Why We Chose Sui Over Solana for Our DePIN

As a researcher delving into the burgeoning field of decentralized physical infrastructure, I am excited to contribute to CoinDesk’s new initiative: the DePIN Vertical. Through this op-ed and subsequent pieces, we will explore the intricacies and potential impact of this emerging industry on our society.

In 2022, which was a particularly challenging year for the crypto industry, Solana experienced numerous outages. The network seemed to encounter issues almost every month. Even after the introduction of the Firedancer validator client, designed to prevent such occurrences, Solana still experienced an approximately five-hour long outage in February 2024. While this incident could have been a mere coincidence, it did not instill a sense of reassurance in us.

Additionally, Solana faced challenges in managing its surge in popularity this year. The network experienced congestion multiple times due to memecoin craze and intense Ore mining activity. In recent months, the user base of X has swelled, leading to numerous complaints about failed transactions from traders dealing with memecoins such as BONK and WIF. While such high trading volume can be a good indicator of a network’s capabilities, it remains uncertain if another blockchain wouldn’t encounter similar issues. For us, this was yet another warning sign.

Regarding DePIN projects, including ours that manage large volumes of data in real time, the essential features we look for in a blockchain are dependability and the ability to handle a vast number of transactions. Initially, Solana gained significant attention as a potential “Ethereum-killer” due to its commitment to process more than 50,000 transactions per second. However, it falls short of this capacity under actual usage scenarios. Unfortunately, for our work at Chirp, that level of performance is insufficient.

For our quest to discover “the Holy Grail” of DeFi blockchains, we chose to explore options beyond the commonly favored Solana. While Solana is undeniably the go-to choice for many due to its exceptional speed and low transaction fees – two essential factors for us – we recognized the need to broaden our horizons. This decision meant venturing into less familiar territory among the larger, more established Layer1 platforms. Our journey eventually brought us to Sui, a blockchain that debuted publicly on May 3, 2023.

In my professional opinion, Sui significantly advances the blueprint of blockchains from the previous market peak. It comes closer than any other Layer 1 solution to addressing the Blockchain Trilemma’s challenges – achieving cost-effectiveness, decentralization, and security in harmony. With a network of 100 validators scattered globally, Sui boasts impressive performance that has ranged from 10,871 transactions per second (tps) to an astounding 297,000 tps. As an engineer, I understand the importance of setting realistic expectations. Even a consistent 10,000 tps is an exceptional achievement in the blockchain landscape.

As an analyst, I’m excited to share that the latest Mysticeti upgrade by Sui, now live on testnet, promises to significantly enhance network speed. This upgrade is expected to decrease consensus latency by approximately 40%, bringing it down to an impressive 390 milliseconds (ms). For those without a technical background, this means the network will process transactions extremely quickly. In fact, based on current performance in the DeFi sector, I believe Sui could potentially claim the title of the fastest blockchain in this space. However, I must acknowledge that Solana currently holds a consensus latency around 400ms, implying only a minor difference between the two networks.

Sui retains some advantages over Solana: besides faster transaction processing, it offers cheaper costs and an ultra-secure programming language called Move. The average fee for Sui in the past 30 days was a mere 0.003932633 SUI (with SUI priced at approximately $0.86). In contrast, Solana’s fees reached as much as $0.03 at certain instances in recent months. Although these costs pale in comparison to Ethereum’s, they can still accumulate over time.

While it’s important to note that the number of active wallets on Sui and Solana are relatively similar, it’s essential to acknowledge that they don’t come with the same context. Solana has had its share of memecoin trading crazes, which isn’t something Sui has experienced yet. Nevertheless, we can only base our analysis on the available data, and Sui’s lower gas fees have been a significant advantage in managing expenses so far.

In essence, Sui emerged as our preferred option among Solana for several significant reasons. However, it’s essential to note that Solana boasts numerous qualities that make it an excellent foundation for a robust and resilient Decentralized Finance (DeFi) network. It remains one of the fastest blockchains in the industry and is continuously enhancing its dependability through upgrades like Firedancer. Furthermore, Solana has already proven its mettle by surviving one bear market and even thriving following the failure of FTX. Consequently, it represents a reliable platform for future DeFi initiatives.

In the rapid innovation landscape of blockchain technology, there’s always room for new developments that outshine previous ones. We strongly believe that Sui represents this next generation – think of it as an advanced version of Solana. If an early-stage DeFi project seeks my guidance, I would wholeheartedly suggest Sui as the go-to choice for a reliable and scalable network.

Based on my extensive background in the cryptocurrency industry and having closely followed the developments at CoinDesk for years, I’d like to share my perspective on the following: