What is the Sui blockchain?
Summary
Sui is a blockchain for applications built around digital objects with identifiable owners. Independent objects can be processed in parallel. SUI pays for network work and supports staking.
- On Sui, a digital item is an object with an identity and owner.
- Independent object changes can be processed in parallel; SUI pays network fees.
- Virtune Sui ETP is physically backed by SUI but its holder cannot use the asset in apps.
An app built around digital objects
Sui is a blockchain where an app can represent a digital item as an object with its own identity and owner1. Imagine a collectible moving from one person to another. The network records the new owner, while the app can set rules for what the item does. The item is not the same asset as SUI, the network's own coin. Cardano can also hold user-created assets, but it represents them directly in its ledger rather than through Sui's object model.
Sui's object model matters when many people use apps at once. Transactions concerning independent objects can be processed in parallel2. Two people transferring separate items need not always wait for each other's changes. Shared objects may require more coordination, so parallel handling is a design capability rather than a promise about every transaction's speed.
What is SUI's role?
A transaction changing an item has to pay for network work. SUI pays fees and supports staking and storage3 under Sui's economic rules. The app may move a collectible or another token, but the network's fee is in SUI. Validators use staked SUI to help secure the network.
This makes SUI part of the infrastructure behind an app, not a claim on every item built there. More apps or transactions do not alone determine SUI's market price.
SUI directly or through an ETP
Direct SUI can pay fees and take part in network functions. Virtune Sui ETP gives SUI price exposure through an exchange-traded security without requiring a personal wallet. It is physically backed with SUI held as collateral4. The investor owns the ETP, not SUI that can be spent or staked.
The product is listed on Euronext Paris, Xetra and Nasdaq Stockholm.
Costs when buying Virtune Sui ETP
| Cost | Charged by | When |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage commission | Broker | On every purchase and sale |
| Difference between bid and ask price | Market | On every trade |
| Management fee, 0.95% per year | Issuer | Ongoing, from the product's value |
| Currency conversion | Broker, if applicable | If the product trades in another currency |
Risks to understand
SUI can lose value. A Sui app can also have technical or economic risks distinct from the network itself. Direct ownership requires a wallet or custodian; the ETP adds issuer, custody and trading risks. Physical backing does not prevent price falls. Crypto-assets can lose substantial value5.
Related product
Sources
- Sui Foundation: Object Model
- Sui Foundation: Move Concepts
- Sui Foundation: Tokenomics on Sui
- Virtune Investor Relations: Collateralization Methodology
- EBA, EIOPA and ESMA (the European Supervisory Authorities): EU financial regulators warn consumers on the risks of crypto-assets
