On October 15, Sui Network took to Twitter to address allegations surrounding the recent surge in SUI token sales. The controversy erupted after the crypto account @lightcrypto posted evidence accusing an insider at Sui or the Sui Foundation of selling $400 million worth of SUI tokens. The sales allegedly accelerated during the first two weeks of October, coinciding with a price increase.
One thing that I’ve found more and more baffling in the last few weeks is the vertical ascent of SUI, with it quintupling off the lows (Ex 1). The market is starved for winners, and believes it has found one here, yet it all feels awfully chintzy for two reasons that I think feed… pic.twitter.com/VKISXpdxp1
— light (@lightcrypto) October 14, 2024
@lightcrypto pointed out that while Sui’s market capitalization is only one-quarter of Solana’s, insiders appear to be offloading vast amounts of tokens, potentially misleading investors. The post quickly gained traction among the crypto community, prompting Sui’s official account to issue a response.
In its statement, Sui denied that the Sui Foundation or its developer Mysten Labs were involved in the alleged sale or violated any token unlocking schedules. However, Sui did acknowledge that the sales could be linked to an “infrastructure partner” who had received tokens as part of the project’s unlocking schedule. The foundation clarified that this partner had not breached the agreement.
Following an allegation of “Sui insiders selling $400M in tokens throughout this run-up,” Sui Foundation would like to respond directly to this individual:
1. No insiders, neither employees of the Foundation or Mysten Labs (including Mysten Labs founders), nor ML investors,…
— Sui (@SuiNetwork) October 14, 2024
Despite the clarification, the admission sparked further criticism from the crypto community. Many argued that an entity with access to $400 million in SUI should be considered an insider, given their likely knowledge of the project’s developments. This could give them an unfair advantage when timing their token sales.
The SUI token’s price has remained stable amid the controversy, trading around $2.22, slightly below its all-time high of $2.36 set on October 14. Since early September, the token has surged by 180%.
Sui has previously faced accusations of secretly selling tokens on Binance and has come under scrutiny for its unclear tokenomics and supply allocations, even drawing the attention of South Korean regulators.
