What is MegaETH?
MegaETH is an upcoming high-performance Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) solution. Key features of MegaETH include: over 100,000 transactions per second (TPS), and block generation time of 10 milliseconds (the lower the better). MegaETH has recently gained widespread attention due to the launch of an exclusive soul-bound (non-transferable) NFT collection.
Key Points
- MegaETH is an upcoming high-performance Ethereum Layer 2.
- MegaETH is backed by prominent investors including Dragonfly Capital and Vitalik Buterin.
- The team plans to launch a 10,000 supply soul-bound (non-transferable) NFT collection to raise funds and promise token distribution.
Introduction to MegaETH
MegaETH was founded by Yilong Li, who first conceptualized MegaETH in 2022. Blockchain development started in mid-2024 after a successful fundraising round.
MegaETH development timeline:
Amidst the growing list of Ethereum Layer 2s, MegaETH aims to stand out by becoming the fastest and most performant L2.
Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains and their performance metrics:
Source: MegaETH
While the team's current blockchain capability is 10 milliseconds (0.01 seconds), their actual target is to bring it down to 1 millisecond, making it the world's first "real-time blockchain". If the team can achieve this goal, they will be able to bring Web2 response speeds into the crypto world, which would be a massive accomplishment.
Airdrop/Growth Potential
According to Cryptorank data, MegaETH raised $20 million in June 2024, $10 million in December 2024, and plans to raise an additional $27 million through NFT minting. The total funds raised are expected to reach around $57 million by the end of Q1 2025.
This figure is relatively conservative compared to the hundreds of millions raised by other Ethereum Layer 2 projects like Blast, ZkSync, and Scroll. In the context of rising anti-VC sentiment in the airdrop farming community, this relatively lower fundraising amount may be seen as a positive signal by some airdrop farmers.
Prominent Investors
High-profile investors who participated in the $20 million seed round include Dragonfly Capital, Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum co-founder), and angel investor Santiago R. Santos.
MegaETH NFT Collection
The MegaETH team announced their flagship NFT collection "The Fluffe" on February 5, 2025. "The Fluffe" is a 10,000 supply, whitelisted-only, anthropomorphic rabbit NFT collection, with a minting cost of 1 ETH per NFT. After minting, these NFTs will be soul-bound (non-transferable). The minting will be done in two phases, with the first phase starting on February 12 and lasting for two days.
Why launch an NFT collection?
According to the team, the NFT collection is a way to give the community a "meaningful sense of participation". The team further shared that the launch of blockchain projects often attracts airdrop farmers, and point-based programs often tend to inflate metrics in an unhealthy way. To avoid this, they decided to launch an NFT collection. Minting an NFT represents "belief and commitment". The team currently plans to airdrop at least 5% of the MegaETH token supply to NFT holders. The token distribution will increase as users "evolve" their NFTs.
What is NFT minting?
NFT minting refers to the process of an NFT being created, as opposed to purchasing it on secondary markets like OpenSea. This is similar to a Token Generation Event (TGE), which is the process of new tokens being introduced into circulation. For highly anticipated NFT collections, the minting process often sees network congestion and higher gas fees, as users compete to secure their NFTs due to the limited supply.
How to check if you are on the MegaETH NFT whitelist?
As mentioned earlier, this NFT minting is whitelisted-only, meaning only invited users can participate. The 80,000 active Ethereum wallet addresses for the first phase of minting have been whitelisted. You can check your eligibility here (nft.megaeth.com/). Regardless of your eligibility, you must register and link your social accounts to the eligible wallet by February 12 to participate in the RNG (random) draw on the second day of the first phase.
The Fluffe NFT Minting Phase 1
The first phase of minting will start on February 12 (5,000 NFTs), and this phase is limited to a small number of wallets; this is a guaranteed whitelist for loyal supporters and special partners who can mint NFTs for free (a total of 1,500 NFTs).
The second day of the first phase (February 13, 3,500 NFTs) will be open to more whitelisted participants. On the second day, 5,000 wallet addresses will be randomly selected, and only registered users will have a chance to be selected. With 5,000 addresses competing for 3,500 NFTs, the second day's minting will be "first-come, first-served". The second day's event is distinct from the second phase of NFT minting, which will occur at an uncertain date "a few months after the first phase".
Source: MegaETH
Design Features of The Fluffe Collection
While the impact of the NFT minting may be smaller compared to the token economics and potential airdrop rewards of MegaETH, here are the design features of the NFT minting:
- The Outlaw
- The Executor
- The Soldier
- The Sage
- The Witch
- The Playboy
- The Femme Fatale
- The Musician
- The Scientist
- The Boss
- The Samurai
- The Innocent
- The Muscular
- The Mad
- The Pilot
- The Yob
In addition to being a member of one of the 16 "tribes", each Fluffe will have customizable appearances, 2D avatars, and "evolution" options, which will increase token distribution. Details on the evolution feature are not yet publicly available.
Conclusion
Overall, the crypto community (particularly the X community) has had a mixed reaction to the MegaETH team's approach of launching and implementing an airdrop through an NFT collection. On one hand, the NFT collection is highly anticipated and represents a departure from the typically unprofitable point farming. On the other hand, the NFT minting event may also be perceived as a "cash grab" with a high cost of 1 ETH per NFT (around $2,800 at the time of writing). Nevertheless, the NFT collection is positioned as a public fundraising mechanism, and the team has explicitly committed to token distribution.
It remains to be seen whether the team will be able to deliver on their promises, but strong community support may help drive the project's success.
