TL;DR

Canary Capital has applied for a SUI-based ETF, with the SEC reviewing it as of April 10, 2025.
Approval could speculatively bring $100–200 million in investments, potentially giving SUI’s price a boost, depending on market dynamics.
SUI is a high-speed, low-cost layer-1 blockchain, competing with established platforms like Solana.

Recent Developments in SUI’s ETF Journey

Canary Capital, a digital assets investment firm, has taken a bold step by filing for the first-ever SUI-based Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC has acknowledged the application, a key initial milestone toward potential approval. On April 8, 2025, Cboe BZX Exchange filed a 19b-4 application, proposing a rule change to list and trade the ETF’s shares, further advancing the process.

The recent confirmation of Paul Atkins as SEC chair on April 9, 2025, adds optimism, as he is seen as supportive of cryptocurrency innovations. While no final approval has been granted, these developments signal growing institutional interest in SUI and a potentially favorable regulatory shift.

What is SUI?

SUI is a layer-1 blockchain designed for high performance and scalability, rooted in technology from Facebook’s former Diem project. It uses an object-centric data model and the Move programming language to offer:

High Transaction Capacity: Up to 297,000 transactions per second (TPS), outpacing many competitors.
Low Costs: Fees are significantly lower than those on networks like Solana or Ethereum.
User-Friendly Design: Features like zkLogin simplify interactions, making it accessible for developers and users.

SUI’s infrastructure supports decentralized applications (dApps) in areas like decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, and enterprise solutions, positioning it as a versatile platform for Web3 adoption.

ETF Application: Current Status and Implications

The SUI ETF application, filed by Canary Capital, aims to provide investors with direct exposure to SUI tokens through a regulated, exchange-traded product. If approved, it would be the first U.S. public investment vehicle focused solely on SUI, potentially broadening its investor base.

As of April 10, 2025, the application remains under SEC review. The 19b-4 filing by Cboe BZX Exchange is a critical step, but approval timelines are uncertain, often taking weeks or months based on historical ETF processes. The ETF may also include staking features, allowing it to earn rewards on held SUI tokens, which could enhance its appeal.

The involvement of major financial institutions like Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, and VanEck in SUI-related products underscores the blockchain’s growing credibility (Sui Foundation, 2025). Approval could catalyze further institutional adoption, mirroring trends seen with Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.

SUI vs. Solana: A Competition

SUI is often compared to Solana, another high-performance layer-1 blockchain, with some calling it a “Solana killer” due to its technical advantages. Here’s how they stack up:

Technical Strengths

SUI’s ability to process transactions in parallel without consensus for simple operations gives it a scalability edge. Its low fees and high throughput make it attractive for developers building cost-sensitive applications. However, concerns about centralization persist, with only 113 validators and the top 10 controlling 22% of staked tokens.

Solana, launched in 2020, benefits from a mature ecosystem with significant DeFi activity and popular meme coins like BONK. Its TVL and user base dwarf SUI’s, but it has faced outages and fee spikes during congestion, areas where SUI aims to improve.

Adoption and Growth

SUI is gaining traction, with daily active addresses rising to 1.4 million by February 2025 and stablecoin volumes doubling. Solana reported 5.5 million daily active addresses in September 2024, reflecting its broader adoption. SUI’s institutional backing, including partnerships with Grayscale and VanEck, suggests it could close the gap if growth continues.

Can SUI Replace Solana?

While SUI’s technical capabilities are impressive, replacing Solana is a tall order. Solana’s established developer community and diverse dApps give it a strong foothold. SUI’s newer status means it must build a comparable ecosystem to compete fully. Instead of replacing Solana, SUI is more likely to carve out a niche, coexisting as a complementary platform for specific use cases like high-frequency transactions or enterprise applications.

Estimating ETF Inflows

To gauge potential inflows into a SUI ETF, we can compare SUI’s market cap to those of Bitcoin and Ethereum, which saw significant ETF inflows in 2024:

Bitcoin ETFs: Approximately $50 billion in net inflows in 2024, with a market cap of $1.57 trillion.
Ethereum ETFs: Around $2.2 billion in net inflows from July to December 2024, with a market cap of $183.29 billion.
SUI: Market cap of $6.81 billion.

Using market cap ratios:

Relative to Bitcoin: ($6.81B / $1,570B) × $50B = 0.00434 × $50B = $217 million.
Relative to Ethereum: ($6.81B / $183.29B) × $2.2B = 0.0372 × $2.2B = $81.84 million.

Thus, potential inflows for a SUI ETF could range from $82 million to $217 million. Given SUI’s smaller market presence and newer status, inflows closer to the lower end, around $100–150 million, seem plausible initially, with potential for growth as investor awareness increases. However, these estimated inflows are just hypothetical and may or may not reflect the same way in future.

Potential Price Impact

As of April 11, SUI’s price is approximately $2.10, with a circulating supply of 3.24 billion tokens, yielding a market cap of $6.81 billion (CoinMarketCap, 2025). If the ETF attracts $100 million in inflows, it would purchase roughly 47.6 million SUI tokens ($100M / $2.10), or 1.47% of the circulating supply.

With a daily trading volume of $1.88 billion, $100 million represents 5.32% of daily volume. In cryptocurrency markets, such demand could drive a price increase of 5–10%, assuming moderate liquidity. Additional factors, like heightened investor sentiment post-approval, could amplify this to 10–20% or more, though volatility makes precise predictions challenging.

For context, Bitcoin’s price rose from $40,000 to over $73,000 after ETF approvals in 2024, driven by broader market factors. SUI’s smaller market cap suggests it could be more sensitive to inflows, but its price trajectory will depend on overall crypto market trends and adoption rates. Please keep in mind that these figures are just estimates to provide an insight and are not meant to be reflected in the market the same way.

FAQs

1. What is the SUI ETF application, and why does it matter for investors?

The SUI ETF application, filed by Canary Capital with the SEC, aims to create a regulated fund tracking SUI’s price, making it easier for investors to gain exposure without directly buying crypto. If approved, it could attract $100–200 million in inflows, potentially boosting SUI’s price by 10–20% and signaling mainstream adoption of this high-speed blockchain.

2. Can SUI overtake Solana as a leading blockchain in 2025?

SUI’s technical edge, with up to 297,000 transactions per second and lower fees, positions it as a strong competitor to Solana, which handles 65,000 TPS but has a larger ecosystem. While SUI’s ETF filing and 1.4 million daily active addresses show promise, Solana’s 5.5 million addresses and $6.16 billion in total value locked give it an edge. SUI may not overtake Solana in 2025, but could carve out a significant niche for high-frequency applications.

3. How will a SUI ETF approval impact its price and market cap?

A SUI ETF approval could drive $100–150 million in initial inflows, buying about 1.47% of SUI’s circulating supply at its current $2.10 price. This demand, against a $1.88 billion daily trading volume, might push prices up by 5–20%, depending on market sentiment. With a $6.81 billion market cap, SUI could see modest growth, though broader crypto trends and adoption rates will also influence outcomes

References

CoinMarketCap. (2025). SUI market cap live data. https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/sui/
Sui Foundation. (2025). Canary Capital advances first-ever SUI ETF with SEC filing. https://blog.sui.io/canary-capital-sui-etf/

SUI ETF Filing: Could This Blockchain Overtake Solana in 2025?