MonaCoin (MONA): What It Is, Uses and Risks

MonaCoin (MONA) is an open source digital currency and peer-to-peer payment network that launched on 2014-01-01 with no premine, according to the project description. Its creators called it the first Japanese cryptocurrency, and it is most closely associated with users in Japan, where it is sometimes described as a national alternative to Bitcoin or Litecoin. The project says it was conceived as electronic cash, a decentralized currency aimed at Japanese citizens. It is described as a hard fork of Litecoin. It was founded under the pseudonym Mr. Wantanabe, and the rest of the team is publicly anonymous. At the time of writing, no visible roadmap was found on the project site or elsewhere online, so readers should not assume a published plan for future development.

MONA is described as a payment-focused coin meant for peer-to-peer transfers. Users can obtain it through mining, and public reporting says it can be traded for other cryptocurrencies on exchanges. Third-party descriptions say it was designed to handle transactions faster and with lower fees than Bitcoin. Our site files it under meme coins, while the project's own description and the category lists on data sites emphasise payments and proof of work. That gap matters: a label does not show whether a token has a working payment use. The public material does not clearly name merchants, apps or services that accept MONA, so any claimed use should be checked against current, independent sources before relying on it.

As of 2026-11-05, the data showed a price of about $0.064, a market cap of about $6.7 million and a 24-hour trading volume of about $944, which put the coin at rank 1511 by market cap. Over seven days the price was up about 3.9%, and over one year it was down about 32%. The circulating and total supply were both listed at about 105.1 million MONA, with no stated maximum. One search snippet gave a different supply figure of about 65.7 million, so the supply numbers conflict and should be treated as unverified. The all-time high was about $16.45 on 2017-12-05, and the all-time low was about $0.021 on 2015-01-07. Very low trading volume means small trades can move the price sharply.

The data does not list a native chain or any chain on which MONA is issued, so it appears to run on its own network rather than as a token on another blockchain. The project description says it uses the Lyra2REv2 mining algorithm, which the data also lists as Lyra2RE, and the Dark Gravity Wave v3 difficulty adjustment, both aimed at fairer mining. A soft fork at block 937440 added Segwit to keep the coin in line with other payment-focused cryptocurrencies. The project has also reportedly implemented the Lightning Network. One search snippet says MONA mining uses GPUs. These technical claims come from the project and older forum posts, so they should be verified against the current software before drawing conclusions.

MONA carries several risks. Trading volume is very low, so prices can swing and exits can be costly. The team is pseudonymous, and no roadmap was found, which limits what outsiders can check. The coin has no maximum supply, and its price has fallen sharply from its 2017 peak. Security depends on mining activity, which can shift over time. Ticker confusion is another risk: a search result for a project called Monavale also uses the MONA symbol, so always confirm the project name and details before buying. Scam sites and fake tokens often copy popular tickers. For storage, use a wallet that explicitly supports MONA, verify addresses before sending, and keep recovery phrases offline and private. This page is research, not financial advice.