The Sui blockchain ecosystem has recorded impressive growth recently, with a strong increase in the value of the SUI token, although the current price is only $3.54. This growth is believed to be a result of outstanding improvements in the experience of both developers and the user community within the Sui ecosystem.
Ramani Ramachandran, co-founder and CEO of Router Protocol, stated that this success mainly comes from Sui combining the user-friendly Move programming language with a consumer-friendly interface, making the blockchain ecosystem attractive to developers. He remarked:
"What's special about Sui is that the project founders, although not prominent, are heading in the right direction as developers are all talking about Sui. Many developers have shared their impressions of Sui's greatness."
Ramachandran also praised the developer community of Sui, stating that this is a sustainable ecosystem that can compete with other layer 1 blockchain projects, which are struggling after token releases.
A recent survey from MV Capital also indicated that investor interest in Sui is increasing. According to data from MV Capital and Router Protocol, this blockchain ecosystem is attracting significant attention from the investment community.
A survey from MV Capital shows investor interest in Sui | Source: MV Capital/ Router Protocol
According to a report in October from VanEck, monolithic blockchains* like Sui and Solana have outperformed other ecosystems in September. Specifically, Sui recorded a 140% growth in the number of daily active addresses in September. This increase has driven demand for the SUI token, pushing its market capitalization to $10 billion.
A report from K33 Research in early 2024 indicated the strong competitive potential of Sui against Solana. Accordingly, the architecture of Sui is one of the key factors that make this ecosystem attractive, especially when compared to other layer 1 blockchains that have more complex programming languages and developer tools.
On November 22, asset management firm Franklin Templeton announced a partnership with Sui to explore application development opportunities on this blockchain platform. Thanks to its high transaction throughput and low latency capabilities, Sui is becoming an attractive option for applications requiring quick updates, especially in the gaming sector.
Moreover, Mysten Labs, the main developer of the Sui blockchain, has just announced plans to launch a handheld gaming computer in 2025, optimized for blockchain games as well as traditional PC games.
Sui and Aptos compete for the position of 'next Solana'
After Solana reached a new all-time high, a search for the 'next Solana' has begun to gain traction in the crypto community on X. Although there are numerous super-fast alt-L1 options, the two most prominent candidates currently are Sui and Aptos, both built on MoveVM. These blockchains were born in the previous crypto cycle and were developed by teams of former Facebook employees, where the Move programming language was created as part of the Libra project (later renamed Diem).
In terms of price performance, the SUI token has outperformed APT this year, with impressive growth and surpassing Aptos in market capitalization in mid-September.
SUI price compared to APT price | Source: Coinmarketcap
Despite a downtime incident of about two hours yesterday, the price of SUI quickly recovered and surpassed the level before the incident, an interesting coincidence that further reinforces the perception that Sui could be the 'next Solana' thanks to Solana's historical disruptions in the past.
In terms of TVL, both Sui and Aptos are competing quite evenly, which can be explained by current liquidity incentive campaigns. Both blockchains also recorded similar growth in the number of active dapps: Sui has 44 applications, while Aptos has 49 applications.
Total value locked (TVL) of Sui and Aptos | Source: Artemis
When considering on-chain activity, Sui has recorded a boom in DEX trading, with trading volume tripling since September, surpassing Aptos in the past month.
DEX trading volume of Sui and Aptos | Source: Artemis
Additionally, regarding transaction fees, Sui also excels, generating $1.1 million just in October, while Aptos only reached $196,000 during the same period.
Transaction fees of Sui and Aptos | Source: Artemis
Both Sui and Aptos are expanding applications in the realm of real-world assets (RWA). Ondo has deployed the tokenized USDY 'Treasurys' product on both chains, with approximately $8.3 million on Sui and $15.7 million on Aptos. Last week, Aptos also announced a partnership with BlackRock to deploy the RWA BUIDL fund, while Sui has announced a partnership with the digital asset division of Franklin Templeton to promote ecosystem development.
Ultimately, both blockchains are testing their own hardware. Sui is heavily focused on the gaming sector with the handheld gaming console SuiPlay0x1 and has recently partnered with the global esports team Team Liquid. Meanwhile, Aptos is developing a budget smartphone named JamboPhone.
With strategic moves in various areas, both Sui and Aptos are showing great potential and creating fierce competition with Solana in the blockchain market.
*Monolithic blockchain is a type of blockchain that has a comprehensive structure and function within a single system, including all important layers such as consensus layer, data availability layer, and execution layer. All of these functions are integrated into a single blockchain and operate simultaneously, rather than being divided into multiple layers or different blockchains as in modular blockchain designs.
