On October 4, Sui (SUI) faced a sharp decline, emerging as the biggest loser in the crypto market with a 15% drop. The token fell from a high of $1.97 on October 3 to a low of $1.62, reducing its market capitalization from $5.46 billion to $4.45 billion.
Although SUI recovered slightly to $1.78 at press time, it remains 4% lower than the previous 24 hours, with a market cap of $4.92 billion.
Token Unlock and Market Impact
SUI’s price fluctuation coincided with the release of 64.2 million tokens on October 1, representing 2.4% of its circulating supply. Such unlocks can lead to volatility as early investors and team members often sell tokens to lock in profits. Despite the significant token unlock, SUI’s price correction was relatively mild, likely due to market confidence in its long-term potential, especially after its 115% rally in September.
Profit Rotation Speculation
Some analysts suggest that traders may have rotated profits from SUI to its competitor, Aptos (APT), as both are high-performance layer-1 blockchains. These shifts are common in the crypto market as traders look to capitalize on short-term gains. Despite the price dip, SUI’s ecosystem is expanding rapidly, attracting more developers and users.
SUI Ecosystem Growth
The SUI ecosystem has experienced a surge in growth, with the total value locked (TVL) reaching a new high of $1 billion, up from $383 million in August. This rise has allowed SUI to overtake well-established blockchains like Polygon and Avalanche in TVL rankings.
Several factors are driving this growth. Grayscale’s launch of the SUI Trust in September opened the door for accredited investors to invest in the token. Additionally, SUI’s venture into blockchain gaming has gained attention, with Mysten Labs partnering with Playtron to launch the SuiPlay0X1 console. Furthermore, Circle, the company behind USDC, plans to bring the stablecoin to SUI, enhancing its potential for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
SUI has also partnered with Atoma to integrate decentralized AI into its network, enabling the development of apps that incorporate open-source AI models. These innovations have pushed SUI to become a trending search term on Google since early October.
Signs of Recovery for SUI
Technically, SUI shows signs of regaining bullish momentum. On the daily chart, SUI is positioned above the middle Bollinger Band at $1.55, suggesting a potential upward trend. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is nearing the overbought level, while the Average Directional Index (ADX) sits at 54, signaling a strong trend. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator also shows bullish momentum.
If the current momentum continues, SUI could break through the $2 resistance level, with its all-time high of $2.17 as the next target, representing a potential 19% gain.