Multiple factors behind Sui's rise: from Pokémon collaboration rumors to surging DEX trading volume
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Multiple factors behind Sui's rise: from Pokémon collaboration rumors to surging DEX trading volume
A deep dive into SUI's latest price surge, analyzing funding flows, key news catalysts, on-chain data performance, and potential risks, aiming to comprehensively decode the logic behind this ecosystem-wide rally.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Frank, PANews
Recently, Sui's governance token and its ecosystem have experienced a remarkable surge, with the SUI token itself rising over 75% within a week—far outpacing broader market performance. Behind this phenomenon lies a complex interplay of factors: speculative fervor driven by market rumors, significant shifts in capital flows, and ongoing improvements in the ecosystem’s fundamentals. This article by PANews delves into the funding dynamics, key catalysts, on-chain data trends, and potential risks behind SUI’s latest rally, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of the forces driving this ecosystem-wide boom.
Hot Money Inflows to Exchanges, Futures Positions Surge
Looking at on-chain fund flows over recent months, Sui has not shown significant net inflows. Over a three-month period, Sui actually saw a net outflow of $32 million—a relatively modest figure that doesn’t rank among the top public chains. Even when narrowing the view to the past month and past week, Sui’s on-chain fund movements remain negligible, failing to make the top twenty among major blockchains.
However, exchange-based capital inflows paint a different picture. According to Coinglass data, SUI recorded $62.86 million in spot inflows over the past seven days, ranking fourth across all cryptocurrencies—only behind USDT, ETH, and FUSD. On the futures funding inflow leaderboard for the same period, several Sui-based ecosystem tokens such as WAL, MEMEFI, and CETUS also entered the top ten, further highlighting growing capital activity within the Sui ecosystem.
In terms of futures positions, SUI’s open interest began surging from April 21, doubling from $700 million to $1.419 billion within just one week—an amount approaching its previous peak of $1.5 billion.
Beyond SUI, most of its ecosystem tokens also posted strong gains during the week. Among Sui projects listed on CoinGecko, 35 tokens (20% of the ecosystem) rose more than 100%, while 37.5% gained over 50%—a true broad-based rally.
From a capital perspective, this price surge represents a coordinated, ecosystem-wide pump. Despite many projects lacking concrete fundamental developments, their price movements have been unmistakably pronounced.
Multipronged Positive Developments Fuel Market Sentiment
On April 21, nearly all major cryptocurrencies began rebounding in tandem, and Sui’s initial upward move followed this broader market trend. Subsequently, a wave of positive news emerged. However, it remains unclear whether these announcements were genuine catalysts for the rally or merely “smoke screens” timed to support an already underway price increase.
One notable development involves speculation around a Pokémon collaboration. The rumor originated on April 23, 2025, when Pokémon HOME updated its privacy policy, listing “Parasol Technologies” as an authorized developer permitted to receive user data. Parasol Technologies is a blockchain gaming studio acquired by Sui’s core development team, Mysten Labs, in March 2025. This direct link quickly sparked market imagination, with crypto influencers and social media users speculating that Pokémon might be planning to integrate its IP onto the Sui blockchain. Narratives centered on potential NFT integration, blockchain-based collectibles, or even connections to Pokémon HOME’s newly launched “Medal” feature.
Notably, a blog post published by the Sui Foundation on April 23 regarding Parasol’s launch of a trading card game on Sui did not mention Pokémon. However, some users claimed that early versions of the post referenced Pokémon NFTs before being edited—further fueling speculation.
Another key development is the partnership with xMoney/xPortal. On April 24, Sui announced a collaboration with financial platform xMoney and cryptocurrency super app xPortal to launch a Sui-branded virtual Mastercard in Europe. Integrated within the xPortal app, which boasts 2.5 million users, the card allows seamless use of SUI and other cryptocurrencies via Apple Pay or Google Pay at tens of thousands of merchants—functioning much like cash. A physical card version is expected later in 2025.
ETF-related narratives have also contributed to bullish sentiment. Recently, news circulated about 21Shares establishing a legal trust entity named “SUI ETF.” While not a new development—records show that the Delaware-registered “21SHARES SUI ETF” trust (ID 10058451) was formed on January 7, 2025—as this information resurfaced, it added perceived legitimacy and momentum to SUI’s price rise.
Beyond these, Sui has seen multiple other positive developments in recent weeks: Athens Stock Exchange Group announced on April 16 the completion of technical design for an on-chain fundraising platform built on Sui; Nautilus launched a verifiable off-chain privacy solution for Sui on April 15; Canary Capital filed an application for a SUI ETF, among others.
Overall, Sui’s recent progress across Web3 gaming, privacy, and developer tools has coalesced into a broad positive narrative—marking a shift from earlier rallies driven by isolated events.
Airdrop Drives DEX Volume Spike; Faces Dual Pressure from Token Unlocks and App Development
Since April, DEX trading volume on the Sui network has remained consistently high. It hit a record high of $998 million on March 29, followed by multiple days exceeding $400 million in daily volume. Leading DEX Cetus Protocol has been a major driver, with its weekly trading volume up 84.5% and its token CETUS nearly doubling in price over the past week.
Another significant contributor is Kriya. On March 29—the day Sui’s network transaction volume broke records—Kriya accounted for $780 million in volume, making up a substantial share. This marked a more than 100-fold increase from the previous day’s $7.28 million.
The sharp spike in DEX volumes on March 28 can likely be attributed to the Walrus airdrop. On March 27, Walrus—a decentralized storage project that raised $140 million—distributed its airdrop, generating $380 million in trading volume on its first day. This event likely served as the primary catalyst for Sui’s elevated trading activity.
Developer engagement also underpins Sui’s growth. On GitHub, Sui has seen consistently high code commit frequency since December 2024, regularly exceeding 500 commits per week—up from prior levels around 250. In comparison, Solana and Aptos average around 100 commits per week.
Despite the market euphoria, several risks warrant attention. First, ongoing SUI token unlocks represent continuous selling pressure. Millions of tokens are released weekly, making early investors and institutional holders the largest supply source in the market—an ever-present overhang on price appreciation.
Second, the current rally is primarily led by DEXs and infrastructure projects. Meme coins and consumer-facing applications or games have yet to gain prominence. Moreover, most tokens with market caps above $10 million remain early-stage ventures. Viewed metaphorically, if Sui were a city, malls themed around DeFi, gaming, and decentralized storage—built around projects like Walrus, Deepbook, and Parasol—are already in place. But these malls still lack "viral anchor tenants" capable of drawing in mass users.
In conclusion, the recent surge in SUI and its ecosystem stems from a confluence of speculative enthusiasm, capital inflows, futures market positioning, and tangible fundamental progress. Yet, while celebrating SUI’s impressive price action, investors must remain cautious of persistent sell-side pressure from token unlocks and closely monitor whether the application layer can mature and deliver breakout products that attract widespread adoption—key determinants of whether Sui can convert short-term hype into lasting value.
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