The Sui Ecosystem DeFi Projects are Thriving: Latest Updates Overview

Recently, the price of SUI, the native token of the Sui blockchain, has significantly increased, reaching a high of $1.36, almost returning to its highest level since launch, and surpassing its MOVE system competitors. Meanwhile, Sui's Total Value Locked (TVL) has also continued to rise, breaking $275 million on January 13 and hitting a new high of $282 million.

Behind this growth trend, the Sui Foundation actively promotes ecosystem development through various means, including developer grant programs, project funding programs, and educational support programs. As of January 12, a total of 86 projects have received funding amounting to 4.72 million USD. In addition, Sui has provided additional support for liquid staking, announcing on December 14, 2023, a contribution of 25 million SUI tokens to add liquidity for liquid staking tokens (LST) across various Decentralized Finance protocols.

Sui seems to be continuing its token incentives for leading DeFi projects, with almost all major DeFi projects having officially allocated SUI token rewards. This incentive mechanism has facilitated the development of the Sui ecosystem, thereby driving up the price of SUI and creating a virtuous cycle. Here are the latest developments and participation opportunities for major Sui DeFi projects:

NAVI Protocol

NAVI is a lending protocol that has seen a 208% increase in TVL over the past month. Deposits and loans of SUI, USDC, and USDT can earn incentives, and in the presence of incentives, the deposit interest rates exceed the borrowing interest rates, allowing users to arbitrage through circular borrowing. NAVI has not yet issued its own governance token, which is expected to be launched in the first or second quarter of 2024, and there is a possibility of receiving an airdrop by using it now.

Cetus

Cetus is the largest DEX on Sui, consistently holding the top position in Sui TVL. It adopts a concentrated liquidity model similar to Uniswap V3, allowing trading pairs to generate higher returns during significant market fluctuations. For example, the total APR for the SUI-USDC trading pair can reach up to 625%, which includes trading fees and token rewards. However, for non-stablecoin pairs, the risk of impermanent loss is relatively high.

Scallop

Scallop is another lending protocol where users can earn SUI token rewards through a co-funded incentive program. Users can deposit funds into Lending Pools and then stake them into sCoin Pools, or engage in circular borrowing. Currently, the APR for SUI, USDC, and USDT is around 20%. Scallop has not yet launched its own governance token.

DeepBook

DeepBook is an order book DEX built by the Sui Foundation and the MovEx team, and other Decentralized Finance protocols can integrate DeepBook's liquidity. As a public good, it may not issue additional governance tokens. Users trading with aggregators like Aftermath may utilize DeepBook's liquidity.

FlowX Finance

FlowX is a DEX with a continuously growing TVL. Currently, providing liquidity on FlowX can earn SUI token rewards, and the APR for stablecoin trading pairs USDC/USDT can reach up to 36%. FlowX has distributed some tokens through activities such as the Genesis Farm program, but has not yet used its own tokens to incentivize liquidity.

Aftermath Finance

Aftermath provides LST, AMM DEX, and trading aggregator services. Its LST is afSUI, with the main liquidity coming from the afSUI/SUI trading pair. Currently, there are only 4 liquidity pools available for incentives, with additional incentives coming entirely from SUI tokens, and the APR for stablecoin trading pairs is 28.13%.

KriyaDEX

KriyaDEX is a spot and perpetual contract DEX, with the perpetual contract feature still in testing. It allows users to lock liquidity, with longer lock-in times resulting in higher APRs. For example, the APR for the wUSDC/wUSDT trading pair varies between 11.06% and 40.94% depending on the lock-in time, with rewards coming from SUI.

Overall, the projects with high TVL in the Sui ecosystem are mainly concentrated in three categories: liquid staking, lending, and DEX. Liquid staking projects can gain additional liquidity provided by Sui, with APRs around 30% across various DEXs; lending projects like NAVI Protocol and Omni BTC have seen rapid growth recently, with TVL increasing by over 200% in the past month and expectations of airdrops; DEX projects are steadily developing, with Cetus still maintaining its leading position.