What makes Sui so unique?

The Sui Network emerges as a beacon of innovation in the ever-evolving blockchain technology landscape. Here are some breakthrough advances that have made Sui so acknowledged and well-performing:

Sui Challenges Modularity

Using various strategies, blockchains address the blockchain trilemma of scalability, decentralization, and security. Originally designed as a monolithic blockchain, Ethereum is gradually shifting its focus to L2s and modularity through sharding, data blobs, and decentralized validation driven by the need to improve its scalability and lower gas fees. Specialization works well for this purpose: now L2s take on the execution layer, while the Ethereum blockchain serves as the security and settlement layer, and transaction processing functions are now not executed solely by validators but separated between various actors: bundlers, builders, sequencers, etc.

📘

Here are some essential terms you need to understand how Ethereum ensures scalability:

Builder- a node responsible for block production.
Bundler- a node responsible for transaction batching.
Data blob - an equivalent to a transaction on Ethereum after EIP-4844.
Full node - a node that stores all blockchain data to share it with light nodes.
Light node - a node that connects to full nodes to get the data required to validate transactions.
L2s - A layer 2 refers to any off-chain network, system, or technology built on top of a layer 1 blockchain. Typically, L2s emerge as a scalability solution.
Modular blockchain - a blockchain composed of interconnected modules or components, each responsible for specific functions. A modular blockchain manages only a few focused tasks, delegating the rest to separate layers (execution, data availability, settlement, and Consensus).
Monolithic blockchain - a blockchain that performs all functions (execution, data availability, settlement, Consensus) on a single layer.
PBS - proposer-builder separation splits validation tasks - transaction ordering, sequencing, execution, and block building - between different types of nodes.
Sequencer- a node responsible for transaction sequencing.
Sharding - a technique used to enhance scalability by dividing the network (validator or storage) into smaller partitions or shards.
Validator- a node responsible for transaction execution and validation.

However, like Solana, Sui picked another way and totally discarded the modularity concept. Instead, Sui reintroduces the idea of developing an efficient L1 solution with built-in programmability and transaction parallelization that addresses all the scalability and security issues seen on EVM chains.

Ethereum is not alone here in employing modularity as a scaling solution. Cosmos, long before Ethereum, had fostered modularity by building the first modular blockchain ecosystem. Celestia, Cevmos, EigenLayer, and Dymension are just a few modular Web3 projects to mention.

📘

Instead of chasing for modularity, Sui sticks to a monolithic architecture.

Object Model for Data Optimization

The Sui Network is renowned for its novel object-centric design, which is the cornerstone of its solution and functionality. In contrast to other blockchains, a transaction on Sui is associated not with an account that ran it but rather with the objects such transaction creates and mutates (updates). With this design, objects can behave like individual actors, being able to own other objects or run transactions. This opens up many opportunities and use cases and improves key blockchain performance indicators: scalability, time-to-finality, interoperability, programmability, etc.

📘

Everything is an object on Sui.

All objects on Sui share the same characteristics. Sui objects are:

• safe;
• fast;
• understandable;
• flexible;
• composable;
• reusable.

📘

Ultimately, unlike Ethereum, Sui focuses on data optimization rather than Consensus optimization to reach high scalability.

To learn more about Sui objects, read this article.

Fee model

The Sui Network has an intricately designed gas fee model. The total gas fee comprises two elements: the computational and storage fees. A user pays only for the actual computational efforts and the storage space it has used. Validators are also encouraged to charge lower gas fees.

Here you can read more about fees on Sui.

Move language

Sui packages (equivalents to smart contracts) are written in the object-oriented Rust-based Move programming language. Move enables writing code based on objects and is the key driving force behind Sui's programmability. It is a platform-agnostic language that allows the building of common libraries, tooling, and developer communities across blockchains with various data and execution patterns.

Move was created by Facebook for the Diem blockchain to develop customizable transaction logic and smart contracts, in which transaction functionality is defined by script functions, each having its own set of parameters. Currently, apart from Sui, Move is used in Aptos, and this is a trending blockchain looked at by many Web3 developers.

The distinguishing features of Move include:

• verifiability;
• flexibility in components;
• bytecode interpreter and verifier

Storage design

Sui has a storage fund, providing an option to store not transactions but rather objects and their properties indefinitely. The storage fund compensates validators for ensuring the continuous data availability posted to the blockchain upfront. Users pay only for the stored objects. As objects get deleted, the fee for storing them gets refunded (rebated) to the user who ran the transactions. This makes the storage fair and flexible.

To learn more about storage, read this article.

Narwhal and Bullshark Consensus Mechanism

Consensus is mandatory on most blockchains, ensuring data consistency and security. Due to its object model, Sui found a way to avoid Consensus for address-owned objects, leaving it mandatory for shared objects only. Another great thing is the Narwhal Mempool and Bullshark Consensus mechanism, which allows transaction parallelization leveraging the DAG-based data structure. TLDR enables transaction grouping and ordering based on the objects associated therewith.

📘

Transactions with address-owned objects don't have to go through Consensus.

Read this article to learn more about the transaction execution on Sui.

Sui Team

Last but not least, a great, skilled, and experienced team stands behind the Sui Network. Originating in Facebook, Mysten Labs - a team of developers and engineers, blockchain experts, and analysts - has hands-on experience and expertise to build efficient Web3 products that are secure and ready for mass adoption. Suffice it to say that Mysten Labs developed the Move language.

Sui Advantages

3. Near-instant transaction processing, high scalability, and throughput

Transactions are batched and ordered around objects they create or update, enabling validators to process, execute, and sign transactions simultaneously. Many blockchains strive to achieve transaction parallelization. However, Sui's object-centric design seems to be a viable and elegant solution.

📘

Sui allows batching 1024 heterogeneous transactions in one transaction at a time. This is particularly beneficial for DeFis, which often executes custom logic involving a series of transactions (x to y swap, for instance).

Since transaction processing is built around objects, the more objects there are on the Sui Network, the higher the TPS. TPS on Sui is technically unlimited as there may be an unlimited number of objects.

📘

The highest throughput ever recorded on-chain reached 297,000 TPS, making Sui one of the most scalable blockchains ever.

Another good news is that TPS on Sui is changeable. To increase throughput, validators need to add more workers. And vice versa, as no more high throughput is required, it's enough to remove extra workers from the network.

📘

The more objects there are, the higher the throughput.

This is how Sui compares to other blockchains in terms of maximum recorded (not theoretical) throughput (powered by Chainspect):

4. High programmability

Sui is hardwired to deploy packages (smart contracts) that are objects, too. Written in Move, packages are modular and allow the implementation of custom functions.

📘

Packages on Sui are shared objects available to any account.

No wonder so many DeFis have sprung up in the Sui ecosystem. The Sui platform uses a novel concept, where blocks are treated as objects that define assets rather than simple key-value stores that define addresses. The increased programmability inherent with objects requires a sturdier virtual machine to take advantage of this innovative approach.

📘

To fuel ecosystem and community growth, Sui has reallocated 117 mln Sui from external market makers to ecosystem builders.

5. Programmable transaction blocks

Programmable transaction blocks are atomic transactions that bundle several smaller transactions executing a particular functionality. Instead of paying several fees, a user pays only one. This streamlines the user experience for basic operations and facilitates intricate batches of transactions that serve real-life use cases.

Transaction blocks run in parallel; however, unlike in Solana, where transactions are batched and grouped around accounts to be executed, on Sui, transactions are batched and grouped around objects, which makes transaction execution more flexible and increases throughput.

6. A practical blockchain.

The Sui Network was developed with the goal of achieving mass adoption. Its high programmability allows it to address the most prominent real-life use cases rather than playing around with tech geek gimmicks.

📘

There are three pillars of Sui usability: gaming, commerce, and finance.

7. Low fees

The existing Sui gas fee model keeps gas fees low, predictable, and fair since users pay only for those blockchain resources they have actually used, and validators are encouraged to keep gas price quotes low (validators who charge high gas quotes get slashed (reduced) rewards in the upcoming epoch). What usually happens on EVM chains with gas fees when the volume of transactions goes up? Gas fees rise with it. On the contrary, as the transaction volume goes down, so do gas fees. That's not the case with Sui, where gas fees remain flat regardless of the transaction volume.

Moreover, users get refunded for the storage space freed after the previously stored objects get deleted from the storage (storage rebate). On Sui, the situation seems counter-intuitive when the blockchain actually pays users for running transactions when the transaction volume is low since users continue receiving storage rebates. That's what can be seen on the screen below. Check Suiscan.

8. Optimized storage

Sui's basic unit of storage is an object. The platform's storage revolves around objects, similar to accounts in conventional blockchains. Deprecated objects that are no longer in use get deleted to empty the valuable space for new objects. This saves storage space for the blockchain and money for users, who get a refund (rebate) for the deleted objects. In fact, Sui is one of the few blockchains that have their native storage rather than keep on-chain data on ledgers, which is even better, as it's pretty cheap.

📘

You can scale storage and throughput by adding more workers to each validator and visa versa — this ability to scale horizontally makes Sui look like a cloud service akin to AWS.

9. Focus on good UX and being user-friendly

Poor UX is among the impediments hindering blockchain's wide adoption on the user side. Sui brings in good interfaces for DeFis related to digital asset ownership and management: wallets, DEXes, liquidity pools, etc.

10. Enhanced digital asset ownership

Traditional blockchains tend to revolve around accounts rather than assets. However, an atomic unit on Sui is an object (a digital asset) rather than an account. An asset always has an owner; on Sui, such an owner can be an address (address-owned objects) or another object. This enables transaction automation, which is a raging trend across Web3 now. Objects can have dynamic fields defining unique object properties. This makes Sui particularly suitable for games with complex and evolving gaming elements, exciting gameplay, and a breathtaking story. This sounds like good news for Web3 game developers.

📘

Sui ownership is particularly favorable for coin creation and handling. Sui has developed several coin standards. This enables the adoption of CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), which can potentially bridge RWAs (Real-World Assets) to Web3.

11. Account abstraction features

Account abstraction is, simply put, an ability to run transactions signed by a smart contract rather than an account. On Sui, account abstraction functions include zk-login, wallet management, social recovery, sponsored transactions, and more.

12. Good for NFTs and Gaming

With its advanced asset ownership features, Sui focuses on NFT creation and handling. The Sui ecosystem has a well-developed infrastructure for trading NFTs, and generally, Sui has what it takes to occupy the niche of digital arts and collectibles. This opens up many use cases: real-world assets, gaming, utility NFTs, etc.

📘

Sui has partnered with over 60 gaming companies, including NHN, NC, Netmarble NFC, and more. In Commerce - partnership with Red Bull Racing.

Sui has developed a specific standard for stores and marketplaces - Kiosk. Kiosk is a decentralized system for commerce applications on Sui. It consists of Kiosks - shared objects owned by individual parties that store assets and allow listing them for sale as well as utilizing custom trading functionality. Through Kiosk, NFT marketplaces are created.

13. Common infrastructure through shared objects

Shared objects are accessible to anyone. They are mutable, but they don't have a specific owner. Examples of shared objects on Sui can be marketplaces, DEXs, Kiosk stores, etc. This is another reason why DeFis are thriving on Sui.

14. Multi-cryptography

Interoperability is another of Sui's strengths. It is largely achieved by supporting multiple cryptographic algorithms: signature verification schemes and hash functions, Groth16 zk-proofs. One important novelty Sui brings about is Elliptic Curve Verifiable Random Function (ECVRF) that enables to generate a random number provides proof that the number used a secret key for generation.

📘

Support of multiple cryptographic algorigthms makes Sui a cryptography-agnostic blockchain, which means that any transaction, notwithstanding the signature verification scheme or hash functions it uses, will run on Sui.

Read more on Sui cryptography from this article and Sui official docs.