Monad: who orders transactions?

Who controls it

Transaction ordering

MonadBFT proof-of-stake with an active set capped at 200 validators; validator entry requires 100,000 MON self-delegation and 10 million MON total stake.

Escape hatch

n/a: L1

Upgrade authority

Validators adopt hard-fork releases before a publicly announced future activation timestamp; no unilateral state-upgrade key was identified.

Halts and outages

Mainnet launched on 24 November 2025, so Monad had less than one year of production history at review. The protocol did not yet apply automated in-protocol slashing. The Foundation validator program delegated 9.3 billion MON across 170 selected, identity-verified validators.

Ketju assessment

Ketju approves Monad with limits: anyone who meets the stake requirement can join the validator set and no administrator can upgrade the chain alone, but its record is young and the Foundation directs a large delegation program. MonadBFT provides cryptographic finality. Upgrades require broad validator adoption and no administrator transaction, which is enough for Ketju not to grade the chain issuer-controlled. The active set is capped at 200, and automated slashing was not live. Advisors should size positions for that gap until Monad shows operator independence and resilience across multiple clients.

Review triggers

• Foundation-directed delegation exceeds 15% of total MON supply
• The active validator set falls below 150
• A safety or finality failure lasts more than 1 hour
• A hard fork activates without a public future activation notice

Each trigger names a fact anyone can observe. If one occurs, Ketju will review the assessment again. None is a forecast.

Questions before use

1. Does the client’s thesis require censorship resistance, or primarily low-cost settlement?
2. Can the client withdraw without help from the party that normally orders transactions?
3. Who can upgrade bridges or contracts, and what delay applies?
4. Does the asset introduce an issuer weaker than the chain grade?
5. What evidence will show a halt, censorship event, or governance change?