Sui, a popular layer 1 network, has been one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies since August, reaching a five-month high.

1. Growing DeFi Ecosystem

The Sui token has increased for three consecutive weeks and is up by over 240% from its lowest level in August, giving it a market cap of over $4.17 billion. Sui, often seen as a rival to Solana, has gained traction due to its growing popularity among users and developers.

Recent data indicates that the total value locked (TVL) in Sui’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem has surged to a record high of $860 million, up from $383 million in August.

Some of the most notable Sui decentralized applications (dApps) that have seen a significant increase in assets include Suilend, Scallop Lend, and Cetus, which together have accumulated assets worth over $137 million. Additionally, Sui has attracted stablecoins worth $378 million, a number that is expected to rise following the activation of Circle’s USD Coin.

β€œCircle’s native $USDC is coming soon to Sui. Additionally, Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) will be launching on Sui, enabling developers to build cross-chain flows from other chains like Solana and Ethereum.”

Sui’s decentralized exchanges are also experiencing increased activity primarily due to their low fees. The trading volume rose by 50% in the last seven days to $428 million, making Sui the 9th largest chain in the industry, surpassing popular blockchains like Tron and Avalanche.

This ecosystem growth has led to more transactions on the network. According to Suiscan, the number of transactions has grown to over 548,000, the highest level since May. Its six-month transactions have risen by 21% to 1.91 billion.

2. Sui’s Expansion in Blockchain Gaming

Sui is positioning itself as a significant player in the blockchain gaming industry, a key use case for blockchain technology. The developers have launched several gaming tools like zkLogin, which facilitates easy onboarding for gamers. It also features a kiosk that allows developers to set custom trading policies. Other top features include closed-loop tokens and parallel transaction processing.

Notably, the developers are taking pre-orders for a gaming console that will have blockchain features. During the pre-order process, users will create a new wallet that will hold a unique NFT upon delivery of the device.

Furthermore, Sui has seen a surge in futures open interest, which soared to a record high of $453 million on September 20.

3. Strong Technical Indicators

Sui’s recent price increase can also be attributed to its strong technical indicators. The upward trend began on August 5 with the formation of a small hammer candlestick, a popular reversal sign in price action analysis.

Sui has crossed the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which are about to form a golden cross, often a bullish indicator. The Average Directional Index has risen to 30, and the Relative Strength Index has moved to 83. These indicators suggest that Sui has bullish momentum, indicating that it may continue to rise in the near term.

If this trend continues, the next potential level to watch will be $2.17, which was its highest swing in March and is 40% above the current level.

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