Key Points
– Lightning-fast transaction speed: Sui adopts a unique Narwhal/Bullshark + Mysticeti consensus design, simple transfers can be completed at the sub-second level, and the theoretical throughput exceeds 100,000 TPS.
– Move language brings security: Sui’s Move smart contract treats tokens and data as “resources”, eliminating the risk of asset duplication or loss, and is more reliable than some EVM chains.
– Robust token economy and continuous rewards: The total amount of SUI is fixed at 10 billion, and only about one-third has been released so far, with the other half left for the community. Daily staking income (about 5-10% annualized) comes from predictable periodic subsidies and fees.
– The ecosystem is booming: DeFi locks in over $2 billion, popular GameFi projects, new NFT standards, local decentralized storage (Walrus), Athens Stock Exchange pilot and WLFI Treasury cooperation, Sui’s actual value continues to emerge.
– Unique technical advantages: Unlike Solana, Aptos or Avalanche, Sui finds a balance between extremely low latency and horizontal scalability, and its object-oriented design makes assets safer; at the same time, it can enjoy deep SUI/USDT trading liquidity on mainstream exchanges.
Since the mainnet launch on May 3, 2023, the SUI blockchain (SUI) has grown into one of the fastest tier-one public chains with its object-oriented data model and smart contracts based on the Move language. As of May 2025, Sui on-chain activity has grown rapidly, covering DeFi, games, NFTs, and a number of traditional financial partnerships. This article will provide an in-depth analysis of Suis technical architecture, token economy, investment endorsements, ecological progress, SUI price dynamics, compliance prospects, and a comparative analysis with Solana.
Table of contents
SUI blockchain technology architecture
SUI Token Economics: Issuance, Distribution, and Utility
Mysten Labs Financing and Core Investors
Sui Ecosystem Development Progress
Sui Market Performance and Core Data
SUI Blockchain Compliance and Legal Environment
Sui vs. Solana/Aptos/Avalanche
SUI Breaking News and Controversy
SUI blockchain technology architecture
Move language and object-oriented model
Sui is built on the Rust version of Move language launched by the Meta Diem project. Unlike account-based blockchains, Sui treats on-chain assets as objects owned exclusively by addresses. Each transaction must clearly specify which objects to read or modify. If the transaction only involves private objects, global consensus can be skipped and confirmation can be completed in sub-seconds, greatly improving parallel throughput.
Image Credit: SUI Official Youtube Channel
Sui consensus mechanism: Narwhal, Bullshark Mysticeti
Suis two-layer consensus mechanism includes:
– Narwhal: High throughput mempool engine for fast transaction broadcasting.
– Bullshark: Based on the BFT protocol optimized by Tusk, responsible for transaction sorting and final confirmation.
In early 2024, Sui launched the Mysticeti consensus engine, which further reduces latency by distinguishing between causally independent transactions (fast path, no locking required) and dependent transactions (full BFT). Simple transfers can reach more than 100k TPS under the fast path and achieve sub-second final confirmation.
Image Credit: SUI Official Youtube Channel
Security, Smart Contracts, and zkLogin
The Move language enforces resource ownership rules, naturally preventing common vulnerabilities such as reentrancy attacks and asset duplication. In 2025, Suis DPoS validator network will have about 150 nodes to ensure on-chain security. At the same time, the zkLogin function allows DApps to log in using Web2 accounts such as Google and Twitch through zero-knowledge proofs without leaking private information. The above features make Sui both high-performance and developer-friendly.
Image Credit: Sui Blockchain Official Website
SUI Token Economics: Issuance, Distribution, and Utility
Total issuance and circulation unlocking
The total amount of SUI tokens is fixed at 10 billion. About 5% (500 million) will be put into circulation when the mainnet is launched. By May 2025, about one-third (about 3.3 billion) will be unlocked cumulatively, and subsequent unlocking (such as another 500 million unlocked in May 2025) can be viewed in real time on the Sui Foundation dashboard.
Image Credit: Cryptorank
Token Allocation Details
– Community Reserve (50%): used for ecosystem funding, incentives, validator support and other projects.
– Core Contributors (20%): allocated to the core team and advisors, and unlocked according to the established lock-up plan.
– Investors (14%): Including a16z, FTX Ventures (which has repurchased), Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, etc.
– Mysten Labs inventory (10%): used as the company’s RD and operating fund and released in phases.
– Community Access Testers (6%): Allocations earned through pre-release projects and testnets.
Inflation, Staking Rewards, and Fee Models
Despite the total lock-in of 10 billion, Sui still provides security with temporary epoch subsidies in the early days of the network. In each epoch of approximately 24 hours, validators and their delegators receive transaction fees and newly minted stake subsidies; as the network matures, the subsidy ratio will gradually decrease. As of April 2025, approximately 1.1 billion SUI (equivalent to one-third of the circulation) has been staked, with an annualized yield of between 5-10%. Fees are kept low and predictable, and when users delete on-chain objects, the corresponding storage fees can be refunded.
Image Credit: Sui Blockchain Official Blog
Mysten Labs Financing and Core Investors
Mysten Labs has completed two key rounds of financing, laying a solid foundation for the development and launch of Sui Blockchain, and also reflects the high recognition of venture capital for its technology and team:
– Series A financing (December 2021): Led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), it raised $36 million, with participation from several early blockchain investment institutions. This round of funds will be used to recruit core engineers from the former Meta Diem team, build infrastructure, and accelerate the early development of the Move language.
– Series B financing (September 2022): With a valuation of over $2 billion, FTX Ventures led the investment with $300 million, with participation from strategic investors such as Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, Circle Ventures, Jump Crypto, Franklin Templeton, Apollo Global Management, and Lightspeed. The funds will be mainly used for mainnet deployment, local SDK development, and large-scale ecological incentive projects.
Image Credit: Cryptorank
After FTX went bankrupt in November 2022, Mysten repurchased FTX Ventures equity for $95 million, eliminating the risk of SUI price volatility caused by a large-scale sell-off.
In addition to venture capital support, Mysten has also established strategic cooperation with a number of institutions:
– Circle: natively introduces USDC to Sui to achieve seamless circulation of stablecoins;
– Anchorage BitGo: Providing compliant custody solutions to meet institutional-level security requirements;
– Well-known market makers: ensuring deep liquidity for mainstream trading pairs such as SUI/USDT .
These capitals and institutional collaborations provide a solid backing for Suis rapid growth and robust ecosystem.
Image Credit: Sui Blockchain Directory
Sui Ecosystem Development Progress
User Adoption and Network Metrics
– Number of active addresses: From less than 10 million in May 2024 to 120 million in April 2025.
– Transaction volume: A record of 65 million transactions per day was set in July 2023; TPS is maintained at thousands on a daily basis.
– Number of validators: From ~100 to ~150 by 2025, thanks to the community delegation program.
Sui DeFi TVL and Protocol Highlights
TVL: Exceeds US$1 billion by the end of 2024 and doubles to US$2 billion by January 2025.
Core Protocol:
– Cetus Protocol: Centralized liquidity decentralized exchange.
– DeepBook: On-chain central limit order book.
– Navi SuiLend: Lending market, each with a TVL of over US$450 million.
Image Credit: Defillama
Games, NFTs, and Hardware Projects
– GameFi: Run Legends (earn money by exercising), 8192 (on-chain puzzle game).
– NFT: Kiosk standard trusted listing; popular series such as Cosmocadia.
– Hardware: SuiPlay 0X 1 gaming device (released in April 2024).
Infrastructure, Partnerships and Strategic Alliances
Walrus: A decentralized storage network natively verifiable on Sui, launched in March 2025.
ATHEX PoC: Partnering with the Athens Stock Exchange to digitize the issuance process using zk-proofs.
Native cross-chain bridge: supports SUI ↔ ETH intercommunication.
WLFI–Sui Strategic Cooperation
Macro Strategy Reserve: WLFI included SUI in treasury assets. After the announcement, the price of SUI rose by about 14% in the short term.
Joint RD: Explore yield farming products and integrated wallets based on Sui low-latency transactions.
Governance collaboration: WLFI may participate in the allocation of Sui ecological funds.
Stablecoin Integration: Mint USD 1 stablecoin on Sui and optimize costs with storage fallback.
Sui Market Performance and Core Data
– SUI Price : As of early May 2025, approximately $3.50.
– Market capitalization: $11-12 billion, ranked in the top 15.
– Fully diluted market capitalization (FDV): Approximately $33-35 billion based on a total volume of $10 billion.
– Circulating supply: approximately 3.3 – 3.4 billion SUI (approximately 33%).
– 24-hour trading volume: $1.3 billion, covering SUI/USDT , SUI/USD, SUI/BTC.
– Exchange list: Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, XT.com , Huobi, Gate.io, Gemini, Crypto.com, Bybit, Bitstamp; local DEX still has active transactions, but centralized exchanges dominate liquidity.
XT.com SUI/USDT spot trading pair
SUI Blockchain Compliance and Legal Environment
– Utility token status: No US SEC enforcement action; Coinbase’s quick launch suggests it may be classified as a non-security.
– Institutional products: Grayscale Sui Trust (launched in August 2024); existing ETP products under the European MiCA framework have been included in SUI.
– Compliance measures: KYC is required for community access plans; unlocking plans are transparently disclosed.
– FTX’s post-event solution: Buy back FTX-related shares to avoid large-scale sell-offs that could impact prices.
– Future Outlook: It may be considered as a commodity token in the United States; it needs to be disclosed under the European MiCA regulation but it is not expected to encounter major obstacles.
Comparison of Sui with Solana, Aptos, and Avalanche
Consensus and Throughput
– Sui : Narwhal/Bullshark fast broadcast + Mysticeti distinguishes “causally irrelevant” transactions, and the fast path can reach 100k TPS without locking.
– Solana: PoH + Tower BFT, single-chain global order, actual throughput of thousands of TPS, prone to downtime in extreme traffic.
– Aptos: AptosBFT + Block-STM parallel execution, benchmarked at ~13k TPS.
– Avalanche: sharded gossip protocol, ≈ 1 second finality, ≈ 4.5k TPS/shard.
Smart Contract Environment
– Sui Aptos: Both use Move, and resource orientation prevents asset duplication and supports formal verification.
– Solana : eBPF (Rust/C++), high performance but requires careful memory management.
– Avalanche: EVM compatible, reuses the Solidity toolchain, but inherits the EVM’s reentrancy and fee fluctuation issues.
Ecosystem and Adoption
– Sui: DeFi TVL ~$2B, GameFi, NFT, and TradFi PoC verified by market value.
– Solana: Huge DeFi/NFT system, Solana Pay, and many retail users.
– Aptos : Focuses on social identity and DeFi applications.
– Avalanche: There are abundant enterprise-level sharding cases and EVM DeFi is active.
Decentralization and security
– Sui Aptos: About 150 validators, DPoS model.
– Solana: About 1,800 nodes, but high hardware cost.
– Avalanche : ~1,300 nodes, flexible sharding.
– Stability: Sui had no major downtime and only one dApp vulnerability; Solana had multiple downtimes; Aptos was stable; Avalanche core was stable, but dApp was vulnerable to attacks.
In general, Sui strikes a balance between ultra-high throughput, sub-second final confirmation, and secure object-oriented Move VM. Combined with low fees and deep SUI/USDT liquidity, it is a strong competitor for the next generation of Layer-1 public chains.
SUI Blockchain Breaking News, Updates and Controversy
– Mainnet launch (May 2023): Smooth launch with over 100 validators participating; set a record of 65 million transactions per day.
– No large-scale airdrop: The limited-time sale of the community access program sparked a round of fairness discussions.
– Suspicion of insider selling (October 2024): There were rumors that insiders sold about $400 million of SUI, but the project’s transparent dashboard data clarified this.
– $29 million stolen (December 2024): Approximately 6.27 million SUI were stolen due to a third-party wallet vulnerability, highlighting the need to strengthen on-chain forensic tools.
– Mysticeti Upgrade: Continue to maintain performance leadership through consensus improvements.
– zkLogin and Walrus are launched: bringing innovation in user experience and decentralized storage.
– ATHEX Partnership: A high-profile traditional finance pilot project with the Athens Stock Exchange is underway.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sui Blockchain
Where can I buy SUI?
You can trade SUI/USDT in the spot market of XT.com and enjoy deep liquidity and low fees. After registering or logging in and completing KYC, you can start trading the SUI/USDT trading pair on XT.com.
How to stake SUI to get rewards?
After buying SUI on XT.com, go to the Earn or Staking page , search for SUI, and select a validator or delegation pool. Your staked SUI will be rewarded daily by epoch (currently about 5-10% annualized), and can be flexibly untied at the end of each epoch.
Where can I learn about Suis technology and token economy?
– Official Documentation: See Sui Docs for the complete Move, consensus, and token economics specifications.
– Token Economy Dashboard: Track unlock progress and circulation in real time on the Sui Foundation Token Economy page .
– Community Resources: Join the Sui Discord discussion, check out tutorials, and follow @SuiNetwork on Twitter/X for the latest updates.
Where can I view prices and market data for SUI?
XT.com provides real-time charts and order books, and prices can also be monitored through platforms such as CoinMarketCap or Coingecko .
How do I participate in the Sui ecosystem as a developer or validator?
– Developers: Visit Sui DevHub for SDKs, tutorials, and hackathon information.
– Validator: Check the Sui Foundation Validator Guide to understand the node requirements and submit an application.
Future Outlook and Conclusion
As of May 2025, Sui Blockchain (SUI) is already among the fastest, most secure, and most developer-friendly platforms. Future focuses will include:
– Expand on-chain governance and empower community decision-making;
– Further decentralize the validator network to improve security and stability;
– Promote more landing scenarios, such as ATHEX’s production environment deployment.
With over $2 billion in DeFi lock-ups, a thriving gaming and NFT ecosystem, strategic partners such as WLFI, and a mature and robust token economic model, Sui is steadily moving toward new heights, competing with other projects in the high-performance blockchain track. Whether you are trading SUI/USDT , participating in staking to earn income, or building the next Web3 application, Sui has created a solid foundation for future decentralized finance and more scenarios with low latency, parallel execution, and Move-driven security features.
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