TLDR
- Monad’s mainnet launch was disrupted by fake ERC-20 token transfers appearing on blockchain explorers.
- The fraudulent transfers made it seem like tokens were moving when no actual transactions occurred.
- Monad’s CTO James Hunsaker confirmed the issue stemmed from the structure of ERC-20 token contracts.
- Malicious actors used spoofing techniques to create the illusion of activity and mislead users.
- Despite the spoofing, Monad’s MON token saw a 43% increase in value, reaching a market cap near $500 million.
Monad’s mainnet launch has been marred by a wave of spoofed token transfers, which surfaced shortly after the network and its MON token went live. The issue began just as users gained access to their airdropped and publicly sold tokens. This marked the first major liquidity window for the chain and the first meaningful user onboarding period.
Fake ERC-20 Token Transfers Flood Blockchain Explorer
The problem became apparent when Monad’s CTO, James Hunsaker, raised alarms about suspicious transactions. He revealed that blockchain explorers were showing fake ERC-20 transfers that appeared to come from legitimate wallets. However, no actual tokens were moved, nor were any wallet signatures issued, Hunsaker explained.
He clarified that the issue wasn’t due to a flaw in Monad’s blockchain. Instead, it arose from the way ERC-20 token contracts are designed. ERC-20 is a standard that allows anyone to deploy contracts that meet the minimum requirements, including those that contain false or misleading address data.
warning – there are fake ERC-20 transfers pretending to be from my wallethttps://t.co/TCZTfDfoTQ
example:https://t.co/wA1I8RFTdQ
you can see the txs are not sent by me
ERC-20 is just a token interface standard, it's easy to write a smart contract that meets that standard…
— James (mainnet arc) (@_jhunsaker) November 25, 2025
Hunsaker pointed out that attackers exploited this structure by deploying fraudulent contracts. These contracts emitted events that explorers interpreted as real token transfers, even though no transactions occurred. This form of spoofing is common across EVM-based ecosystems.
Monad Surpasses $500 Million Despite Spoofing
The fake transfers aimed to deceive users during the early stages of Monad’s launch. With over 76,000 wallets claiming MON tokens before the network went live, this period offered a prime opportunity for attackers. They hoped to create an illusion of active trading, drawing users to fake contracts or tokens.
In one case, attackers used fraudulent contracts to simulate trading activity around the MON token. These fake transactions generated swap calls that mimicked real trades. Such activity could easily mislead users unfamiliar with the network.
Despite the spoofing attempts, Monad’s launch proceeded smoothly. MON’s price rose 19% on its first day and has continued to climb, gaining 43% since then. At the time of writing, MON has a market cap of nearly $500 million.
Monad’s blockchain promises a high-performance, EVM-compatible platform for parallel transaction processing. This architecture aims to address Ethereum’s congestion and compete with other platforms like Solana. However, the spoofed transactions illustrate the challenges posed by such open ecosystems.
Though the false transfers created a temporary distraction, they did not disrupt Monad’s core functionality. As the network stabilizes, users and developers remain focused on the ecosystem’s long-term potential.
