Inside Sui's 500% Breakout Year with Co-founder Adeniyi Abiodun

In 2024, Sui emerged not just as another blockchain contender but as a force reshaping the Web3 ecosystem.

From pioneering its unique object-centric data model to launching one of the fastest blockchain consensus mechanisms ever deployed, Sui has rapidly climbed the ranks of crypto’s elite. Mysten Labs co-founder Adeniyi Abiodun shared exclusive insights with Coinage about Sui's meteoric rise and its ambitious roadmap for 2025 in our Crypto Project of the Year Celebration. (Notably, Sui has climbed nearly 650% since being nominated in last year's competition.)

This year, our members will vote on which one of the 16 nominated projects will win the crown in 2024 (and unlock patronage dividends in the process.) Head to Coinage's Snapshot to vote — ( you'll need a Coinage Caucus or Network NFT.)

As a project, few have been able to do what Sui has done in the past two years. Somewhat unusually in crypto these days, Sui's token surge has been accompanied with a slate of massive wins. The project has perfected a blend of hardware excitement — with its new Web3 gaming device — community growth with DeFi activity continuing to set records, and institutional interest after being targeted by investing behemoth Grayscale as worthy of one of its latest accredited investor trusts.

For Abiodun, Sui's lofty goals could be a result of where the team's roots began. Abiodun's journey into blockchain began long before Sui’s launch. With roots in Nigeria and a career spanning fintech and blockchain roles at Oracle, VMware, and Meta's Libra project, he brought deep expertise to Mysten Labs. Reflecting on Sui’s foundational mission, he explained, "Our goal is to build a unified coordination layer for the world. We believe there's an opportunity to build a layer for the internet that allows you to coordinate users intent across the web in a more frictionless way than ever been possible."

Central to that vision is Sui’s custom-built Move programming language. Abiodun described Move as "completely transformed" since spinning out of Meta to offer a safer, more flexible environment than anything else in the ecosystem.

Sui’s technological breakthroughs include its new Mysticeti consensus mechanism, which slashed transaction finality times to a record 400 milliseconds. "We're pushing the boundaries of what's possible whereas other protocols are promising upgrades in three or four years," Abiodun noted. "Sui is already there." The result: a blockchain capable of processing millions of transactions daily with incredible speed and security.

While tech innovation is one piece of the puzzle, Sui's market traction tells the rest of the story. In 2024, its DeFi ecosystem exploded, with Total Value Locked (TVL) soaring over tenfold to $1.8 billion. Projects like NAVI, Scallop, and Cetus found fertile ground on Sui, leveraging its efficiency and scalability. "A couple of days ago, we did a record half-billion in onchain trades for DeFi protocols en suite, which is insane," Abiodun said. "It's a chain that's only 18-months-old and it's really kicking the ass of chains have been around for a lot longer."

Sui’s consumer-facing initiatives also took center stage. The upcoming SuiPlay0X1 gaming device, billed as the "Android for gaming," promises seamless integration of Web2 and Web3 games. Preorders have already begun, with launch slated for early 2025.

Looking ahead, Sui’s ambitions stretch far beyond just decentralized finance and gaming. Its newly announced Walrus project aims to redefine decentralized storage. "Smart contracts can’t do deals with Google or Amazon," Abiodun quipped, "but they can with other smart contracts." Walrus enables censorship-resistant, scalable storage designed for petabytes of data — a potential game-changer for developers and enterprises alike.

Sui’s push into artificial intelligence (AI) adds yet another layer of innovation. Through initiatives like Bug Radar, an AI-powered auditing tool for smart contracts, Sui plans to improve the blockchain development experience. "We think AI is going to really uplevel the developer experience for builders," Abiodun said. "I do think Sui will make a big dent in the AI space. I think we've we've made a lot more progress than any other ecosystem along those lines — we just haven't said much about it."

In just 18 months, Sui has shattered expectations, transforming from a promising newcomer to a blockchain powerhouse. With its bold tech stack, soaring market metrics, and an ambitious 2025 agenda, Sui could be well positioned at the front of the pack to capitalize on the final chapter of altcoin season to redefine the future of decentralized technology — at breathtaking speed.

Coinage NFT holders can vote to advance Base or Sui in our celebration of the top projects in crypto. (If you haven't registered to join the Coinage DAO, do so first to unlock the ability to vote.)

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