MegaETH will launch its mainnet for a worldwide stress test prior to the public release. The mainnet of the Ethereum Layer 2 network will go live on January 22.
The team plans to process 11 billion transactions in seven days beginning Thursday. The goal is to maintain a rate of 15,000 to 35,000 transactions per second (TPS), as stated by MegaETH on X.
MegaETH stress tests mainnet at scale
The test will include applications that require low latency while running continuously. Users will engage with gaming apps like Stomp.gg, Smasher.fun, and Crossy Fluffle during the test.
The team will perform Ether transfers and v3 AMM swaps. These will be done via the decentralized exchange Kumbaya, on the backend. The team will continue until 11 billion transactions are executed successfully. MegaETH aims to ultimately hold the highest transaction count among all EVM chains as users interact smoothly with it.
The X post explained that stress tests are only useful when they create challenges, so any issues will be revealed and resolved. “Stress tests only matter if they’re uncomfortable … If things break, they’ll be surfaced and fixed,” wrote MegaETH on X.
MegaETH shared a chart comparing transaction throughput across networks, including MegaETH, Solana, and Base.
The chart shows MegaETH reaching between 18,500 and 34,000 TPS across three workloads. The transactions are a mix of transfers and automated market maker (AMM) swaps. On the other hand, Solana’s one-day peak sits near 1,590 transactions per second, while Base reaches about 200.
Unlike Solana and Base, MegaETH’s figures come from a controlled stress test designed to push the network to its limits. The data shows the Layer-2 network operating at a much higher scale than existing EVM and non-EVM chains under heavy load.
Soon after the stress test, MegaETH will release its public mainnet. It will feature decentralized finance (DeFi) activities and consumer apps. These apps will use USDm, the native stablecoin of the Layer-2 network.
MegaETH calls itself a real-time Layer-2 on Ethereum that supports fast, high-volume applications. Its design depends on stable sequencer fees, which USDm aims to ensure.
The MegaETH Global Stress Test
11B transactions in 7 days.
On Jan 22nd, we’re opening mainnet to users for several latency-sensitive apps while the chain is under intense sustained load.
Ultra-low fees. Real-time transactions.
Public Mainnet in the days that follow. pic.twitter.com/ZIOZnctCZJ
— MegaETH (@megaeth) January 19, 2026
Polymarket traders bet on MegaETH airdrop timing
After the announcement of the mainnet launch, Polymarket traders rushed to open two markets for MegaETH’s airdrop.
The first contract has a 9% chance of MegaETH conducting an airdrop by January 31, with a volume of $32,553. The second contract prices a 93% probability of the airdrop occurring by June 30, with a volume of $120,334.
According to Cryptopolitan’s post on airdrop opportunities for 2026, MegaETH’s airdrop campaign is currently active. Users can qualify for MEGA tokens by using dApps and submitting transactions on the MegaETH Layer 2 network. However, the reward amount has not been disclosed.
MegaETH’s public token sale ended in October last year. According to the project’s website, the auction was oversubscribed by 27.8 times.
The sale followed an English auction style with a $50 million cap. This allowed participants to keep bidding even after the token hit the $0.0999 limit. Despite oversubscription, investors had the chance to bid from $2,650 up to $186,282 each.
MegaETH reported that more than 50,000 people worldwide submitted bids.
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