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MegaETH sunsets Mega Mafia accelerator after two years and two cohorts

MegaETH sunsets Mega Mafia accelerator after two years and two cohorts

The Ethereum scaling project said its startup incubator backed about 20 teams that raised a combined $80 million, but many later moved away from MegaETH, prompting a shift toward first-party applications.

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Fact Check
The primary source—MegaETH cofounder Shuyao Kong's own July 16, 2026 announcement (@hotpot_dao)—directly confirms Mega Mafia is being sunset after two years, that it helped 20 teams raise over $80M, that most apps are no longer building on MegaETH, and the pivot to first-party consumer (OMEGA) apps. The Block and Crypto Briefing independently corroborate the two cohorts, the 20 teams/$80M figures, the departures, and the strategic shift. All key elements of the claim match.
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Summary

MegaETH is shutting down its Mega Mafia accelerator after two years, saying the model created significant value for portfolio projects but delivered limited returns to the network itself. Founder Shuyao Kong said there will be no third cohort as the company pivots toward building its own applications. Across two cohorts, the program backed about 20 teams that raised a combined $80 million from pre-seed through Series A. MegaETH said it deliberately took no equity stakes or governance rights in those startups, expecting founders to stay aligned with the network, but Kong said most of the applications are no longer being built with MegaETH. Several projects have since moved elsewhere or changed course, including Global Token Exchange, which plans to build its own chain, Noise, which launched on Base after raising a $7.1 million seed round led by Paradigm, and HelloTrade, which chose Monad. MegaETH now plans to focus on first-party applications, arguing that building directly for end users offers clearer accountability and a more direct way for value to accrue to the platform.

Terms & Concepts
  • first-party applications: Products built directly by a platform’s core team rather than by outside startups or partners.
  • governance rights: Rights that allow holders or investors to influence decisions about how a project is run.
  • Base: An Ethereum-linked blockchain platform where developers can launch applications.