Category Labs

Category Labs

Develops high-performance, EVM-compatible L1 blockchain infrastructure

Overview

Category Labs builds high-performance blockchain infrastructure centered on the Monad protocol. Monad is a 100% EVM-compatible layer-1 blockchain designed to handle about 10,000 transactions per second with 1-second block times and single-slot finality, while keeping hardware needs low. The system works by using low-level, high-frequency techniques to sustain rapid transaction processing and fast finality across an EVM-compatible environment. Compared with other blockchain platforms, Category Labs emphasizes extreme throughput, fast finality, and lower hardware requirements, backed by institutional investors and industry partnerships that support deploying scalable blockchain systems. The company aims to advance decentralized technology by solving hard performance challenges and expanding practical, scalable blockchain solutions for its clients.

About Category Labs

Simplify's Rating
Why Category Labs is rated
B-
Rated B on Competitive Edge
Rated B on Growth Potential
Rated C on Differentiation

Industries

Data & Analytics

Enterprise Software

Crypto & Web3

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

New York City, New York

Founded

2022

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Monad Foundation said TVL hit $800 million in August 2026.
  • Aave's Monad market deposits reached $500 million, proving DeFi liquidity depth.
  • Nitro's seven-team Demo Day drew 100-plus investors, widening startup pipeline.

What critics are saying

  • Monad still fights Ethereum, Solana, Aptos, Sei, and MegaETH for developers.
  • MON unlocks began in 2026, and Category Labs disclosed a $30 million buyback plan.
  • If developers choose Solana or Ethereum L2s, Monad becomes an expensive science project.

What makes Category Labs unique

  • Monad keeps full EVM compatibility while pursuing parallel execution and 300-millisecond blocks.
  • Category Labs owns the execution client, consensus stack, and onboarding library Mera.
  • Cadence targets 100-millisecond blocks and 200-millisecond finality, sharpening Monad's performance lead.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Unlimited Paid Time Off

401(k) Retirement Plan

Lunch and dinner stipend (in-office NYC)

Monthly wellness benefit

Paid parental leave

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-9%

1 year growth

-9%

2 year growth

-14%
Monad
Jul 30th, 2026
Introducing mera, a new library for seamless crypto onboarding with passkeys.

Introducing mera, a new library for seamless crypto onboarding with passkeys. Monad Foundation Studies show that 1-second delay can kill 10% of user conversions. Getting a new user to download a browser extension and back up private keys is a minutes-long detour. Even logging into an app with an existing wallet requires multiple clicks. In short, current onboarding flows have significant leaks. Most potential users will never actually try your app because it simply takes too long to get started. Today, Category Labs is releasing mera, a free library that solves this problem by letting any app onboard users in seconds with a passkey. Crypto apps are now accessible with Face ID or a fingerprint, the same authentication people already use to unlock their phone. Modern login experiences are finally a reality for crypto apps. Check out the full docs and demo here or check out the source code here. Why it matters. * Onboarding that converts. The account is created and ready in seconds, on the very first visit. * Developers retain control of the experience. Most "easy onboarding" tools mean handing your entire account layer to a wallet provider. mera doesn't. Account creation, funding, and signing all stay inside the product and live within the app's UX. The library simply handles the passkey-to-key plumbing. * One account, everywhere. The passkey unlocks the same account across web and native iOS/Android. Users don't start over when they switch devices. * No prompt fatigue. With signing sessions, your app can pre-authorize actions so users aren't hit with a biometric prompt on every click. * Any chain, any platform. mera is a client-side library, so there's nothing to deploy on-chain and nothing chain-specific to integrate. Who this is for. mera shines wherever the account is part of the product. Order-book trading is a clear example: a trader onboards, funds an account, and returns to manage orders and positions without re-connecting a wallet or approving every action. But the same is true for any app that accumulates state on behalf of a user over time. Try it. The demo on mera.category.xyz walks through the full experience end to end. To build with it: Category Labs is actively looking for teams to try mera and provide feedback. If onboarding friction is costing you users, or you're an early-stage team still deciding how to handle accounts, your feedback is appreciated.

category.xyz
Apr 2nd, 2025
MonadBFT: Fast, Responsive, Fork-Resistant, Streamlined Consensus

Category Labs is proud to introduce MonadBFT, the proposed future consensus protocol of the Monad blockchain.

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