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- Aptos accused Monad of copying its open-source code, but Monad’s co-founder denied the allegation, stating he never used Aptos’ code.
- Aptos saw rapid growth with 16.7 million monthly active addresses and a 96% developer increase in 2024, strengthening its blockchain ecosystem.
Aptos and Monad are once again at odds. Alexander Spiegelman, the Director of Aptos Research, accused Monad of duplicating open-source code without referencing. He wondered why Monad took so long to copy publicly released technology. James Hunsaker, one of Monad’s founders, responded right away, vehemently refuting the allegation.
I really don't understand why it takes so much time for Monad to copy Aptos tech. It's all open source, and we have peer reviewed paper for everything.
It would be much easier for you guys if you stop trying to hind it and just copy directly.
Learn from Movement, they proudly…
— Alexander Spiegelman (@SashaSpiegelman) February 19, 2025
Hunsaker claims that he has long been investigating Software Transactional Memory (STM) in the Haskell context and BlockSTM—the technology Monad uses—is just a development of that concept. He underlined that he had never viewed Aptos’ code previously and would never have considered this charge save for Spiegelman’s statement.
Behind the Struggle for Technological Dominance
This struggle mirrors the intense rivalry among blockchain initiatives vying for technological development. Designed to raise scalability and efficiency via parallel execution, Monad is a Layer-1 blockchain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
Aptos, however, seems to believe that their technological edge has been taken advantage of without appropriate recognition.
Aptos has been enjoying new successes in the meanwhile. With a daily peak of 1.7 million on January 29, CNF reported that in January 2025 the network registered 16.7 million monthly active addresses. This validates that, despite the debate around Monad, the Aptos ecosystem is still fast expanding.
Meanwhile, as of press time, APT is swapped hands at about $6.48, up 4.09% over the last 24 hours. It is driving its market cap above the $3.8 billion mark.
Aptos Gains Momentum with USDC and Developer Growth
Apart from the growing user count, the Aptos ecosystem is strengthening as the native USDC adoption amounts to $62.32 million. This stablecoin is a safer and more effective answer for users since it speeds up transactions and removes the risk of cross-chain bridges.
On the other hand, a recent analysis by Electric Capital showed that the Aptos ecosystem’s developers rose by 96% over 2024.
Aptos is the second fastest developing developer ecosystem because of its expansion. Many developers have been inspired to build decentralized apps (dApps) on the platform by factors including the availability of the more secure Move programming language and the intuitive Aptos Build toolbox.
Unconventional Takeover Revives the Ecosystem
Apart from the technical arguments, the Aptos community shows fascinating dynamics. Using memes and active interactions, a community member known as Buzzlamic Jihad started an unofficial “community takeover” movement to bring the Aptos ecosystem to life.
Though Aptos Labs CEO Avery Ching even praised this movement as the “GOAT” (Greatest of All Time), it is not part of Aptos’ official plan.
Particularly in a blockchain sector that mostly depends on community acceptance, the existence of a stable community like this could be rather helpful for Aptos’ long-term development. Should Aptos keep up this pace, it would not be shocking if they could challenge other major initiatives.
In the end, did Monad merely create a comparable concept or actually copy Aptos’ technologies? The response can yet be hotly contested.
