Sui, a "maverick" blockchain
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Sui, a "maverick" blockchain
"Sui is a public blockchain with a very clear development direction," said one developer.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Zhou Zhou, Foresight News
"The reason I chose Sui is because it has a clear development direction—which isn't something every public blockchain offers," multiple Sui project founders told me.
A developer who has been building on the Sui ecosystem for nearly two years remarked: "The Move language used behind Sui feels like a language from a big company—very standardized and lowering the barrier to entry, making it easier for new developers to learn." This is just one of Sui's many distinctive characteristics.
Through conversations, I found that Sui’s highly differentiated traits and style manifest in many ways—precisely what sets it apart from other blockchains. For instance, Sui provides grants to projects in U.S. dollars rather than its own token; Sui strictly enforces brand separation between grant recipients and its official channels; and Sui demonstrates a strong commitment to aggressively entering the gaming sector.
All of these make Sui a truly 'iconoclastic' public blockchain within the crypto industry.
On October 17, 2024, the 10th Wanxiang Blockchain Conference was held in Shanghai. Concurrently, Sui hosted several offline events. I attended multiple Sui meetups and gained deeper insights into the growth of its ecosystem.
Since September, Sui’s token price and total value locked (TVL) have surged dramatically, drawing significant attention across the crypto industry—making it arguably one of today’s most watched public chains. In just one month, Sui’s TVL jumped from $600 million to $1 billion—an almost doubling. Meanwhile, its token price rose from around $0.8 to over $2 in just over a month, representing an increase of nearly threefold. Some industry participants have even dubbed Sui the "Solana killer."
So why has Sui risen so quickly? Who are the capital forces behind it? What differentiates Sui from other public chains, and what innovative applications does it offer? Is Sui’s growth a long-term trend or merely short-term speculation?
After speaking with several entrepreneurs in the Sui ecosystem, I’ve found some answers.
The Iconoclast: SUI
Sui stands out as an iconoclast in the crypto space, evident through many of its unique behaviors.
Evan Cheng, CEO of Mysten Labs—the company behind Sui—grew up in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan. He joined Apple in 2005 and moved to Facebook in 2017 as Director of Engineering for Programming Languages, where he also led internal cryptocurrency enthusiast groups.
Over time, he became the platform R&D lead for Libra and helped drive the development of the Move programming language. Mysten Labs has several co-founders—including Adeniyi Abiodun and Sam Blackshear—who also came from Facebook’s Libra project. Their experience working on high-profile projects at major tech firms has naturally been "inherited" by Sui.
The first distinguishing feature of Sui is its focus on the gaming sector.
Adeniyi, one of the co-founders, stated in a recent Grayscale interview: "We chose the gaming industry because it is often among the earliest adopters of technology, driving advancements in AI and high-performance computing. Therefore, Sui focuses on solving ownership issues in games and has successfully attracted numerous game developers, including South Korea’s top three listed companies—Nhan Net, Marble, FNC, and NCSoft. Currently, about 75 publishers are developing applications on Sui." Just a year ago, Sui had only signed 30 development studios.
CEO Evan Cheng echoes this sentiment. He has mentioned SuiPlay, Sui’s gaming device, multiple times on Twitter and in video discussions. In recent weeks, both SuiPlay and leading meme tokens on Sui such as FUD have promised rewards and airdrops to SuiPlay holders.
The second notable trait of Sui is its strong emphasis on compliance.
While Web3 promotes decentralization and permissionless culture, most Web3 organizations do not prioritize compliance. Sui, however, is an exception.
A professional close to Mysten Labs told me that the internal compliance process at Mysten Labs is extremely rigorous—so much so that it feels similar to that of a Web2 tech giant.
Another entrepreneur in the Sui ecosystem said: "I was surprised that Sui provides grants in U.S. dollars instead of Sui tokens." "They require extensive documentation, KYC procedures, and account verification—sometimes taking a long time before you actually receive the grant."
Almost everyone I met in the Sui ecosystem highlighted this distinct characteristic: Sui’s serious approach to compliance.
After speaking with multiple Sui insiders, I learned this likely ties closely to Sui’s strategic vision. One participant suggested that for projects officially recognized by Sui—such as Cetus and Scallop—you don’t need to worry about exit scams; Sui will backstop them.
This contrasts sharply with the approach of many other blockchains. For example, Blast explicitly states that users bear full responsibility if any ecosystem project fails. Sui and Blast represent two opposite extremes: Blast takes zero responsibility, while Sui’s strict compliance standards give some developers confidence—if a project is officially endorsed by Sui, users are less likely to get rugged.
This reflects a critical strategic decision—and constitutes Sui’s third defining trait: Sui aims to partner with major Web2 institutions to achieve mass adoption. Many traditional large institutions refuse to associate with entities that carry reputational risks. For such organizations, compliance isn’t optional—it’s mandatory.
This explains certain phenomena—for instance, Sui and its founders rarely engage in CX meme culture, which seems out of step with current trends. Whether it’s Jesse, founder of Base, or Toly, founder of Solana, both actively promote and support meme culture. Sui, however, does not—or does so very infrequently. Sui avoids behaviors that might be seen as blemishes by traditional institutions, preserving its ability to collaborate with major enterprises.
Sui’s Differentiated Path: Compliance in America, Flourishing Among Chinese Builders
Sui is a blockchain aiming to operate compliantly in the United States and form deep partnerships with globally renowned gaming companies. Ironically, many of its leading DeFi projects are founded by Chinese entrepreneurs—such as Cetus and Scallop.
"Seventy percent—even 80% or more—of the DeFi projects are founded by Chinese entrepreneurs," said Chen, a Sui ecosystem builder, sharing his observation.
Chen believes this may relate to Sui’s clearly defined direction. Once a system establishes clarity, Chinese teams often outperform Western counterparts in speed and execution efficiency.
Chen also compared Sui with other Move-based blockchains.
Today, there are over 20 blockchains based on the Move language. Three of them originated directly from the Facebook team: Aptos, Sui, and Linera. Among Move-based chains, Sui and Aptos remain the most important, competing for leadership in the Move ecosystem—naturally inviting frequent comparisons.
"From a personal perspective, Sui’s official Twitter frequently shares technical updates and product roadmap developments, whereas Aptos seems to post less in this area and appears more focused on event-related content. That’s a subtle difference between Sui and Aptos," Chen said.
Sui has clear goals: build for gaming, partner with Web2 giants. Yet despite not being in the gaming space or affiliated with large institutions, Chen remains confident about building on Sui. He attributes this to the founding team’s clear vision—avoiding scattered, inconsistent strategies that leave builders confused. Currently, many blockchains lack a coherent direction, leaving participants feeling lost. On Sui, such uncertainty doesn’t exist.
Some professionals view Sui as a blockchain with a well-defined mission—unlike others that lurch unpredictably from one initiative to another, or lack differentiation altogether. This clarity appears to bring meaningful change to the Sui ecosystem.
"Sui’s first year was all about focusing on DeFi; going forward, Sui will pursue partnerships with major Web2 players; Sui will concentrate on growing gaming; Sui will become the most compliant public chain." A builder summarized Sui’s ecosystem strategy—simple, focused, and clear.
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