Sui Blockchain (SUI): A Fast & Cost-Efficient Layer 1 Blockchain
Sui blockchain, an eagerly anticipated project in the crypto sector, has recently launched its mainnet on May 3, 2023. Developed by former Meta executives, Sui uses a modified version of the original Move programming language created to power the Meta Diem blockchain. Read on to find out more about the revolutionary technology Sui operates on, and how it can potentially transform the web3 space.
Key Takeaways:
Sui is a Layer 1 blockchain that focuses on reducing latency in the time it takes to execute smart contracts, and revolutionizing blockchain technology by increasing speed and security.
Sui utilizes three main elements that enable it to process instantaneous transactions at a low cost: Move language, parallel transaction execution and the Sui consensus engine.
SUI is the native token of the Sui blockchain platform, with four main use cases: staking, gas fee payment, versatile liquid asset and governance.
What Is Sui Blockchain (SUI)?
Sui is a Layer 1 blockchain designed to solve some of the problems around web3. Its primary focus areas are reducing latency in the time it takes to execute smart contracts, and revolutionizing blockchain technology by increasing speed and security as the blockchain landscape moves toward greater adoption of web3.
Sui is also the future home of exciting new blockchain NFT games, including its prototype, Sui Monstar. The idea is that developers can fully unleash their creativity in making games fun and exciting without focusing too much on the coding aspect.
The Sui platform has been created by Mysten Labs, whose 13-member team is led by five founders — Evan Cheng, Sam Blackshear, Adeniyi Abiodun, George Danezis and Kostas Chalkias — all former senior executives and lead architects for Meta's discontinued digital wallet program called Novi. They decided to launch a new blockchain protocol aimed at solving issues of scalability that have been a thorn in the crypto sector's side for years.
How Does Sui Blockchain Work?
The Sui blockchain has three core elements that work together to allow it to process instant settlements at a low cost: Move language, parallel transaction execution and the Sui consensus engine.
Move Language
The Sui network supports smart contract executions with the Sui-specific styling of Move programming language, which is an updated version of the Move language that Aptos uses. Move, which was originally designed by Facebook (now known as Meta) for its now-discontinued blockchain program, Diem, is based on the popular Rust language.
Sui's Move is an executable bytecode language designed to prevent double-spending and help Sui become one of the safest and most secure smart-contract platforms. Overall, it was designed to improve some of the flaws — or at least imperfections — of existing programming languages like Solidity, which weren’t coded to support blockchain asset representations securely.
While traditional blockchain networks have their smart contracts designed around accounts, Sui's smart contracts are designed around programmable objects. These objects can be mutable or immutable, shared among multiple people or owned by one person. Objects owned strictly by a single user won't have to undergo the verification process, allowing them to have near-instant finality.
The dynamic nature of Sui’s smart contracts helps NFT art break new ground, as NFTs can now be easily modified and customized, which also boosts the creativity of NFT artists and holders. For instance, accessories can be added as NFTs on top of an existing NFT, which allows individuals to create limitless custom combinations for their NFTs, as illustrated by the example of SuiFrens, below.
Source: blog.sui.io
Parallel Transaction Execution
One of the biggest innovations that Sui offers is parallel transaction execution.
On other platforms that process smart contracts, transactions are executed one at a time, generally in the order in which they’re received. This makes individual transactions longer to process. However, the Sui blockchain processes transactions in parallel, and simple transactions aren’t required to undergo consensus, resulting in near-instant finality.
For the sake of comparison, at peak, the Ethereum blockchain can handle about 15 transactions per second (TPS). In trial runs, the Sui blockchain was able to process 120,000 transactions in a single second.
Sui Consensus Engine
At launch, Narwhal & Tusk was the default consensus algorithm used by Sui, although Bullshark replaced the Tusk component in August 2022. The move was made to reduce latency issues, and to ensure that validators with lower processing speeds would still be able to contribute to the project. (However, Tusk can still be used via updating the source.) In short, Narwhal is used as a mempool to ensure that the data submitted to the consensus is available, and Bullshark (or Tusk) then sets the standard for arranging that data so the consensus engine can read it. This is part of the directed acyclic graph (DAG) mempool, yet another innovation Sui offers.
Sui Economy Features
Sui runs on a delegated proof of stake (DPoS) system, meaning that within each epoch (a period of 24 hours), SUI holders select a set of validators and stake their SUI tokens with them. These validators process the transactions in the network. The staked tokens are locked into the system during that specific epoch, but token holders can withdraw their tokens or change their delegated validator when the epoch changes.
Source: docs.sui.io
Gas-Pricing Mechanism
The Sui network's gas price system was designed with three distinct goals, all of which are intended to enhance the user experience and ensure a fast, reliable network:
Keep gas fees low and base them on an easily computed formula.
Incentivize validators to perform their work as efficiently as possible.
Provide a layer of protection to the network, preventing it from being vulnerable to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.
At the beginning of each epoch, validators are surveyed to determine the minimum gas price they'll accept. The system then orders these amounts, and chooses a price roughly around the 66th percentile. During the epoch, each validator receives signals regarding other validators' operations, allowing them to assess their performance against the rest, and aim to commit to the reference gas price.
At the end of each epoch, validators who have performed efficiently against the reference gas price receive regular rewards, while rewards are slashed for those who haven’t. This system encourages validators to enter a lower minimum acceptable gas price and commit to it, which helps keep users' costs down.
Storage Fund
An essential part of the sustainability of Sui blockchain is the storage fund, designed to hold the network's gas fees and redistribute them to validators in the future. This ensures that the network can continue to operate, as validators have a vested interest in continuing their work.
The storage fund size is maintained by ensuring that storage outflows are always less than storage inflows. There are two types of inflows: storage fees for transactions conducted in the current epoch, and reinvestment into new principal of the staked rewards not paid out to validators. The outflow is created when users delete unnecessary data for a storage fee rebate.
It’s important to note that these validator rewards are only paid out of the interest generated by the fund, and the principal is never touched. This ensures that the fund — and, therefore, the ecosystem — will be self-sustaining and able to last indefinitely.
Sui Wallet
Sui Wallet is an open-source Google Chrome browser extension with a user-friendly interface for managing and storing assets on the entire Sui network.
Sui Wallet allows you to create, import and store your mnemonic phrase and private key, used to access your funds. Not only can you transfer coins and NFTs easily, but also view owned fungible tokens, track recent transactions, and directly access both successful or failed transactions on Sui Explorer, which facilitates browsing on-chain data, tracking assets and debugging. Sui Wallet also supports integration with decentralized applications (DApps) built on the Sui network.
Overall, Sui Wallet provides a secure and simple way for Sui participants to manage their assets and interact with the broader Sui ecosystem.
What Is the SUI Token?
SUI is the native coin of the Sui blockchain. To differentiate between the blockchain layer and the coin, the name of the token, SUI, is always capitalized.
SUI has four key uses:
Stake it to participate in Sui’s PoS network.
Use SUI to pay gas fees for all Sui transactions.
SUI can be traded as a liquid asset like fiat currency while possessing advanced capabilities facilitated by smart contracts.
All SUI token holders can participate in the governance voting process.
The easiest way to store your SUI tokens is in the Sui Wallet. As a Google Chrome browser extension, it allows you to create a new wallet or import an existing one for the self-custody of assets. NFTs can also be uploaded to your Sui Wallet, enabling them to be stored securely on the Sui blockchain.
SUI Tokenomics
The SUI token has a hard cap of 10 billion coins, with 5% released at mainnet launch and the rest to be distributed incrementally over time, as decided by the Sui Foundation.
At launch, 50% of SUI tokens will be put in the Community Reserve for grants, validator subsidies, and research and development, in addition to 20% given to early contributors to the project, 14% to investors, 10% distributed to the Mysten Labs treasury, and 6% toward the Community Access Program and app testers.
Source: blog.sui.io/
The SUI Token Community Access Program has been created for early participants in the Sui ecosystem, who will receive the tokens in various ways, such as grants and competitions. The Sui Foundation has stressed that there will never be a SUI token airdrop, and has also released a statement to the community that anyone offering a SUI airdrop is likely a scammer.
SUI Blockchain Price Prediction
The SUI token has a current price of $3.23 (as of Nov 26, 2024), which is 781.5% higher than its all-time low of $0.3648 and 18% lower than its all-time high of $3.92.
Market analysts offer varied long-term forecasts for SUI:
Changelly projects a range of $0.71 to $2.81 in 2025, with an average trading price of $4.91. By 2030, it estimates SUI trading between $11.77 and $13.60, averaging $12.18
CoinCodex is bullish, predicting SUI could reach $13.57 by January 2030, with a yearly average of $11.45
These projections reflect confidence in Sui's technological innovations, ecosystem expansion and developer adoption. CoinCodex's Fear & Greed Index currently shows "Extreme Greed" at 79, indicating strong market optimism.
However, investors should note that cryptocurrency price predictions are inherently speculative and subject to market volatility, regulatory changes and broader economic conditions.
Is SUI A Good Investment?
SUI's investment thesis centers on its unique technological advantages and strong ecosystem support in the Layer 1 blockchain sector. Many experts maintain a positive long-term outlook, though potential risks must be considered.
Key Strengths
Industry-leading Move language and object-centric architecture
$500M Foundation Fund and SuiHub Accelerator backing
Practical applications like SuiPlay0X1, bridging Web 2.0 and web3
Fastest-growing Move ecosystem, with 219% developer growth
Strong institutional-grade features and security
Risk Factors
Highly competitive Layer 1 sector
Market volatility
While Sui's technological innovation and institutional support position it uniquely in the market, investors should carefully consider their risk tolerance, and conduct thorough research before investing.
Where to Buy the SUI Token
On Bybit, you can buy the SUI token as a USDT Spot pair (SUI/USDT), USDC Spot pair (SUI/USDC) and USDT Perpetual contract (SUIUSDT). You can also stake SUI on Bybit Earn to earn a fixed or flexible yield. Simply sign up and start trading.
How to On- and Off-Ramp Sui on MovEx via Bybit
MovEx is the first decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Sui blockchain. Built to provide liquidity with low latency and a high execution engine, MovEx features DeepBook, a decentralized limit order book (with buy and sell orders) that offers easy access to digital assets.
MovEx combines its real-time electronic order book with an automated market maker (AMM) that uses mathematical formulas to price assets, creating a hybrid liquidity DEX that enhances the user’s trading experience.
Using Bybit to on- and off-ramp Sui, you can:
Submit USDT-SUI from Bybit
Buy tokens on MovEx
Pledge tokens in the Liquidity Pool
Swap rewards into USDT
Submit USDT from the Sui chain to Bybit
Sui vs. Aptos
Sui and Aptos share many similarities in that both are relatively new, Level 1 blockchains, developed by former Meta employees, and use the Move programming language. However, if you look at each blockchain more closely, there are also quite a few differences. First, the Sui platform uses a more up-to-date version of the same programming language, and is coded more transparently. It allows users to see if an object is owned, shared, immutable or none of the above, whereas Aptos does not.
Secondly, while running on the same PoS mechanism, Sui uses Narwhal and Bullshark as its consensus algorithms, while Aptos uses a derivative of the HotStuff protocol. Finally, Aptos had a slightly higher throughput in its testing phase than Sui, at 160,000 TPS. However, after Aptos's mainnet was released in October 2022, it fell to a dismal rate of 4 TPS, currently running at 60 TPS with a peak of 13,367 (as of Nov 26, 2024).
On the other hand, although Sui’s object-centric design — which facilitates parallel transactions — promises a high ceiling with theoretically unlimited TPS potential, Sui falls far below its test throughput of 120,000, and is currently operating at 85 TPS with a peak of 10,347 in the past 30 days.
SUI NFT Marketplace: Is BlueMove the Next Big Thing for NFTs?
BlueMove is a community-first, non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace that actively rewards participants such as traders, collectors and creators in the ecosystem of scarce digital assets. It’s designed for the Move language public blockchain and currently supports Sui and Aptos.
The Move language was developed for Facebook’s Diem cryptocurrency project. Its focus on security and formal verification makes it attractive for developing DApps and smart contracts. BlueMove has quickly become a leading multichain NFT marketplace by empowering users and creators, offering features such as an in-app wallet, mint tracking, NFT lending and an NFT order book.
Whether BlueMove becomes the next big thing in the NFT space depends upon the degree of adoption by developers and users, the overall growth of the NFT market and emerging use cases for NFTs. However, by rewarding users, sharing platform fees and paying creators instantly, the marketplace shows promise, and new functions can be introduced without compromising security.
Move Language Developments
While previous years’ road maps focused on building strong foundations for developers, 2024 has introduced advanced tools and unique features, taking Sui to the next level.
Shared Object Deletion: Developers can now create and delete temporary shared objects after use. This feature eliminates the need for status flags, reduces storage costs through fee recovery and simplifies contract logic by automatically removing unused objects.
Transfer to Object: Objects can now directly receive and own other objects. This feature powers concurrent NFT operations and enables smart contract wallets with customizable conditions, from multisig to dynamic checks. These fine-grained controls unlock institutional-grade asset tokenization.
Enums and Method Syntax: Enums bring flexible data structure options to Move, allowing developers to define types with multiple data shapes. Method syntax simplifies function calls, making code more intuitive and easier to maintain.
Macro Functions: Move enables map, filter and other higher-order operations through efficient compile-time macros. This brings modern programming patterns to blockchain development without performance overhead.
Shared Custody: An innovative multisig approach for secure multi-party asset management in DeFi. The system uses owned objects to enable efficient automated trading with minimal gas costs and congestion, while preserving robust security controls.
The effectiveness of these upgrades is reflected in developer adoption: Sui's monthly active developers surged by 219% to 1,400 in mid-2024, with over 18,000 new code commits. Electric Capital data confirms Sui's position as the fastest-growing Move ecosystem.
SuiHub Global Accelerator Program
The SuiHub Global Accelerator Program backs innovative blockchain development with up to $200,000 in funding per project. This initiative combines financial support with comprehensive technical mentorship and marketing resources to accelerate scalable solutions on Sui.
Partnering with Dubai-based Ghaf Group, the 12-week accelerator targets ambitious pre-token projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The program seeks ventures showing clear market potential and innovative solutions that are ready to scale on Sui.
Selected teams receive multifaceted support from industry leaders. Mysten Labs, Sui's developer, provides technical mentorship and blockchain expertise, while Ghaf Studios offers strategic fundraising, marketing and tokenomics guidance.
Projects seeking to participate must submit their applications by Dec 20, 2024. SuiHub will take equity stakes in admitted projects, ensuring long-term alignment with the ecosystem's growth objectives.
Sui's Innovation Pipeline
Sui's recent innovations demonstrate its commitment to pushing blockchain technology beyond conventional limits. The following two groundbreaking developments showcase this vision.
Banking the Unbanked: Internet-less Innovation
Sui is pioneering "internet-less transactions" through mobile networks and radio waves. This breakthrough technology enables crypto transfers via underwater waves, long-distance radio and compressed SMS messages, allowing transactions during outages and in areas with limited connectivity.
Through strategic partnerships with Chip Wireless, a Canadian mobile service provider, Sui aims to reach underserved markets, particularly in Africa. This solution addresses critical issues in regions facing power shortages and internet accessibility challenges, effectively bringing financial services to previously excluded populations.
Gaming Revolution: SuiPlay0X1
Sui is redefining gaming hardware with SuiPlay0X1, a high-performance handheld device launching in 2025. Powered by AMD Ryzen™ technology and the Playtron OS™, it delivers both PC and blockchain gaming capabilities through its advanced 7-inch display system.
Launch titles XOCIETY (third-person shooter) and DARKTIMES (medieval Brawler Royale) demonstrate Sui's vision: seamlessly integrating blockchain benefits such as asset ownership while maintaining AAA gaming experiences.
These innovations represent Sui's commitment to expanding blockchain utility beyond conventional boundaries. Whether through financial inclusion initiatives or next-generation gaming experiences, Sui continues to demonstrate leadership in practical blockchain applications.
Closing Thoughts
Should Sui blockchain continue to evolve and eventually perform to its full potential, users will be able to store their digital assets and transact on a more secure web3 blockchain with unprecedented speed. With dramatically reduced transaction processing times, the overall system will become more efficient, driving mass adoption in web3 and gaming — ultimately leading to a brighter future for the entire crypto sector and its users.
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