In 2025, Sui was doing something interesting while most blockchains were just copying each other. Did you notice? When ONE Championship was broadcast in over 190 countries with the Sui logo on the boxing ring, it was not just a sponsorship moment — it was a symbol of positioning. Sui chose the third way, not like Ethereum, which transferred everything into the ecosystem, and not like Solana, which squeezed everything into one chain.

The thing is, all year long, Sui quietly built something called Sui Stack. Sounds technical? Yes, but the core idea is simpler: it’s a toolkit for developers where everything is already integrated and ready to use. Previously, if you wanted to create a complex app on Sui, you had to connect to a bunch of third-party services. Now, you don’t.

Take Walrus — a decentralized storage layer launched in March. In eight months, it already exceeded 300 TB, with partners from AI, media, and entertainment. Or Seal — a protocol for access control to assets. Before, it was a mess of different solutions, now it’s built into the Sui protocol itself. And Nautilus — an off-chain computation platform with on-chain verification. Three components, one stack.

Why is this important? Because when the underlying infrastructure is well-established, a small team of three to five people can do what previously required dozens. It changes the development dynamics. More teams will want to build on Sui, more applications will emerge, more users will come. The cycle.

I also noticed that traditional financial institutions are starting to come to Sui. Grayscale launched a trust fund, VanEck — an ETN, Franklin Templeton — tokenized funds. They’re not doing this just for fun — they choose a blockchain based on technological maturity. Sui Stack is exactly the kind of infrastructural integrity that gives them confidence.

And as for 2026 — the Sui team is clearly planning something. During their annual broadcast in December, they shared several key signals. First: the focus is shifting from institutions to regular users. Aslan said he wants to achieve in decentralized finance on Sui what’s done in Robinhood — simple deposits, smooth payments. And here’s a promise: stablecoin transfers on Sui will be free. At the protocol level, not subsidized.

Second signal: privacy. Sui plans to add support for private transactions directly into the protocol. This isn’t a wallet feature but part of the chain itself. Kostyas gave an example: someone in Dubai wanted to donate but didn’t want to show their balance. Privacy isn’t a luxury; it’s a prerequisite for mass adoption.

Third signal: Evan repeatedly talked about a “protocol at the product level.” The idea is to encapsulate the complexity of technology so that developers can build higher without diving into primitives. In conclusion, Evan said: “Don’t ask when we will add a feature. Watch how we do it.” This reflects the team’s attitude.

Adeniji later posted a long thread on Twitter about five trends he believes are already defined: stablecoins are becoming the standard of payments, DeFi is absorbing the traditional financial system, privacy is becoming the norm, automation is the default rule, and gaming is strengthening digital ownership. And his argument: no single L1 network will withstand this convergence of trends; a full technological stack is needed. That’s the basic logic of Sui.

Of course, recognizing a trend and truly seeing it emerge are different things. In 2021, many considered NFTs and the metaverse essential. Then we know what happened. So when the team says, “We are preparing for necessity” — it’s fair to ask: on what basis? But at least they know what they’re talking about and how to do it. Sui is still in the game, still attacking. Whether it will win — time will tell.