Introduction
The Suite Network is one of the most hyped crypto projects of all time. Today, I want to find out if this project is the real deal or if it will be another big disappointment. Since its announcement in the summer of 2022, the Sui and Aptos networks have created one of the biggest waves of hype that the crypto world has ever seen. If you remember, during the 2020 bull cycle, the most significant crypto narrative was about alternative layer ones, also known as the Ethereum Killers. However, since the market top in 2021, we've seen numerous projects come and go without ever coming close to dethroning Ethereum. A significant reason for this is that people started to realize that Ethereum's scalability issues would not persist for much longer, thanks to the development of layer 2 solutions and ZK technology.
Even though alternative layer ones lost popularity over time, with projects like EOS, Neo, Tezos, etc., the Suite Network might be an exception to this trend. Today, I'll cover everything you need to know about this up-and-coming layer 1, from its background and technical roadmap to the token launch.
Mysten Labs
Brought to the market by the company known as Mistin Labs in the summer of 2022, the two most notable founders are CEO Evan Chang and CTO Sam Blackshear. An important piece of history to note is that most of the company's co-founders were former employees at Meta and worked together on Facebook and Meta's blockchain project called DM. This project aimed to be a global payment network but failed due to regulatory conditions and had to be discontinued. However, because of the founders' determination to keep building, Mistin Labs allowed these developers to continue their goals of creating the next hyperscalable blockchain.
Mistin Labs CEO Evan Chang held high-ranking positions at Meta and Apple and played a significant role in creating the software that powers our iPhones. As for the CTO Sam, he's the creator of the Move programming language, which powers not only the Suite blockchain but also Aptos and many other upcoming blockchains.
Mistin Labs were the initial contributors to the Suite Network, but recently, it appears that the Suite Network is being led by the Sui Foundation, and Mistin has taken on more of a role in developing the core technology. The Suite Network also received one of the biggest funding rounds ever seen in crypto. They achieved a valuation of nearly $3 billion in private family rounds, and they held their raise during a bear market. The funding round was led by the now disgraced Sandbankment Freed and FTX Ventures, just months before their historic, or rather catastrophic, collapse. We'll cover how this has been resolved shortly.
Sui Network Technology
The Suite Network is a layer 1 blockchain designed to be the first internet-scale programmable blockchain platform. It's capable of instant settlement, high throughput, low latency, and cost efficiency, all to power applications for potentially billions of users. I know what you might be thinking, "Didn't we hear all of this before with the hundreds of Ethereum killers?" Well, while the idea of transforming blockchain technology isn't new, Suite is taking a different approach to scaling blockchains that might be a game-changer.
Suite can process over a hundred thousand transactions per second thanks to its unique model of horizontal scaling. Here's how it works: The Suite blockchain uses a unique consensus mechanism that differentiates it from traditional blockchains. Traditional linear blockchains, like Ethereum, typically require transactions to happen one at a time. With Suite, its distributed ledger is based on a directed acyclic graph (DAG), rather than a linear blockchain. On this network, transactions are processed through their own consensus protocol called Narwhal and Task, which divides the responsibilities for data availability and transaction ordering. In simple terms, Suite can run multiple transactions simultaneously and isn't worried about the order of transactions, a significant problem with nearly all other layer 1 blockchains.
Another key differentiator is that Suite doesn't rely on the consensus protocol for every transaction. Instead, it only runs consensus when necessary, using what they call "causal ordering" most of the time. This asynchronous protocol allows Suite Network to have higher uptime guarantees and be more resistant to denial of service attacks. If they can deliver on this approach, it could reduce computational power and transactional costs, making it a groundbreaking solution for large-scale, high-frequency applications. Think of use cases in the education and gaming sectors that could greatly benefit from this.
Another major differentiator for Suite is the Move programming language. The Move language was used to power the DM blockchain at Meta. When the project was discontinued, Suite and Aptos, two spin-out projects, decided to continue using the language. The reason is that the researchers at Meta, including Mistin Labs' founders, realized that modern web3 programming languages were not only a security risk but also provided a poor developer experience. That's why Meta chose to create its own blockchain with a language that prioritizes security, scalability, and developer safety.
Developers have had plenty of positive things to say about Move versus the older Solana stack, and that's a big reason why developers have committed to building Move-based blockchains like Suite and Aptos.
The Sui Ecosystem
about the projects that are making a mark in the Suite ecosystem. As of now, with the mainnet scheduled for May 3rd, 2023, it's challenging to predict which projects will emerge as leaders in the Suite ecosystem. However, I'll provide an update in the future after the mainnet launch to highlight the real applications with the most traction.
For now, here are a few projects building on Suite that have already distinguished themselves:
Thala Labs: Thala is a stablecoin project similar to MakerDAO, and its stablecoin, DAI. It allows you to borrow against Aptos' APT token and the Suite token to mint MOD, which is the native stablecoin on the Move ecosystem.
Tortuga: This is a liquid staking provider that has deployed on Aptos and plans to deploy on Suite once it reaches the mainnet. Tortuga enables users to earn yield on their Suite tokens while providing a liquid staked version of Suite that can be used in other DeFi applications. This is similar to Liquid Staking Derivative (LSD) protocols like Lido and their interaction with Ethereum. Tortuga currently doesn't have a governance token, but it wouldn't be surprising if they launch one shortly after the Suite mainnet goes live.
Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs): These are essential components of the DeFi infrastructure on any blockchain. Quantum Liquid Swap, MoveX, and Aries Markets are among the decentralized exchanges that support both Aptos and Suite. Additionally, PancakeSwap, the leading DEX on the Binance Smart Chain, is deployed on both Aptos and Suite.
NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens): In the realm of NFTs, you'll find established players like Topaz, Souffle, and Blue Moves, which all have the capability to support Suite and Aptos NFTs. NFTs are often a straightforward way for a new blockchain to gain initial traction.
Suite also has a domain name service called Suite DNS, which allows you to claim Suite domains shortly after the mainnet launch.
Mistin Labs has emphasized web3 gaming, so you can expect numerous gaming projects in the Suite ecosystem. While Suite is not yet in the mainnet, we've already seen many developers committing to building on it, particularly coming from Solana. This suggests we'll witness robust activity after the mainnet launch.
Sui Token/Sui Airdrop?
The ticker symbol for the Sui token is also SWEET (SUI), and at the time of recording, it isn't available for trading yet. However, this will change soon on May 3rd when the mainnet launches.
SWEET is the native token of the blockchain network and will serve various purposes, including governance, staking, and network transactions.
The much-discussed Sweet airdrop turned out not to be an airdrop at all. Instead, it was a part of the Suite Community Access program, which can be best described as a token sale. This sale can be divided into two categories:
Recognition Sale: This sale was available only to those who were whitelisted by the Suite Foundation. The snapshot deadline for eligibility was February 1st, and out of over 180,000 accounts eligible for the sale, only half were randomly selected to be whitelisted. Notably, U.S. residents weren't eligible for this sale due to regulatory restrictions. Whitelisted users could purchase up to 1,500 Suite tokens for three cents each. These tokens would be fully unlocked during the mainnet launch.
General Sale: In the general sale, participants could purchase up to 10,000 Suite tokens for 10 cents each. This allowed for a maximum investment of $1,000. The general sale was hosted by KuCoin and OKEx, with a total allocation of 225 million Suite tokens for sale in the public round.
The tokenomics of SWEET includes a total supply of 10 billion tokens. The recognition sale investors bought in at a fully diluted valuation of $300 million, while general sale investors participated at a valuation of $1 billion.
These valuations may sound large, but they are reasonable and potentially lucrative for public sale investors. In fact, they are getting in at a better price than the institutional investors who entered Suite at a $2 billion valuation.
In comparison, Suite's main competitor, Aptos, is already trading at a $10 billion total diluted valuation. This means a potential 33x return for recognition sale buyers and a 10x return for general sale buyers.
Additionally, the vesting schedule for public sale investors is favorable. The recognition sale participants have 100% of their tokens unlocked at launch, while general sale participants follow a one-year linear vesting schedule. This vesting schedule is relatively short compared to the typical schedules for private investors.
To sum it up, the opportunity to invest in Suite at around a $1 billion fully diluted valuation could be promising. Keep in mind that investing always carries risks, and these numbers are provided for comparison. It's essential to do your own research and make informed decisions when investing in any cryptocurrency.
As for my personal portfolio, I've been planning to add Sui as a part of my long-term crypto portfolio, and you can check my 2023 crypto portfolio video for more details. Please note that this information isn't financial advice; it's for educational purposes and comparative analysis.