between Monad and Solana? Solana exists, functions, fails, recovers, has survived disasters, grown after collapses, and maintains a massive ecosystem with real usage. Monad has marketing, a token, a PDF, and a token sale.

CryptoMama verdict: Monad is the crypto equivalent of preordering a video game that hasn’t been developed yet but is already sold at full price. Coinbase helps because it wants commission revenue, a new trend to showcase, and a flashy product for their new launchpad. The market accepts it because it wants a new shiny toy.

Is there money to be made? Yes. You can take a minimal allocation, catch a hype-driven spike, make X2, and exit before unlocks. But it is speculation, not investment. Not a fundamental play. Not “the new Solana.” It is an attractive box filled with nothing but air and aggressive promises.

Final verdict for CryptoMama: Monad is like buying a bridge that hasn’t been built yet. They show you a sketch, ask you to believe, and price it like it’s the Golden Gate. If you enter smartly, you can profit, but only if you know the difference between hype, hustle, and opportunity.