Monad's $1 Billion DeFi Milestone: Where Are the Games?

Monad has reached roughly $1 billion in DeFi total value locked, according to an October 20 report from CertiK. That's a big number. But as someone who launched a little wizard coin and is working on a game, I had a different question: what does that growth mean for people trying to build something?

Last updated: October 21, 2026.

First, what does $1 billion mean?

According to CertiK's October 20 analysis, Monad had approximately $1 billion in total value locked (TVL) as of October 16, 2026.

TVL is the value of assets deposited in decentralized finance applications. It doesn't mean the network has a billion dollars in a bank account, and it definitely doesn't mean everyone using it is making money.

CertiK also reported about $2.64 billion in decentralized exchange spot trading volume during the 30 days ending October 15. That's a lot of activity. Still, trading volume is not profit, and I think it's important to understand the difference.

If you want to see the actual figures and charts instead of taking my word for it, the original CertiK report is here.

What about people who just want to play games?

I understand why the financial side of crypto gets most of the attention. Money moves around, new projects launch, and everyone has an opinion about what happens next.

But I keep thinking about regular gamers. Not everyone wants to open another chart or watch a token price all day.

Monad's ecosystem directory has a gaming category too. Some of the listings are for projects under development, so a listing alone doesn't mean something is already playable. But at least people are exploring the idea.

And this is where I'm curious: can a blockchain game be something people actually want to play even when there's no financial reward?

My biggest problem with blockchain games

I'm a gamer. I've played games because I liked the world, the characters, or the challenge. I never needed a token reward to tell me the game was fun.

If a game expects me to connect a wallet, sign transactions and learn a bunch of crypto terms before I've even started playing, I'm already losing interest.

Give me a game first. Let me explore, lose a fight, find some gear and try again. If blockchain is useful somewhere in the background, that's fine. But I don't see a reason to force it into every part of the experience.

Where WIZY fits into this

In September I launched WIZY, a small wizard-themed coin on Monad. It's still a very small independent project.

I'm also working on WIZY RPG, an early mobile fantasy game prototype. We're still fixing bugs, adjusting balance and working through the first chapter. The game isn't finished or publicly playable, and I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression.

The coin being on Monad doesn't automatically make the game better. What matters to me is whether the game itself becomes something worth spending time on.

I'm learning a lot while building both, and I would rather share the real progress than pretend a big launch is just around the corner.

Big numbers don't solve every problem

Something else caught my attention: Phantom ended support for Monad on August 26, 2026. That didn't erase anyone's assets, which remain on the blockchain, but affected users need a compatible wallet to manage them.

That's a good reminder that the experience matters. A chain can grow while normal people still run into confusing wallet issues.

So is this good news for Monad?

I think it's encouraging to see real activity. The financial side of Monad clearly has users and capital moving around. That's worth watching.

But a TVL milestone doesn't guarantee that MON will rise, that a particular game will succeed, or that a small coin like WIZY will go anywhere. Those are very different things.

I'll keep an eye on what people actually build on Monad, not only what they trade. And I'll keep working on my little corner of it.

If you're building a game or following projects on Monad, I'd be interested to hear what you think. Should blockchain be part of games at all, or should developers just focus on making a fun game?