WMON: the wrapped MON token explained

Why MON needs a wrapped version

MON is Monad's native token, used for gas. But native tokens don't follow the ERC-20 standard that smart contracts expect. When a DEX pool or lending market wants to handle MON, it needs a token with standard functions like transfer and approve.

WMON solves this. It is a smart contract that holds MON and issues an ERC-20 token backed one-to-one by it. One WMON is always redeemable for one MON.

How wrapping and unwrapping works

Wrapping is a simple contract call: you send MON to the WMON contract and receive the same amount of WMON. Unwrapping is the reverse: send WMON, receive MON. There is no counterparty, no waiting period and no fee beyond gas.

Most Monad wallets and DEXs offer wrap and unwrap as a built-in option, so you rarely need to interact with the contract directly.

Where WMON is used

WMON is the base trading pair on most Monad DEXs, the deposit asset in many liquidity pools, and collateral in lending markets. When you see a MON pair on a DEX, you are almost always trading WMON under the hood.

Because wrapping is trustless and instant, WMON carries no bridge or custodian risk beyond the contract itself. It is the safest wrapped asset on Monad.

WMON vs staked MON

WMON is not staked and earns no rewards. If you want staking yield with liquidity, look at liquid staking tokens like shMON, aprMON, gMON or sMON instead. WMON is purely a compatibility wrapper.