Sui leads 2024 crypto market with 170% gain, insider selloffs stir caution

The native token for the Layer-1 blockchain network, Sui, is now the best-performing crypto in 2024 after over 6% gain in the last 24 hours. According to data shared by pseudonymous crypto trader ToreroRomero, SUI has overtaken The Open Network (TON) token Toncoin as the best performer year-to-date.

CoinMarketCap data also backs this up, showing that SUI has risen by 170% this year, going from less than a dollar in January to $2.265 presently. Most gains have come in the past 30 days, during which the token has risen by 124%.

By comparison, TON is only up by 125% throughout 2024, even though it is worth more than SUI at $5.26. With SUI gains, the token has entered the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap with over $6 billion.

SUI is outperforming TON partly because of the recent decline in TON value due to the series of challenges including Telegram’s Pavel Durov arrest. While TON fell almost 30% in the past three months, SUI gained 170% within the same period and has been trending upward for several weeks now, beating market expectations and outperforming all the top altcoins.

Why is SUI doing well?

SUI’s positive performance is largely due to the increased activity on its network this year, which has seen the network record massive transaction volumes. In recent months, the network activity has further translated into more funds in the Sui ecosystem. According to reports, about 27% of the outflow of funds from Solana in September went into the Sui network.

In terms of overall net flow over the past months, Sui is the third network with the most net flow, behind Solana and Ethereum and ahead of Base and BNB Chain. This is based on ranking fifth purely on inflows and sixth in outflows.

With inflows into the network, Defillama data shows it now ranks 7th  in total value locked (TVL) with $1.134 billion, ahead of Bitcoin, Avalanche, and Polygon. This represents a more than 100% increase since August when it was around $400 million.

Meanwhile, other metrics pointing to activity on the network, such as the number of transactions and volume, have also been increasing. These increases are also due to the increase in the DeFi protocols on the network as well as the integration of popular stablecoins Tether USDT and Circle USDC and the rise in memecoins.

Beyond the network’s on-chain metrics, a major factor that has helped SUI’s performance is the listing of an SUI Trust by leading digital assets manager, Grayscale. Grayscale’s creation of an investment product for SUI represents an endorsement of the token and an opportunity for institutional funds to flow into the token.

Concerns about insiders dumping after $400 million SUI sale

Meanwhile, the performance of SUI has not been without its own controversies, particularly about insider sell-offs in the thick of the current price rally. During this rally, pseudonymous crypto analyst Light posted on X that wallets associated with Sui’s initial coin offering (ICO) sold $400 million worth of SUI tokens.

He said:

“Insiders (including what is likely a large foundation wallet) have sold $400 million in tokens throughout this run-up, had already begun selling material amounts at much lower prices, and are even accelerating their selling at these more elevated levels.”

The selloffs raise concerns about SUI’s future as they could pressure the token’s price and cause it to fall. This could also trigger other holders to lose confidence in the token and sell. However, that has yet to happen as the token continues to increase its value despite the selloffs.

Light also warned that retail investors should be careful about investing in the token now that it is on upward momentum, Meanwhile, the token could come under more pressure in the coming weeks. $114 million worth of SUI, representing 2.32% of its supply, is set to be unlocked by October 23. Currently, about 28% of the SUI supply is unlocked.