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Layer-1 chain Sui (SUI) has been capturing significant attention lately. As of this writing, SUI has surged by 125% over the past 30 days and has skyrocketed 345% from its yearly low of $0.46 on August 5. These impressive figures position SUI among the top performers in the crypto market over the last two months and as one of the few altcoins which reached their all-time high.
SUI Vs. Solana
Yesterday, the buzz intensified when several accounts on X shared charts suggesting that SUI had overtaken Solana in daily transactions for the first time. Enthusiasts quickly touted SUI as the next “Layer-1 killer,” poised to surpass Solana, which has been a leading contender among Layer-1 blockchains behind Ethereum.
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However, this claim faced scrutiny from industry experts. Developer João Mendonça took to X to rebut the assertions, stating: “SUI did not surpass Solana in daily transactions — there’s no free lunch. On the left = a deceptive chart where each instruction of each transaction is counted as a transaction on SUI. On the right = Artemis’s genuine read of daily transactions.”
Mendonça referenced a detailed explanation by analytics firm Artemis from May. The firm highlighted that in traditional Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) architectures, users submit transactions that execute a set of instructions. In contrast, on the SUI blockchain, users submit a transaction block containing multiple transactions that update objects in the global state. Therefore, comparing transaction counts directly between SUI and other chains like Solana can be deceptive.
They explained: “Artemis decided to count Sui transaction blocks instead of transactions when comparing activity with Ethereum and other chains. This decision was based on the fact that Sui has a different architecture than the EVM, and counting transaction blocks gives a more accurate picture of user interactions.”
Prominent crypto analyst VirtualBacon also weighed in on the discourse, analyzing the SUI/SOL price chart. He remarked: “SUI vs SOL ratio almost at resistance. One must question the upside potential of this ‘new killer L1’. For this to keep running another month, it either completely takes over the market share of Solana, or we rotate back to the proven chain.”
Expressing skepticism about SUI’s ability to maintain its momentum against Solana’s price, he added: “Somehow people in comments believe they’re still early to $SUI at ATH and 20B FDV. It’s nowhere close to Solana level adoption imo.”
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Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe also casted doubts that the SUI price can run above the all-time high immediately. Via X, he wrote today: “SUI did run away and printed a new all-time high. The first one! Didn’t allow me to enter, but it might be topped for now. Looking at the same region or $1.85 for entry zones. Massive runner.”
Despite the debates, SUI has undeniably been gaining traction. In September, Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor and RealVision, lauded SUI as a “groundbreaking ultra-fast L1, super efficient, full blockchain ecosystem”. He emphasized that SUI, developed from the remnants of Meta’s Diem project, is designed to scale for billions of users transitioning from Web2 to Web3 technologies. Pal’s endorsement amplified interest in SUI within the crypto community.
Adding to its growing ecosystem, Circle—the company behind USDC, the world’s second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization—announced in September that the Sui network would support USDC. This integration is expected to enhance liquidity and utility on the Sui blockchain, potentially attracting more developers and users.
Most recently, on Monday, crypto exchange Bybit announced support for SUI on its Launchpool platform. This move makes SUI only the second chain available on the service after Mantle (MNT), providing users with new opportunities to earn rewards and participate in the Sui ecosystem.
At press time, SUI traded at $2.01.
Featured image from CoinDCX, chart from TradingView.com
