The Ethereum layer 2 network’s initial coin offering, MegaETH, reportedly “sold out” in a matter of minutes and is now oversubscribed by around $400 million, as users scramble to get an allocation of its MEGA token.
The layer 2 Ethereum network opened the auction for its MEGA token on Monday with a raise limit of just under $50 million, but the auction has since seen over $450 million in commitments in just a matter of hours.
In total, the initial coin offering (ICO) will allocate 5% of the total supply of 10 billion tokens, with a maximum bid amount of $186,282 and a minimum bid of $2,650, offering the option to select a one-year lock for a 10% discount.
Because there is oversubscription, when the countdown timer ends in two days, a “special allocation mechanism” will be used to decide each user’s allocation, according to the auction FAQ, which takes into account previous participation in the MegaETH and Ethereum communities, and whether a lock was selected.
The project whitepaper lists the token’s launch date as January 2026. The token will be tradable on announced centralized exchanges and decentralized exchanges trading MegaETH, and will function as a standard ERC-20 token, but will also act as an “economic engine for a couple of novel infrastructure features, including sequencer rotation and trading markets.” proximity”.
Increase in MegaETH token sale: Conviction or FOMO?
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Brian Q, an analyst at on-chain analytics platform Santiment, said on Tuesday: “Such aggressive and synchronized buying can be a red flag.”
“When too many participants move in the same direction at once, it can amplify speculative pressure, raise the risk of a sharp reversal, and may reflect social momentum more than fundamentals,” he said.
“The sheer volume of peak contributions in such a short period raises the question: are buyers driven by a long-term conviction in MegaETH technology or fear of missing out (FOMO)?”
The promise of MegaETH could also be a factor
However, he also said it could be boosted by the project’s lofty promises. The creators of MegaETH, known as MegaLabs, have raised large amounts of funding and are backed by some of the most influential names in the industry, including Ethereum co-founders Vitalik Buterin and Joe Lubin.
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The project, following the launch of its testnet in March, aims to achieve millisecond transaction speeds.
“Ultimately, MegaETH is getting so much hype because it promises something that everyone in the cryptocurrency world wants: a blockchain that is as fast and seamless as a regular application, but still connected to the reliable Ethereum network,” said Brian Q.
“If the team meets its goals, it could become one of the most useful Ethereum extensions yet. But like all early-stage crypto projects, it’s still experimental, so traders and investors should remain curious, not careless, as the story unfolds.”
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