What happened?
SUI’s price plunged roughly 15%, sliding from about $2.67 to under $2.28 during the recent market crash. Despite the dump, total value locked (TVL) hit an all-time high of $2.63 billion earlier this month, placing SUI 10th among layer-1 networks. On-chain activity tells a different story, with DEX trading volume falling over 50% from about $1B to $500M a day and active addresses steadily declining.
Who does this affect?
This hits SUI token holders and short-term traders first, who saw portfolio values and trading opportunities shrink. Developers, dApp teams, and liquidity providers on SUI face lower activity and potentially less fee revenue as users pull back. It also matters for investors comparing layer-1s, since SUI lost ground in active addresses and was even overtaken by SEI, shifting market attention and capital.
Why does this matter?
If SUI can’t hold the key demand zone around $2.30 it risks sliding toward $2.15 or $2.02, but a break above $2.50 and a flip of $2.80 could open a run to $3.00 and beyond toward $3.40. Lower DEX volume and falling active addresses mean thinner liquidity and bigger price swings, making it harder for large players to enter or exit without moving the market. Even with TVL at an all-time high, the gap between locked value and shrinking user activity could hurt confidence and push capital to other chains or short-term trading platforms, pressuring SUI’s price and market position.