SUI (SUI) Tokenomics

The native token of the Sui network, SUI, has a maximum supply of 10 billion SUI. It is integral to the network's operation, serving multiple utility functions, including securing the network through staking, paying transaction fees, and eventually participating in governance.

Issuance Mechanism

The SUI token supply is capped at 10 billion SUI. The issuance mechanism is primarily driven by a long-term release schedule designed to maintain network stability and support ecosystem growth.

• Initial Circulation: At the Mainnet launch on May 3, 2023, approximately 5% of the total tokens were in circulation.
• Reward Subsidies: For the first year of the network's life, 1 billion SUI (10% of the maximum supply) was drawn from a subsidy pool to reward validators, supplementing computation fees and storage fund rewards.
• Inflation: The network's annualized inflation rate has been decreasing, moving from 4.9% in Q3 2023 toward 0.0% by Q3 2024, indicating a maturing economic model with reduced token supply growth over time.

Allocation Mechanism

The total supply of 10 billion SUI is apportioned to support early contributors, investors, the development team, and long-term community health. The initial allocation breakdown is heavily focused on ecosystem development:

Note: Third-party sources report slightly different allocations, such as a Community Reserve of ~36.53% and Early Contributors at ~21.14%, but the core principle remains a strong focus on the Community Reserve.

Usage and Incentive Mechanism

The SUI token is a utility token with diverse use cases designed to secure the network and incentivize participation:

1. Gas Fees and the Storage Fund

All transactions incur a fee composed of two parts:

• Computation Fees: Distributed to the validators who process the transaction.
• Storage Fees: Deposited into the Storage Fund. This fund is a key economic innovation, used to reward future validators for storing data created by today's transactions. The tokens held in the Storage Fund also accrue rewards from their proportionate amount of the total staked supply.

2. Staking and Network Security

Sui uses a Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) mechanism to secure the network.

• Validators: Any tokenholder staking at least 30 million SUI can operate a validator. Validators earn rewards from computation fees, storage fund rewards, and reward subsidies (during the first year).
• Delegators: Tokenholders can delegate any amount of native SUI to a validator of their choice. Delegators share in the validator's computation fee and subsidy rewards, minus the validator's commission rate. All rewards are automatically re-staked and can be withdrawn at the end of an epoch (approximately 24 hours). Delegators do not earn a share of the tokens distributed from the Storage Fund.

3. Governance

While there was no active governance process for community members as of February 2024, the SUI token is intended to be used as voting power in the future network governance model. Staked SUI will determine a validator's voting power, which is capped at 10% of the total voting power, regardless of the total SUI staked to them.

4. Liquidity Provision

Users can create trading pools on DeepBook, Sui's native CLOB (Central Limit Order Book), which incurs a one-time fee of 100 SUI.

Locking Mechanism and Unlocking Time

SUI tokens allocated to early stakeholders are subject to vesting schedules that extend over several years to ensure a gradual release of supply.

Locking Mechanism

• Staking Lock: SUI tokens staked to validators are locked for the duration of the current epoch (approximately 24 hours). Users can withdraw their stake or change validators only at the start of the next epoch.
• Vesting Schedules: Tokens allocated to Early Contributors, Investors, and the Team are subject to vesting schedules that govern their release into the circulating supply.

Unlocking Schedule Highlights

The vesting and distribution schedule for SUI extends beyond 2030, with a gradual increase in liquid supply over time.

• Public Sale Tokens: Tokens purchased in the KuCoin Spotlight sale were distributed over 12 months, with one-third unlocked at Mainnet launch and one-thirteenth unlocked monthly thereafter. Tokens from the "Recognition Sale" for ecosystem contributors were fully unlocked upon Mainnet launch.
• Significant Future Unlocks: The token unlock schedule shows significant, phased releases for major allocations:
  • Q2 2024: A major unlock event was projected, including 1.4 billion SUI for private investors (53.4% of the circulating supply at the time) and 239 million SUI for the team (9.1% of the circulating supply).
  • Q4 2024: Projected unlocks included 117.5 million SUI for Private Investors and 37.2 million SUI for the Team.
  • Q2 2025: Projected unlocks included 97.3 million SUI for Private Investors, 81.7 million SUI for the Ecosystem, 77.4 million SUI for Staking Rewards, and 48.0 million SUI for the Team.
  • Q4 2025: Projected unlocks include 57.9 million SUI for Private Investors, 37.8 million SUI for the Ecosystem, 36.3 million SUI for the Team, and 36.1 million SUI for Staking Rewards.

The long-term vesting schedule shows unlocks continuing until at least 2030, with a massive unlock of 5.22 billion SUI scheduled for May 31, 2030, which represents 141.8% of the circulating supply at that time. This indicates that the majority of the total supply is planned for release over an extended period to support the network's long-term health and decentralization.