Sui is marketed in its docs as "the first internet-scale programmable blockchain platform". Wait, a platform with the speed and scale of the Internet, but programmable and verifiable. Big vision, right? It's likely that one day the title of Sui will be challenged, but currently, it has strong reasons to be confident. Let's deep-dive with me.

Business model

Sui is a Layer 1 blockchain that utilizes the Sui Move language, aiming to create an infinitely scalable platform with low fees even under high usage, and fast enough speed for all types of applications. A distinctive feature of Sui is its use of an object-centric data model, unlike the account-based model of Ethereum, Aptos, and Solana.

Sui also offers horizontal scalability. Specifically, for Ethereum, as the network has more nodes, the system becomes more difficult to scale, as any transaction on Ethereum must be sent to all nodes in the network. In contrast, Sui's horizontally scalable model means that the more nodes in the network, the faster the processing speed.

The horizontal scalability of Sui is a critical factor in its design, ensuring sustained growth and addressing the scalability challenges faced by networks like Ethereum.

Returning to Sui's object-oriented data model, as illustrated, transactions are categorized into different types, allowing for tailored processing. This differs from traditional models where all transactions are treated equally, meaning that deposits, smart contract interactions, and other operations are queued uniformly for system-wide processing.

The object-oriented model of Sui (Source: Messari)

In Sui's model, objects are processed concurrently in parallel streams. For instance, with four transaction streams in the illustration, transactions within a stream are only queued with each other. In the first stream, there are only two pending transactions, rather than waiting for five additional transactions as in older models.

Parallel transaction processing has long been a challenge in blockchain technology due to the risk of creating forks. Sui overcomes this challenge by adopting an object-centric approach.

Sui defines several object types:

  • Objects owned by a specific wallet address (like NFTs or fungible tokens), classified as non-shareable objects.
  • Objects owned by other objects (e.g., a game sword NFT owned by a game character NFT).
  • Objects shared with anyone who can read or write into, meaning everyone can interact (like DEXs or auction contracts), categorized as shareable objects.
  • Immutable objects, cannot be changed without the exclusive owner's intervention; they are read-only, such as an item frozen after an auction.

How can Sui Network process objects so quickly? Besides object classification, Sui Network categorizes transactions into two types: simple transactions and complex transactions.

  • Simple transactions are non-shareable, meaning only one or two parties are affected. For example, when person A transfers funds to person B, only the balances of A and B are changed, and others in the network are unaffected.
  • Complex transactions are shareable, meaning multiple parties are affected. For instance, when person A swaps tokens on a DEX, the pool's token ratio changes, affecting other liquidity providers like B and C.

For simple transactions, processing doesn't require consensus and thus takes less time. This model enables Sui to scale up to 300,000 TPS (based on testnet data), double the 150,000 TPS of Solana's testnet.

In terms of revenue, Sui Network has virtually no income. 100% of user gas fees (paid in SUI tokens) are distributed to validators.

A portion of the gas fees is deposited into a storage fund, which will later be distributed to validators to address storage costs, ensuring the network's stable and decentralized operation. Users can also delete data to receive a partial fee refund.

Sui has virtually no income (Source: Token Terminal)

Development team

The Sui Network development team includes a CEO, CTO, and CPO, but lacks leadership in finance, marketing, and business development.

  • Evan Cheng, the co-founder and CEO of Mysten Labs, previously served as the Director of Research and Development at Novi and as the Engineering Director at Meta. With over a decade at Apple, Cheng brings a wealth of experience to the team.
  • Sam Blackshear, the CTO, was a senior engineer at Novi specializing in the Move programming language.
  • Adeniyi Abiodun, the CPO, previously held product development leadership roles at Novi, as well as at companies like VMware, Oracle, and JP Morgan.
  • George Danezis, the Chief Scientist, is a former researcher at Novi and has worked at blockchain startups like Chainspace and tech giants like Microsoft.
  • Kostas Kryptos, a co-founder, was a senior crypto technologist at Novi with experience at R3, Erybo, Safemarket, and NewCrypt.

Given that all co-founders have a background at Novi, Facebook's dedicated digital wallet for Diem, it's evident that they possess exceptional expertise in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.

Vision & roadmap

Sui Network originated from Diem, a project developed by Facebook in 2018 with the aim of creating a stablecoin for use within Facebook's ecosystem and beyond. The Diem project was discontinued in 2022 due to regulatory challenges in the United States.

However, the Diem project left behind a valuable legacy: the Move programming language, which was built upon Rust (the programming language of Solana and NEAR). Following the termination of Diem, engineers from the project left Facebook and created two new products: Sui and Aptos. Aptos was launched first and used the prototype Move language, while Sui was launched later and uses the Sui Move language.

With such a development history, Sui Network was born with a grand vision: to create a limitlessly scalable blockchain that prioritizes security, offers low fees even under high demand, and is fast enough for all types of applications (from gaming and finance to social networks). Sui recognized that existing Layer1 solutions had not addressed these issues, and Sui aimed to do so.

One interesting aspect of Sui's roadmap is the high level of detail provided during the devnet and testnet phases, which contrasts with the near absence of a public roadmap post-mainnet launch. Sui has instead focused on developing and releasing features without prior announcements.

Sui Network has declared its intention to concentrate on three key areas: Gaming, Finance, and Social. The project is also developing three core products:

  • Deepbook: Positioned to become the centralized orderbook for the entire ecosystem, Deepbook is still under development. It has had an initial showcase with MoveEX, although this partnership ended due to allegations of MoveEX selling SUI tokens without authorization.
  • Sui Kiosk: This can be seen as a suite of SDK tools for building e-commerce platforms, leveraging Sui's powerful shared object feature.
  • ZkLogin: Designed to simplify user interactions with Sui-based dApps, similar to Google and Facebook logins. With zkLogin, dApp developers can opt for invisible wallets, allowing users to access their on-chain assets without requiring direct on-chain interactions.