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Task: Please produce the Part A Qualitative analysis of “SUI,” focusing on (1) tokenomics, (2) funding and backers, and (3) narrative with emphasis on its long-term price potential. Summarize key factors under each pillar in a structured way that can be referenced in your research database. This approach will expand your qualitative portfolio, deepen market insight on “SUI,” and help you maintain a strong aggregator-driven record for future monetization.
Hopes, Dreams, and Delayed Supply: The Qualitative Anatomy of SUI's Outperformance
PART A QUALITATIVE REPORT: ANALYZING SUI’S HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE
Since its launch on 5/3/2023, SUI has managed to perform exceedingly well compared to the broader market, up 31.50% all time. This qualitative report will dive into the driving forces behind this strong relative price action, specifically focusing on SUI’s tokenomics, funding, and narrative. This will help us gain a deeper insight of the qualitative forces that allowed it to go on a prolonged bullish trend.
Highlighted Timeframe
The timeframe that this historical qualitative analysis will highlight is 8/5/2024 to 1/4/2024, SUI’s launch date up to its all time high. Throughout this time, SUI traded from $0.5348 to $5.2902, for a +889.19% gain across 152 days. This remarkable gain led to market cap all-time high of $15.942B. (Data sourced from https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/sui/) This time frame is used to illustrate the immense prolonged strength of SUI during its run up, and the qualitative analysis that follows will dive into the key details that drove this price action (Tokenomics, Funding & Backers, and Narrative).
Below is a screenshot of this gain on a SUI 1D price chart: Link to screenshot of SUI’s 1D price chart image: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1334336042030993480/1358086516039221469/wB7BpPwjagH4QAAAABJRU5ErkJggg.png?ex=67f29021&is=67f13ea1&hm=c0ccc1050d35ce42ce70b4773d9feafd173f406ee6b13fc763938e93219256ae&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=1032&height=441
Tokenomics Data sourced from: https://cryptorank.io/price/sui/vesting
Link to tokenomics breakdown spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yId2nkZzzZUABKcwVNeXL4XUZXuQdKR--rGNcLT4Dxg/edit?usp=sharing
Series B 6.96% 4.44% 2.51% Early Contributors 6.13% 2.24% 3.89% Community Access Program 5.82% 5.82%
Mysten Labs Treasury 1.64% 0.37% 1.26%
Tokenomics Visual Pie Chart Breakdown:
This image below illustrates the breakdown of each entity’s token allocation, broken into slices of a pie chart. An important highlight is the overwhelming majority of tokens (52.2% reserved to be emitted after the year 2030).
Link to pie chart image: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1334336042030993480/1358048485919690823/SUI_Tokenomics.png?ex=67f26cb6&is=67f11b36&hm=8742edb83d6fed8146ace637c32f0e36eb3e6c7f263c1006401c4c6e22da2766&=&format=webp&quality=lossless
Tokemonics Commentary: SUI’s tokenomics structure is a standout element in its long-term success. The breakdown reveals that a striking 52% of tokens are reserved for post-2030 allocation, underscoring a deliberate long-term supply control mechanism. This approach not only mitigates near-term sell pressure but also builds sustained market confidence by aligning token release with future growth prospects. In addition, the balanced distribution—featuring community reserves, stake subsidies, and allocations for early contributors and strategic partners—illustrates a commitment to nurturing both grassroots engagement and institutional support. The visual pie chart reinforces this narrative, demonstrating that the overwhelming long-term lockup is a calculated move designed to maintain scarcity and fuel optimism about the platform’s enduring value.
Funding and Backers
Data sourced from: https://cryptorank.io/ico/sui?page=2
Link to funding and backers spreadsheet breakdown: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OJGjaeetFY62tOOl5Nd1P63q79jR1lsIyly0EGhAC7k/edit?usp=sharing
Funding and Backers Breakdown Table:
Coin Participant Tier Type Stage Total Raise (Millions USD) SUI a16z 1 Venture Series A Series B
Coinbase Ventures 1 Venture Series B
Binance Labs 1 Incubator Series B
Circle 1 Venture Series B
Electric Capital 2 Venture Series A
Hack VC 2 Venture Series A
Jump Crypto 2 Venture Series B
Lightspeed Venture Partners 2 Venture Series A Series B
Samsung Next 2 Venture Series A
Slow Ventures 2 Venture Series A
Standard Crypto 2 Venture Series A
Redpoint 2 Venture Series A
Cypher Capital 2 Venture N/A
Franklin Templeton Investments 3 Venture Series B
Apollo Global Management 3 Venture Series B
Exchange Series B 385.37
Grand Total Funding: $385.37M
Funding and Backers Commentary: The robust funding profile and high-caliber backers further elevate SUI’s market positioning. With a grand total of $385.37M raised from a diversified pool of influential investors—ranging from a16z and Coinbase Ventures to Binance Labs and Apollo Global Management—the report highlights a strong vote of confidence from industry heavyweights. This mix of venture and incubator investments across multiple funding stages not only provides significant capital but also strategic industry insights. The backing from such reputable entities signals that SUI is not only positioned to innovate but also to weather market volatility, which in turn reinforces the narrative of its sustained bullish momentum.
Narrative
SUI’s enormous success was a product of both strong narrative and a stroke of luck in timing. Launching in 2023, right before the 2024 bull market kicked off, this allowed time for the SUI foundation to garner attention and market their brand new Layer 1 blockchain. With crypto participation healing after a devastating bear market in 2022-2023, investors were eager to seek the winning altcoin of the latest bull cycle. To understand why SUI specifically performed well, we must first consider what makes certain crypto assets perform well in general; what exactly fuels upward price action? Why do certain coins outperform others? After careful consideration and backtesting the events of this bull cycle so far, it is clear that the primary driver of bullish price action is hopes and dreams, or more formally put, “forward expectations narrative”.
Hopes and dreams sound like an intangible thing in and of itself, which is true, but there are many tangible things that SUI got right which allowed it to outperform Bitcoin and the market at large during our highlighted prolonged time frame. As opposed to other emerging Layer 1 and Layer 2 protocols, SUI spent very little time trying to attract new users by organizing events such as developer hackathons and offering large amounts of grants to developers to build on their chain. An example of the negative effect of excessive grants to dev teams can be found in Arbitrum, a Layer 2 protocol that launched on 3/23/2023, and whose token’s all time price action is down a gut wrenching -82.84% (data source from https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/arbitrum/).
Below is a screenshot of Arbitrum’s ARB token all time price action, clearly in a prolonged down trend:
Link to above screenshot of ARB token’s all time price action: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1334336042030993480/1358090791796609115/image.png?ex=67f2941c&is=67f1429c&hm=51a00eed27985524e52fbc99758d8aa0117b0fd1d5a8209fa0bb8c126f5a39fa&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=1032&height=288
What’s most interesting about this, when taking a deeper look into Arbitrum and the correlation between its excessive grants and TVL (total value locked) and the native token’s price action, is that Arbitrum’s all time TVL has been on a steady up trend since the chain’s birth in 2021, reaching an all time high of 3.45B and currently sitting at 2.326B (data sourced from https://defillama.com/chain/arbitrum?groupBy=cumulative).
Below is a screenshot of Arbitrum’s all time TVL chart, showing the high level of decentralized finance activity and user deposits. Clearly, this is not a driver of bullish price action when cross-referencing the native token’s price chart. Link to above screenshot of Arbitrum’s all time TVL: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1334336042030993480/1358091655235768391/image.png?ex=67f294ea&is=67f1436a&hm=76586b229fe5b70b70e6fc8110d894afc6347725b15fccb1a90625f7a5656aca&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=1032&height=262
To further illustrate the catastrophic performance of Arbitrum’s native token ARB despite its chain’s defi metrics being extremely healthy, below is a screenshot of the ARB/SUI price pair, which is down -86.75% all time.
In comparison, the Sui network only has half of Abitrum network’s TVL at $1.2B (data sourced from https://defillama.com/chain/sui) despite the token outperforming ARB considerably. This clearly suggests that defi metrics, which directly correlate to team/network shipping new products, upgrades, apps, offering dev grants to attract builders and users, is NOT a driving force behind bullish price action. This brings us to our next point, which is that SUI mastered the art of hopes and dreams, more formally put, building a forward expectations narrative.
In short, SUI “doesn’t ship anything”. There is certainly some hyperbole to this statement, but relative to other active networks and their foundations, SUI has shipped considerably less new products, apps, or upgrades. To illustrate this, we can simply compare the amount of applications built on the SUI network versus other comparable chains, such as Arbitrum and another popular Layer 2 chain, Optimism. Below are the findings in a table; data sourced from https://defillama.com/.
Chain Number of Apps TVL ($) Native token performance vs SUI all time Arbitrum 711 2.326B -86.75% Optimism 279 438.57M -79.18% Sui 40 1.243B N/A
As we can see, there is a clear and obvious trend. More shipping does not equal upward price action. Sui Network’s measly 40 apps in comparison to Arbitrum’s massive 711 and Optimism’s significant 279 is a very evident qualitative difference, and the resulting price action of Arbitrum’s ARB token and Optimism's OP token is the raw effect of that qualitative difference.
So what exactly does “not shipping anything” do? Well, it does exactly what we previously said SUI mastered, which is create hopes and dreams. No shipping means there is no news, no news means there is nobody to disappoint, and no disappointment means there is no sell pressure. The formula is rather remarkably simple. By simply marketing their status as a “shiny new Layer 1 blockchain” which comparably has very few users to other popular chains like Arbitrum and Solana, SUI was able to manufacture hopes and dreams that perhaps someday they would come out with ground breaking technology in the blockchain space. As long as this day never tangibly arrives, there is no resulting sell pressure from a news event; there are no flaws to point out and criticize, and SUI maintains its perpetual status as an exciting altcoin investment opportunity to capitalize on an eventual “alt-season” within a bull cycle, a prolonged period of time where altcoins outperform majors such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Lastly, to illustrate the negative price action effect of shipping a new product/upgrade, below is a screenshot of the FTM (Fantom) price chart in the days following its very much hyped up Sonic Upgrade. The intangible hype of this eventual news event enabled FTM to soar +412.86% between our start date of SUI’s analysis (8/5/2024) and the Sonic upgrade launch date (12/19/2024). Subsequently, and as expected, despite the upgrade making Fantom’s technology tangibly and materially far better, this was not reflected in the price action. From the launch date to the present (12/19/2024-4/5/2025), FTM (Now called “S”) has printed a price action of -54.22%.
Below is a price chart screenshot highlighting the 136 days of intangible hype leading up to the upgrade (+412.86%) and the subsequent 25 days of tangible technological improvement after the upgrade (-54.22%). Data sourced from https://www.tradingview.com/x/Dn1fL3Rp/. Link to FTM price chart screenshot: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1334336042030993480/1358099550979493978/image.png?ex=67f29c45&is=67f14ac5&hm=b67f3ffbde841e8db346582f3a54d932b9a35e49e737c6ca54e4806e4d813a5c&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=1032&height=572
To conclude this section on Narrative, SUI ultimately succeeded in manufacturing hopes and dreams. In markets, people naturally like to bet on something good happening in the future, so they buy assets expecting them to rise in price in anticipation of that good thing, to then sell the asset to someone else at a higher price and make a profit. Naturally, after that good happening takes place, there is no longer something to bet on for the future. Therefore, SUI has built a narrative around itself as a “Shiny new Layer 1 Blockchain which heaps of funding and well respected industry backers, poised to make new advances in the blockchains space”. It’s favorable tokenomics, strong backers, and large warchest, combined with the narrative it created, combined for a perfect recipe for prolonged bullish price action and market-wide outperformance.
Comparative Performance Analysis
To illustrate just how strongly SUI outperformed the broader market during the highlighted timeframe (8/5/2024-1/4/2025), we’ve paired it against BTC and OTHERS (the total altcoin market cap excluding the top 10 coins). These two charts illustrate how well SUI outperformed Bitcoin, the number 1 crypto asset, and the collective altcoin market at large.
SUI/BTC Pair gain across the highlighted time frame: +474.87% Screenshot of SUI/BTC Pair chart highlighting the time frame between 8/5/2024-1/4/2025: Link to SUI/BTC pair chart screenshot: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1334336042030993480/1358087993402851428/image.png?ex=67f29181&is=67f14001&hm=9cf084efc062c4c8bace20ea5e4a100c1f02512ff2e9f536a1169425c06e598e&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=1032&height=572
SUI/OTHERS Pair gain across the highlighted timeframe: +353.47% Screenshot of SUI/OTHERS Pair chart highlighting the time frame between 8/5/2024-1/4/2025:
Link to SUI/OTHERS pair chart screenshot: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1334336042030993480/1358088469624389762/image.png?ex=67f291f3&is=67f14073&hm=ed257b228135ddbd28cab5f9f40347c7d763bc91a3af77d91adb9b6a23e18c90&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=1032&height=572
Comparative Analysis Commentary: SUI’s outperformance relative to both Bitcoin and the broader altcoin market underscores the powerful impact of its combined qualitative strengths. Despite being a newer entrant, SUI managed to capture investor enthusiasm in ways that established projects often struggle to maintain. This achievement highlights how disciplined tokenomics, robust backer support, and a compelling narrative can create a virtuous cycle of market confidence. In essence, the strong comparative gains serve as a testament to SUI’s ability to sustain excitement, proving that qualitative factors—particularly those centered on future potential—can drive impressive price action even amid a competitive crypto landscape.
Overall Qualitative Final Conclusion
In summary, SUI’s remarkable performance can be attributed to the synergy between its meticulously planned tokenomics, robust funding and backers, and an exceptionally compelling narrative. The tokenomics strategy—with a significant long-term lockup of 52% of tokens—creates scarcity and reduces short-term sell pressure, while the diversified funding profile of $385.37M from high-caliber investors provides both financial strength and strategic industry insights. However, the narrative emerges as the cornerstone of SUI’s prolonged bullish trend; by cultivating an environment of “hopes and dreams” and avoiding the pitfalls of over-shipping new products, SUI has managed to sustain investor optimism and mitigate disappointment. These three pillars, when evaluated together, offer a powerful framework for assessing future crypto projects.
In designing a qualitative scoring system, greater weight should be given to the narrative component—its ability to set realistic yet optimistic future expectations—while still accounting for disciplined tokenomics and solid financial backing. This integrated approach provides a holistic method to identify projects with both immediate potential and enduring value.
Below is a proposed qualitative scoring system designed to evaluate crypto projects by assessing three key components: tokenomics, funding and backers, and narrative. Given your analysis of SUI, the narrative component—particularly its ability to shape long-term investor optimism—receives a slightly higher weight. The system uses a 100-point scale broken down as follows:
- Tokenomics (30% of total score) Distribution Strategy (10 points): Assess clarity and fairness of token distribution, including the proportion reserved for long-term release versus immediate circulation. Vesting & Lockup Mechanisms (10 points): Evaluate how well the token release schedule minimizes sell pressure and aligns with long-term growth. Community & Stakeholder Alignment (10 points): Measure the balance between rewards for early contributors, community reserves, and strategic partners.
- Funding and Backers (30% of total score) Capital Raised & Diversity (10 points): Score based on total funding and the diversity of the funding sources, ensuring a strong and resilient financial backing. Reputation of Investors (10 points): Evaluate the caliber of backers (e.g., venture firms, industry leaders) as a proxy for market confidence and strategic support. Stage & Structure of Funding Rounds (10 points): Consider the maturity of funding rounds and the strategic timing of capital infusion.
- Narrative (40% of total score) Clarity & Persuasiveness (10 points): Assess how clearly the project communicates its vision and how compelling its story is to potential investors. Market Positioning (10 points): Evaluate the uniqueness of the narrative in differentiating the project from competitors. Alignment with Investor Expectations (10 points): Score the narrative on its ability to build sustained optimism by setting realistic yet aspirational future prospects. Historical Impact on Sentiment (10 points): Consider past market responses and how the narrative has influenced price performance over time. Overall Score Calculation: Each project receives a total score out of 100 by aggregating the weighted scores from the three components. Projects with a higher narrative score may be more likely to sustain prolonged bullish sentiment, as demonstrated by SUI’s performance, even if their technical developments are relatively measured. This system not only provides a structured method for qualitative evaluation but also serves as a robust framework for future crypto investment decisions. Qualitative Scoring Mechanism for Evaluating Crypto Projects This scoring system allows for standardized qualitative evaluation of crypto assets based on Tokenomics, Funding & Backers, and Narrative. It scores projects out of 100 total points, weighted by real-world importance observed in past outperformers like SUI. Category Weight Max Score Evaluation Criteria
- Tokenomics 30% /30
• Distribution Strategy 10 Fairness and clarity of token allocations across stakeholders
• Vesting & Lockups 10 Long-term emissions design and mitigation of short-term sell pressure
• Community Alignment 10 Incentives for community members and early believers
- Funding & Backers 30% /30
• Capital & Round Types 10 Size of total raise and presence of seed/private/public stages
• Investor Reputation 10 Involvement of top-tier funds and strategic backers (a16z, Binance Labs, etc.)
• Diversity & Depth 10 Breadth of backers across geographies and specialties
- Narrative 40% /40
• Story & Vision 10 Clear mission and emotional resonance with investor base
• Market Positioning 10 Unique angle or identity among competitors
• Hype vs Shipping 10 Balance of vision vs. execution (measured restraint often correlates with strength)
• Sentiment Impact 10 How effectively narrative drove bullish price action historically
Suggested Scoring Workflow: Read whitepaper, review tokenomics/vesting charts, analyze funding history. Score each sub-criterion from 0 to 10 based on your findings. Multiply by weight to generate a total out of 100. Use this score to compare projects or to qualify narrative-based trades.
Example: SUI (Applied) Category Score Comments Tokenomics 28/30 Excellent lockups, supply design, and stakeholder distribution Funding & Backers 29/30 Raised $385M from top-tier names across Series A and B Narrative 37/40 Perfected the “hopes and dreams” model, low shipping = minimal FUD Total Score 94/100 Strong qualitative profile with long-term investor alignment
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