SUI has been discussed by many as a potential Solana killer. Its features suggest it could outperform Solana or at least stand side by side with it in terms of technology and price potential.
To address this, Coin Bureau made a video to discuss these two cryptocurrencies and their potential. The analyst examined them under five metrics: Founders and Funding, Technology, Tokenomics and Price Potential, Adoption, and Challenges.
Solana was founded in 2017 by Anatoly Yakovenko. Solana aimed initially to serve as a decentralized alternative to stock exchanges like NASDAQ. Over time, it evolved into a versatile blockchain suitable for various applications, including DeFi and payment systems.
Solana Labs, an American software firm, developed the platform, which is still under the guidance of the Solana Foundation, a Swiss nonprofit.
The mainnet went live in March 2020, although itâs still considered in development until the Fire Dancer validator client is fully implemented, expected by 2024.
Solana raised $25 million from multiple ICOs between 2018 and 2020. It was able to secure an additional $314 million from venture capital firms in June 2021. This showed strong investor confidence.
However, the involvement of FTX, one of its major investors, raised concerns, particularly after FTXâs collapse in 2022.
Sui was technically initiated by Meta (formerly Facebook) as part of its now-abandoned Libra project in 2019. The team behind Libra split, forming two distinct crypto projects: Aptos and Sui.
Sui is developed by Misten Labs, with ongoing support from the Sui Foundation, a Cayman Islands-based nonprofit. The mainnet launched in May 2023 and is still under active development. Sui raised $400 million in funding from 2021 to 2023 and managed to buy back FTXâs allocation for $96 million in April 2023.
Technology Solana
Solana operates on a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain. It claims to process up to 200,000 transactions per second (TPS).
Its innovative Proof of History (PoH) timestamps transactions, enhances its speed through parallel processing.
Solanaâs block time is around 400 milliseconds, supported by approximately 1,400 validators. However, its transaction history is stored on Google Bigtable, a centralized server.
Sui utilizes a delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) blockchain and recorded a remarkable 297,000 TPS in tests conducted in April 2023. It employs the Move programming language, focusing on objects rather than accounts, allowing for unique implementations that traditional blockchains struggle with.
Sui boasts a 390-millisecond finality time, making it faster than Solana, although it has only eight validators, indicating a higher level of centralization.
Tokenomics and Price Potential Solana
SOL, Solanaâs native cryptocurrency, is crucial for staking, transaction fees, and governance. Initially, 50% of transaction fees were burned, but this practice was halted in May 2023.
With a starting supply of 500 million SOL, aggressive vesting schedules have led to 90% of the supply being in circulation by January 2021. Despite inflation, early investors have seen returns of 650x since the ICO price of $0.22.
SUI serves a similar purpose in the Sui ecosystem. It has a maximum supply of 10 billion SUI coins, with 50% allocated to community reserves. Early investors have experienced 20x returns from the ICO price of $0.10, and long-term projections suggest a market cap of $70 billion for Sui.
Adoption Solana
Solanaâs wallet, Phantom, has over 4 million downloads, with 5 million monthly active wallets and around $5 billion in total value locked (TVL) across its DeFi protocols. The platform also boasts about 2,900 monthly active developers.
Sui Wallet and Suiet have collectively surpassed 1 million downloads. Despite reporting 5 million monthly active wallets, Suiâs DeFi protocols have fewer active users and around $1 billion in TVL. It has 1,100 monthly active developers.
Challenges Solana
Solanaâs primary challenges include its tarnished reputation post-FTX and reliability issues stemming from network outages. Additionally, competition from projects like Aptos and Monad poses a threat to its market position.
For Sui, the challenges lie in the maturing Move programming language and the difficulty investors may face in differentiating it from Aptos. Like Solana, Sui contends with intense competition in the rapidly evolving crypto landscape.
