MegaETH opens MEGA auction with $1m floor, $999m ceiling

MegaETH is putting valuation power in the hands of bidders. The real-time blockchain said it will auction 5% of its token supply on Oct. 27 via Echo’s Sonar platform, starting at a $1 million valuation and capped below $1 billion.

According to an announcement on Oct. 22, the project will employ an English auction for the 5% slice of the MEGA token supply. This method allows the market to discover a clearing price, beginning at a $1 million fully diluted valuation and stopping at a $999 million ceiling.

The structure is designed to prevent the runaway valuations that have plagued previous token auctions and burned retail participants. MegaETH, which has already secured $30 million from backers like Dragonfly, Vitalik Buterin and 3,000 Echo users, is using this sale to establish its core investor base, the blockchain’s team said.

“This will make non-insider investors the single largest stakeholder in the MegaETH network, larger than the VCs and the team,” the announcement read.

A new model for community ownership

Should the Sonar auction see heavy demand, MegaETH has a secondary phase planned for its mainnet launch. The project has committed to reserving an additional tranche of tokens specifically for those who participated in its previous funding rounds, including the Sonar, Echo, and Fluffle sales.

To manage that potential oversubscription, MegaETH will deploy a “U-Shaped Allocation” system. On one end, it prioritizes “depth” by granting larger allocations to participants who can verify a history of meaningful contribution to the growth of MegaETH or the broader Ethereum ecosystem.

On the other end, it ensures “breadth” by guaranteeing a baseline allocation to a minimum of 5,000 participants, aiming to maximize the number of unique token holders from the outset.

The project said priority will be given to wallets linked to accounts that have been vocal, long-term advocates for MegaETH and Ethereum fundamentals. MegaETH is also seeking what it calls “chronically onchain” actors. These are addresses with a history of early and consistent interaction with pioneering smart contracts on Ethereum, from early DeFi protocols like Compound and Uniswap to more recent restaking and DePin ecosystems.

Additionally, MegaETH is weighing cultural alignment alongside technical participation. Ownership of specific NFT collections, including MegaETH’s own Fluffles and other “cultural icons” from its ecosystem, is listed as a verifiable signal. The project also named blue-chip NFTs like CryptoPunks and Art Blocks pieces, suggesting a strategy to court collectors with proven conviction in digital ownership.