Top 10 SUI dApps

Key Takeaways

• Sui is a Layer 1 blockchain focused on horizontal scaling, low fees, and fast finality.

• Its programming model enables composable and dynamic dApp development through object ownership and access control.

• dApps on Sui span DeFi, gaming, NFTs, identity, and infrastructure.

• Developers can build responsive, interactive onchain apps with better performance than many EVM chains.

• The top Sui projects and dApps are driving ecosystem growth and innovation, showcasing Sui's leadership in DeFi, NFTs, and decentralized applications.

What Makes the Sui Ecosystem Unique?

Sui’s architecture is centered around parallel transaction execution. This means non-conflicting transactions can be processed simultaneously, significantly boosting throughput. In contrast to account-based models, Sui uses an object-centric model, where each asset is treated as a programmable object with its own ownership rules.

This enables more expressive smart contracts and features like:

• Instant settlement of simple transactions

• Rich composability for complex workflows

• Enhanced scalability without Layer 2 rollups

• Fine-grained access control and versioning

Sui also introduces Sui programmable transaction blocks, which enable advanced and flexible transaction capabilities within the Sui ecosystem, allowing developers to build sophisticated financial tools and enhance interoperability.

Sui History and Future

Sui’s journey began with Mysten Labs, a team of blockchain veterans who previously contributed to Meta’s Diem project. Their vision was to create a blockchain that could overcome the traditional limitations of scalability, security, and decentralization—the so-called blockchain trilemma. Launched in May 2023, the Sui blockchain quickly established itself as a major player in the blockchain space, thanks to its innovative smart contract platform and object-centric architecture.

The Sui Foundation has played a pivotal role in nurturing the broader Sui ecosystem, supporting developers and creators through grants, educational resources, and community initiatives. This strong foundation has helped Sui achieve impressive milestones, including a market capitalization surpassing $15 billion and a DeFi ecosystem with over $2 billion in total value locked. The network’s appeal to liquidity providers and decentralized exchanges has fueled rapid growth in decentralized finance (DeFi) activity, making Sui a hub for innovative decentralized applications.

Looking ahead, the future of Sui appears exceptionally bright. Its ability to process transactions in parallel, combined with low fees and high throughput, positions the Sui network as an ideal platform for a wide range of decentralized applications—from high-frequency DeFi protocols to real-time gaming experiences. As more projects and developers join the Sui ecosystem, the network is expected to attract even greater liquidity, deeper community engagement, and a growing array of decentralized exchanges and financial products. With its commitment to supporting the community and advancing blockchain technology, Sui is poised to become a leading force in decentralized finance and the next generation of smart contract platforms.

Types of dApps Thriving on Sui

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Protocols

Sui hosts a variety of DeFi protocols, including decentralized exchanges and lending platforms, that leverage its high performance to deliver innovative financial services. Sui-based decentralized exchanges utilize concentrated liquidity protocols and concentrated liquidity market makers to enhance capital efficiency and provide deep liquidity, enabling users to execute large trades with minimal slippage. Automated market making and trading and liquidity provision are key features of Sui DeFi platforms, supporting efficient and permissionless trading experiences.

Liquidity pools and liquidity provision are essential for both users and developers, as they build robust and adaptable liquidity networks that optimize trading and capital allocation. DeFi protocols on Sui support decentralized lending and collateralized lending, offering flexible asset support for a wide range of digital assets, including liquid staked assets and other digital assets. Lending platforms on Sui incorporate advanced risk management tools and improved liquidation risk control to protect users and maintain platform stability.

Sui oracle partners play a crucial role in providing secure and reliable price feeds, further enhancing risk management and asset support. High daily trading volumes, strong market cap, and active participation from the community are key indicators of protocol success and ecosystem growth. The presence of Sui based tokens and Scallop Market Coins as examples of digital assets within the ecosystem demonstrates the diversity and innovation of Sui’s DeFi landscape.

These features collectively contribute to efficient DeFi transactions and drive the overall growth and sustainability of the Sui ecosystem.

NFT Marketplaces & Creators

Sui supports dynamic NFTs that evolve over time, with Sui NFTs emerging as a key innovation in the NFT space. This enables new types of onchain art, gaming assets, and membership systems. Additionally, the rise of meme coin-inspired NFT projects on Sui is driving strong community engagement and cultural relevance within the ecosystem.

Gaming & Virtual Worlds

With fast transaction speeds and low latency, Sui enables real-time multiplayer games with fully onchain logic and assets.

Additionally, some Sui gaming or NFT projects contribute to wildlife conservation efforts by directing profits or community-driven initiatives toward supporting real-world environmental and conservation projects.

Wallets & Identity

The Move language allows for secure and customizable authentication and wallet designs, improving both UX and safety.

For example, the Sui Wallet is a secure and user-friendly option for managing SUI tokens, NFTs, and interacting with Sui dApps, and is available as a browser extension on the Chrome Web Store. Sui naming services enable users to manage multiple blockchain addresses under a single human-readable name, simplifying blockchain interactions and reducing the risk of errors. These services also support decentralized websites and blockchain-based DNS records, providing secure, censorship-resistant, and user-controlled digital identities. All these features are focused on enabling users to have a seamless, secure, and unified experience across the Sui ecosystem.

Infrastructure & Tooling

Indexers, analytics platforms, and SDKs are quickly maturing to support builders with powerful backend services.

Additionally, decentralized storage protocols are emerging on Sui, offering secure, distributed data management through blockchain-based solutions.

Sui Ecosystem: Getting Started

Getting started with the Sui ecosystem is designed to be user-friendly, whether you’re a crypto newcomer or a seasoned blockchain enthusiast. The first step is to set up a Sui-compatible wallet, such as Ethos Wallet or Suiet, which allows you to securely store, send, and receive SUI tokens. Once your wallet is ready, you can purchase SUI tokens on popular exchanges like BingX, or experiment risk-free by claiming testnet tokens from the Sui Faucet.

With SUI tokens in your wallet, you’re ready to explore the growing world of Sui dApps. Connect your wallet to decentralized exchanges, lending platforms, or NFT marketplaces built on the Sui network to start trading, providing liquidity, or participating in DeFi protocols. The Sui ecosystem is constantly evolving, with new projects and features launching regularly, so staying informed is key.

It’s important to do your own research before diving into any new Sui dapp or investment opportunity. Make sure to use reputable wallets, enable security features like two-factor authentication, and keep your recovery phrases safe. As you navigate the Sui ecosystem, keep an eye on community updates and best practices to maximize your experience and minimize risks.

By following these steps, you can confidently begin your journey in the Sui ecosystem—taking advantage of its scalable blockchain, innovative dApps, and vibrant community. Whether you’re interested in decentralized exchanges, DeFi, or simply exploring what Sui has to offer, the network provides a secure and dynamic environment for all users.

Why QuickNode for Sui?

QuickNode supports builders in the Sui ecosystem with high-performance infrastructure and tools that accelerate development. QuickNode powers a wide range of Sui projects, including DeFi platforms, gaming ecosystems, NFTs, wallets, and more:

• Fast, reliable RPC and WebSocket endpoints for interacting with the Sui chain

• Stream Templates for setting up real-time tracking of objects, contracts, or wallet activity

• Sui-specific API enhancements to simplify complex queries and interactions

• Monitoring and analytics to understand dApp behavior and user trends

• Marketplace Add-Ons that extend observability and performance with plug-and-play integrations

For developers working with Move or scaling dApps across chains, QuickNode offers a battle-tested stack to build production-grade apps on Sui with confidence.

Summary

The Sui ecosystem is expanding rapidly across DeFi, gaming, NFTs, and infra—with unique features that appeal to developers looking for scalability and expressive programming capabilities. The top Sui dApps and top Sui projects are key drivers of this ecosystem growth, showcasing innovation in areas like DeFi, NFTs, gaming, and wallets. The diversity of Sui ecosystem projects highlights the strength of Sui's blockchain ecosystem, enabling high scalability, security, and institutional-grade financial services.

As more dApps launch and gain traction, infrastructure choices like RPC providers will play a pivotal role in performance and user experience. The growing participation of retail investors and the active crypto community further fuel Sui's momentum, making it a vibrant environment for both users and developers. Leadership from industry experts like Evan Cheng, who has contributed significantly to Sui's development, adds credibility and vision to the project.

Please note: This article does not provide investment advice. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions. Additionally, circulating supply is an important metric to consider when evaluating Sui tokens and projects.

With support for Sui’s architecture and dev tools, QuickNode provides the backend strength needed to ship and scale your next-gen Sui application.