
Key Takeaways
- Sui (SUI) is rapidly gaining traction with distinct features like zkLogin and SuiPlay, which are designed to enhance user accessibility and gaming experiences.
- Throughout 2024, Sui has grown strongly off a low base, with daily active addresses (DAA) and total value locked (TVL) surpassing 1 million and $1.22 billion, respectively.
- Sui faces stiff competition from established and emerging L1 blockchains, most notably Solana.
Analysing Sui’s Adoption Metrics
Since going live on mainnet in May 2023, Sui has shown strong early adoption. While it still trails Ethereum and Solana in overall adoption, Sui’s fast-growing metrics are worth monitoring at the very least.
- Daily active addresses (DAA): As of September 2024, Sui has reached 1 million DAA, a solid number for a newer blockchain but still significantly behind Solana’s 4 million DAA. This comparison highlights Solana’s established dominance in terms of user activity, but Sui’s growth is notable for a blockchain that only launched recently.

- Total value locked (TVL): In September 2024, Sui broke into the top 10 rankings for TVL, surpassing $1.2 billion, as per DefiLlama. Such substantial growth in TVL suggests that there is a foundational layer of decentralised finance (DeFi) projects that users are somewhat confident interacting with. Also, this rise in TVL is likely partially explained by various projects offering token incentives for early users.
Network Adoption and Usage
Sui’s growth is partially driven by its zkLogin feature, which allows users to log in to apps using their existing social accounts (e.g. Google, Facebook). This reduces friction for new users and lowers the barrier to entry, potentially driving more mainstream adoption than its competitors.

Being a general-purpose blockchain, Sui supports multiple use cases, including gaming. One way that Sui is attempting to foster a gaming ecosystem is through launching a handheld device called SuiPlay0X1—or ‘SuiPlay’ for short. is gaming. With over 2,000 units pre-ordered, SuiPlay aims to bridge the gap between blockchain technology and mainstream gaming by providing a seamless and high-performance gaming experience.
In September, Circle announced native support for its USDC stablecoin on the Sui blockchain. USDC is the first major stablecoin available on Sui and may help propel growth further.
New Tokens and Ecosystem Growth
Sui’s ecosystem is expanding rapidly, with various projects already live or in development. Like most L1s, Sui started with a DeFi focus, rolling out automated market makers (AMMs), lending protocols, and staking solutions. The rise of NFTs and meme coins on Sui has helped generate community excitement, proving to be a strong onramp for new users.
Decentralised storage is another use case in the Sui ecosystem that is poised for growth. In September, the development team behind Sui announced the whitepaper for Walrus, a decentralised storage and data availability (DA) protocol. It was also confirmed that Walrus will have its own token, WAL.
Sui’s Development Focus and Ecosystem
Sui’s development has been marked by a clear focus on creating an inclusive and developer-friendly ecosystem. At the heart of this initiative is Move, Sui’s smart contract language, designed to be more accessible to developers than traditional languages like Solidity. Move simplifies the creation of decentralised apps (dapps) on Sui, making it easier for new projects to launch and scale.
Challenges Ahead
Despite its promising technology and early adoption, Sui faces significant challenges. The most pressing is competition from other high-performance L1 blockchains like Solana, Aptos, and Sei. Solana’s established ecosystem and upcoming upgrades like Firedancer certainly make it a formidable competitor for Sui.
Additionally, the success of Sui will depend heavily on its ability to attract developers and build a thriving ecosystem. Without a breakthrough dapps or killer use case, Sui may struggle to clearly differentiate itself from its competitors.
Conclusion
Sui is positioning itself as a strong contender in the high-performance L1 blockchain space, with innovative features like zkLogin and SuiPlay driving early adoption. However, there is still a long way to go before it can catch Solana across various adoption metrics.
The battle for dominance in the L1 space is far from over, and Sui has a real shot at becoming a major player if it can continue to innovate and attract developers. With its focus on usability and accessibility, Sui is well-positioned to break down barriers and drive mainstream adoption. Whether it can maintain its momentum and become a leader in the blockchain space remains to be seen.
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