Monad's Soaring Ambition Clashes with BitMEX Co-founder's Grim 99% Crash Prediction

The Layer 1 blockchain Monad recently made headlines with a successful launch and an impressive 80% price surge, catapulting its native token, MON, to an all-time high of $0.048 on November 26. However, this initial euphoria has been sharply contrasted by a stark warning from Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, who suggests Monad's token could plummet by as much as 99%, drawing parallels to the troubled Berachain protocol. Hayes, known for his provocative market insights, voiced his skepticism in a recent interview, dismissing most new Layer 1 blockchains outside of Ethereum and Solana as "zero" with little long-term potential. He branded Monad's token a "high FDV, low-float" asset, implying its valuation is inflated relative to its actual utility. This pessimistic outlook echoes the fate of Berachain, whose BERA token trades almost 94% below its all-time high. Indeed, Monad's price has already seen a significant correction, falling over 40% from its peak to around $0.0285, underscoring Hayes' argument that initial price pumps in new projects are often driven by FOMO (fear of missing out) rather than sustainable use cases.

Hayes' "Magnificent Five" and Future Crypto Narratives

Despite his bearish stance on newer Layer 1s, Hayes identified five protocols he believes hold significant promise: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Zcash, and Ethena. Looking ahead, the crypto luminary predicts that privacy-focused coins, such as Zcash and Monero, are poised to dominate the market narrative in the coming year. He specifically highlighted the Zero-Knowledge (ZK) proof space as the likely breeding ground for the next major crypto winner, emphasizing the growing importance of privacy and scalable solutions within the blockchain ecosystem.