Wave 1 of Monad Momentum is here. Teams across DeFi, Gaming, AI, Consumer have been selected.
Their incentive campaigns will all go live day 1 of mainnet.
Why? A quick Momentum FAQ 🧵
Q: So, what is Monad Momentum?
An incentives matching program to fund user acquisition. We find teams with smart growth strategies. They design campaigns, commit their own resources, MON is allocated to amplify their efforts.
One month pilots with clear targets get funded first. Teams that prove they can efficiently onboard users may get extended budgets and longer campaigns. Teams that don't, iterate or exit. We learn what works in real time and scale the winners!
Q: What's the difference between acquiring "users" and "usage"?
"Usage" (like volume or TVL) trivially follows incentives. It's easy to buy, and it often disappears the moment the rewards stop.
"User acquisition" means bringing new, individual people into the ecosystem and working to retain them longer term.
Q: Why does this distinction matter?
We're playing the long game. Onboarding 100 individual, sticky users has a different ripple effect than onboarding $1M in TVL from a single whale. A resilient, long-term ecosystem is built on a wide base of real users. That's the goal of Momentum.
Q: So, no love for TVL?
Plenty of love. TVL and volume are valid metrics for protocol health, and many teams will focus on them. We can support those teams outside of Momentum, in other ways.
Momentum is specifically designed to solve a different problem: how do you efficiently attract net new users and grow the pie for everyone?
Q: Who can apply?
Any team building on Monad with a clear user acquisition strategy. We're looking for teams with audited, live products who understand their unit economics.
Each team designs their own approach - targeted referral programs with anti-sybil measures, time-bound trading competitions with retention mechanics, creator campaigns rewarding specific on-chain actions... The variety is the point.
Applications reopen after mainnet launch for Wave 2.
Q: What does this mean for Monad users?
Get ready. On mainnet launch, you'll find a page listing active incentive campaigns from ecosystem teams. Explore what's out there, find what interests you, and dive in.
The best builders will be competing for you.
Excited for Momentum!
Introducing the first wave of Monad Momentum apps
These apps will all have rewards on mainnet
Check them out below 👇