he Sui blockchain has experienced a rapid growth in 2024 after a turbulent start the previous year. Founded by former Meta employees, Sui launched on Binance's launchpad in May 2023 but its native token SUI initially fell over 60% in value in subsequent months. However, Sui soon found its footing as it enabled inscription activity on its network, allowing arbitrary data to be stored without using smart contracts.
This increased usage of the blockchain and saw network performance improvements, with transactions per second reaching 6,000 and gas prices decreasing during high traffic. Rising confidence in Sui's capabilities helped revive its token price and on-chain activity.
Over $310 Million Surge
Data from the Wormhole bridge shows that a massive $310 million has been bridged to the Sui network from Ethereum over the past month alone. This huge influx of capital has more than doubled the total value locked (TVL) into decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols on Sui, which has soared from $211 million at the start of 2024 to an all-time high of over $593 million according to figures from DeFiLlama.
Surpassing Cardano and Aptos
This dramatic growth in capital inflow and total value locked has enabled Sui to overtake other smart contract blockchains. Sui has now risen above both Aptos and Cardano, networks it is often compared to due to their similar Move programming languages. The two largest protocols that have benefited from the surge are lending platforms Scallop Lend and Navi Protocol, which have both seen their TVLs quadruple over the last month.
Outperforming the Market
Alongside the spike in on-chain activity, the SUI token has also rallied strongly. Its price has increased 131% since January 1st to reach $1.80, well above the roughly 10% gain of the overall crypto market as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index. This outperformance highlights how investors have rewarded Sui's protocol growth and potential against its mid-tier smart contract competitors.
With the huge foundation laid in the past month, Sui will look to continue building on its momentum in 2024 and cementing its place among the leaders in the Layer 1 blockchain space. The blockchain's ability to handle major usage increases without network congestion or high costs bodes well for its future as it vies to attract ongoing development and investment.
