Layer 1 blockchain Hyperliquid‘s decentralized exchange (DEX) features a permissionless auction feature for teams to acquire their desired tickers, but the Pixelmon team, which purchased MON on Hyperliquid for $500,000, has been hung out to dry after its front-end ticker was displaced by Monad’s MON token.
One user, known as Akku, pointed out the issue earlier today, calling Hyperliquid‘s decision to cast Pixelmon’s MON aside “extremely disappointing.”
On Hyperliquid, Pixelmon‘s MON has been changed to “MONPRO,” while Monad’s is the default MON token, which was deployed by Hyperliquids leading tokenization layer, Unit.
When viewed via a block explorer, Pixelmon‘s MON is still MON, and Monad’s is UMON (Unit MON), showing that Pixelmon technically didn‘t lose the ticker it paid nearly $500,000 for. However, the front-end has been overridden by Hyperliquid Labs, casting doubt on the exchange’s decentralization claims.
“Hyperliquid has effectively scammed all the Hyperliquid ticker auction buyers by seizing $MON from@monprotocol and handing it over to Monad. The whole value prop of even buying these spot tickers from Hyperliquid was the immutability of the purchase and the Hyperliquid front-end UI that gives that ticker the value,” said crypto gaming investor Grail.eth on X.
“Hyperliquid needs to make this right. At the very least, a choice of a better name AND a full refund because what was paid for was basically seized by force,” they added.
Hyperliquid Labs has not addressed the matter publicly. However, a team member from Unit stepped in to defend the move.
Shadow, who works on Unit, responded to Akku, saying, “First thing to remember is the protocol and the app are two different things. The protocol is the decentralized blockchain, the app is just a website run by labs…second, I think it's very clear what happened here. A money grab project failed, price and volume went to zero, team seemingly abandoned. A second, high mindshare, high volume project came along, and HL team thought it was clearly a superior use of the frontend label.”
Pixelmons MON Protocol launched in May 2024, and its token has struggled since its release. MON launched at a $53 million market capitalization but is down 98% from its launch price, currently changing hands at a $6 million market cap.
MON Protocol - CoinGecko
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