As the crypto landscape evolves rapidly, the debate between different platforms becomes ever more complex for both investors and developers. Among the debates, Sui vs Solana has gained significant popularity. While both blockchains come with high performance and scalability, they have many differences in technical architecture, consensus mechanisms, and target audiences. Solana has gained attention due to its lightning-fast transactions and its institutional use cases, especially in payments. Sui has also gained popularity due to its unparalleled scalability and innovative design, positioning itself as a challenging rival to Solana. Both Solana and Sui are listed on crypto exchanges and used as a way of trading as well as an investment storage platform.
This comparison guide will delve into Sui vs Solana, comparing them across key dimensions.
Sui Vs Solana: Overview
| Category | Solana | Sui |
| Established in | 2017 by Anatoly Yakovenko, ex-Qualcomm engineer | 2021 by former Novi Financial project developers |
| Mainnet Launch | 2020 | 2023 |
| Key Technology | Proof-of-Stake (PoS) with Proof-of-History (PoH), Account-based model | Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS), Object-based model, Move programming language |
| Transaction Speed | Up to 200,000 TPS | 297,000 TPS |
| Transaction FInality | Up to 12 seconds | 390 milliseconds |
| Scalability Enhancements | Firedancer validator client with sharding | Object-based orientation for faster processing |
| Programming Language | Rust | Move |
| Validators | Around 1,4000 validators | 108 validators |
| Decentralization | Moderate decentralization with potential centralization risks | Highly centralized due to high staking requirements |
| Staking Rewards | -6.5% | -3.3% |
| Funding | $314 million | $336 million |
| Adoption and Focus | Focused on US, institutional partners like PayPal and Visa | Focused on Asian markets, partnerships with Alibaba Cloud and NHN |
| Token | SOL (500M initial supply, 60% to investors, aggressive vesting schedule) | SUI (10B max supply, 50% community reserves) |
Inception and Team
Let’s look at the launch and the team behind both Solana and Sui.
Solana
Solana was developed by ex-Qualcomm engineer Anatoly Yakovenko in 2017 with the concept of Proof of History technology, which allows blockchain to increase scalability without compromising security. Currently, Solana has a wide range of use cases such as gaming, decentralized physical infrastructure, and payments, via partnerships with Visa, Stripe, and Circle.
Sui
Sui was established by five individuals: Evan Cheng, Adeniyi Abiodun, Sam Blackshear, Costas Halkias, and George Daneziz, in 2021. It was developed by the Mysten Labs, which works on both Sui development and the Move programming language.
Mainnet and Funding
Let’s look at the mainnet and funding of both Solana and Sui.
Solana
The mainnet of Solana was established in 2020 and is still in its development phase. The mainnet will be completed once the successful rollout of the Firedancer validator client.
In terms of funding, Solana has received $25 million in funding across many ICOs held in 2018, 2019, and 2020. In 2021, Solana collected an additional $314 million, highlighting the strong confidence investors had in the Solana blockchain.
Sui
The mainnet of Sui was launched in 2023 and is still in development phase.
In terms of funding, Sui has gained over $336 million from two funding rounds in 2021 and 2022. The FTX has contributed $100 million to Sui’s total funding.
Tokenomics
In this section, we will explore the tokenomics of Solana and Sui.
Solana
The native token of Solana is SOL, which serves multiple purposes such as:
- SOL can be used to pay transaction costs on the network.
- Both delegators and validators can stake SOL tokens, helping to secure the network and participate in the consensus process.
- SOL holders are able to participate in the on-chain governance decisions in the future of SOL.
Initial Distribution and Vesting
There is an initial supply of 500 million SOL, distributed as follows:
- Seed Sale: 25.6%
- Founding Sale: 20.4%
- Foundation: 20.2%
- Team: 20.2%
- Validator Sale: 8.2%
- Strategic Sale: 3.0%
- Public Auction Sale: 2.6%
Where To Buy Solana
You can buy SOL from popular centralized crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, OKX, ByBit, and BloFin. If you are looking for a decentralized exchange (DEX), consider Raydium, one of the popular DEXs on the Solana Network.
Sui
The native token of the Sui blockchain is SUI, which serves many purposes such as:
- SUI can be used to pay transaction costs on the Sui network.
- Validators and delegators can stake SUI to secure the network and earn potential rewards.
- Once the governance features are activated, SUI owners can participate in the governance of the Sui blockchain.
Initial Distribution and Vesting
There is an initial supply of 10 billion SUI tokens, distributed as follows:
- 50% to community reserves
- 20% to early contributors
- 14% to investors
- 10% to Mysen Labs
- 6% to early participants
Where to Buy SUI
SUI token is available on many centralized exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, OKX, ByBit, and BloFin. You can purchase SUI from any of these exchanges.
If you are looking for a decentralized exchange, then consider using the Cetus, which is the leading DEX on the Sui network.
Conclusion
While both Sui and Solana offer innovative solutions to blockchain scalability and performance challenges, they cater to different needs within the crypto landscape. Solana has a proven track record with an established ecosystem, making it a strong choice for developers seeking stability. In contrast, Sui presents an exciting opportunity for those looking to leverage cutting-edge technology in a rapidly evolving market. As both platforms continue to develop, their respective impacts on the future of decentralized technologies will be closely watched by the crypto community.