MegaETH is shutting down its flagship Mega Mafia startup accelerator after two years and two successful cohorts. Co-founder Shuyao Kong confirmed there will be no Mega Mafia 3.0. However, the network will continue supporting projects that already went through the program.
The decision marks a major strategy shift. While Mega Mafia helped launch successful crypto startups, MegaETH believes too little of that success actually benefited its own ecosystem.
$80 Million Raised, But Projects Moved Elsewhere
Over two cohorts, Mega Mafia backed around 20 startups. The program helped them collectively raise more than $80 million through pre-seed, seed, and Series A funding rounds.
MegaETH’s support went far beyond mentorship. The team invested millions into engineering support, security audits, market-making, direct lending, liquidity programs, leadership restructuring, product pivots, and even startup mergers. In addition, Kong revealed MegaETH helped create the initial product vision for five projects before connecting them with major venture capital firms.
Unlike most accelerators, MegaETH did not take equity, governance rights, or ownership stakes. The company believed founders would stay aligned with the network naturally.
Why MegaETH Pulled the Plug
However, that assumption didn’t work out.
According to Kong, many of the accelerator’s biggest success stories eventually chose different paths. They did this instead of continuing to build on MegaETH.
Some notable examples include:
- Global Token Exchange (GTE) decided to launch its own blockchain.
- Noise shifted to Base.
- HelloTrade moved toward Monad.
- Stablecoin project Cap expanded into a multichain strategy after launching on MegaETH.
Kong admitted Mega Mafia may have been “one of the best incubators of this cycle,” but said “very little of that value has trickled to Mega.”
First-Party Apps Become the Priority
Instead of funding external startups, MegaETH will now focus on developing its own OMEGA applications. The company will also build first-party consumer products built around its blockchain, wallet, and stablecoin infrastructure.
The company believes owning its products will help it build direct user relationships. It will also collect faster product feedback and ensure more value stays inside the MegaETH ecosystem rather than flowing to competing chains.
A Bigger Trend Across Crypto
The announcement comes just months after Mega Mafia projects helped MegaETH hit the milestone required for its MEGA token launch in April. In addition, the network has rolled out a MEGA token buyback program funded through revenue generated by its USDm stablecoin ecosystem.
MegaETH isn’t the only crypto company making tough decisions. Ctrl Wallet will permanently shut down on August 3, ending transfers, swaps, and all in-app services. Furthermore, AscendEX is closing its exchange, citing difficult market conditions and the impact of the EU’s MiCA regulations. Zapper will also shut down its website, mobile app, and API on August 3. Meanwhile, YGG Play will cease operations on August 1, cutting 35 jobs.
Meanwhile, Summer.fi is winding down after a $6.1 million security breach. The company says the financial damage made it impossible to continue operating.
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