In the ever-expanding universe of blockchain technologies, two giants have emerged, capturing not only the imagination of the crypto community but also billions of dollars in market value.
Sui and Aptos, each with their unique features and capabilities, have positioned themselves as game-changers in the blockchain arena.
As the global cryptocurrency market is projected to reach a staggering $4.94 trillion by 2030, the competition between these two powerhouses has investors, developers, and enthusiasts on the edge of their seats.
When it comes to choosing the right blockchain technology, a lot of features and factors must be considered.
In this article, we will explore the similarities and differences between Sui and Aptos blockchains, delving into various aspects such as programming language, consensus mechanism, architecture, security, privacy, ecosystem, scalability, tokenomics, and funding. By the end of this article, you will have a clearer understanding of which blockchain suits your needs best.
The Similarities of Aptos and Sui
Both Aptos and Sui blockchains are designed to address the scalability and efficiency issues faced by the current generation of blockchain networks. They both implement one of the most advanced programming languages – Move, utilize parallel execution for high throughput (TPS), and offer low latency. These similarities make them attractive options for businesses looking to build blockchain-based applications.
Blaize has already considered the topic of choosing suitable blockchain technology for running your project. Feel free to discover our advice here.
Aptos vs. Sui: Detailed Comparison
Programming Language
The language used for parallel execution in both Aptos and Sui is Move, which is based on Rust and was initially designed at Meta. The language offers powerful tools and features to build smart contracts and decentralized applications. However, Sui has its own version of the language.
Aptos follows the standard design outlined in Diem’s whitepaper, while Sui has a slightly different object model. Sui’s storage system is object-centric, which means that most things on the blockchain, including addresses and transactions, are represented as objects.
Sui’s version of Move clearly indicates when an object is owned, shared, mutable, or immutable, whereas Aptos does not. Additionally, Sui’s ownership API is cleaner than Aptos’s, as it provides a clearer representation of the blockchain design.
Consensus Mechanism
Sui and Aptos have different architectures that affect how they use distributed ledger technology. Aptos uses a blockchain to record its ledger, while Sui’s distributed ledger is a directed acyclic graph. This impacts their consensus mechanisms and scalability.
Aptos utilizes a variant of the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism called Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT), which ensures high network security and fast transaction confirmations. Sui, on the other hand, employs a novel consensus mechanism called Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS), which emphasizes energy efficiency and decentralization. Sui uses an asynchronous consensus protocol called Narwhal and Bullshark, which allows for parallel execution of transactions.
Architecture
Sui and Aptos differ significantly in their architecture, particularly in how they utilize distributed ledger technology. Sui’s ledger is stored as a directed acyclic graph (DAG) rather than a blockchain like Aptos. While both designs are efficient and share similarities with traditional blockchains, their differences are essential to their consensus mechanism and scalability.
Aptos has a modular architecture that enables easy upgrades and customizations, while Sui focuses on a multi-layered architecture to separate the consensus, storage, and computation layers. This allows for improved scalability and flexibility in the network.
Security and Privacy
While it is true that Aptos and Sui have not undergone a formal audit, this does not necessarily mean that they are not secure or reliable. Many blockchain projects have been successfully launched without formal audits, and smaller projects are not uncommon to prioritize other aspects of development before seeking formal auditing.
However, it’s important to acknowledge that potential vulnerabilities or flaws in the code may not be identified without a formal audit. It’s also worth noting that the lack of a formal audit could be a cause for concern for some investors and users who prioritize security and transparency. At Blaize, we provide deep security audit services for blockchains (nodes and consensus).
While Move programming language offers a significant level of security by its design, it doesn’t make contracts secure by default. Secure contract development includes using modern language features while crafting the code and secure and reliable architectural design of the contract with obligatory smart contract security audit.
Ecosystem
The ecosystems are very different and extensive in both projects. Every day there is something new to discover at both chains. It’s hard to pick out an outsider and a favorite. Aptos blockchain got its popularity before Sui, but at the moment, judging by the number of followers on Discord, Sui is overtaking Aptos.
After a surge in the popularity of Aptos several months ago, many various projects were created and launched exactly using that blockchain. During the year 2022, over 100 projects were developed using Aptos network.
The most popular projects built over Aptos include Pontem (a universal wallet) and Pyth (a modern oracle).
Aptos boasts a growing ecosystem of tools, libraries, and developer resources, while Sui’s ecosystem is relatively nascent but has the potential to grow rapidly as more developers join the network.
As for Sui, the mainnet of the network will only be launched in Q2 2023 and the testnet was launched in the last days of March 2023. Thus, the majority of the project is now TBA. One of the most remarkable Sui projects so far is Sui wallet. Still, the Sui blockchain has great potential to overtake Aptos due to its scalability level.
Scalability
Aptos and Sui both focus on achieving high scalability through parallel execution, sharding, and other techniques, aiming to support millions of transactions per second.
Instead of relying on a centralized validator or pursuing large-scale decentralization, both Sui and Aptos prioritize optimizing scalability by maximizing network capacity, similar to the approach taken by Solana. However, the bottleneck in achieving this goal is likely to be the growth of the ecosystem’s state.
To address this bottleneck, Aptos prioritizes using heterogeneous validators with constrained CPU and storage resources, while Sui plans to efficiently shard data storage and scale its resources horizontally.
Tokenomics
Aptos and Sui are two blockchain ecosystems with different approaches to their tokenomics. Aptos has released an overview of their tokenomics for their native token APT, but additional information is expected to be published soon. APT is currently used for PoS participation and liquidity incentives, with an initial supply of 1 billion tokens. The majority of the initial supply is currently staked for PoS participation, with the remaining tokens allocated to different categories.
On the other hand, Mysten Labs has published an in-depth whitepaper on the native token of Sui, SUI. SUI will be staked within an epoch to participate in the proof-of-stake mechanism and on-chain voting. Additionally, SUI will be used as the asset denomination to pay for gas fees and other operations on the Sui platform, with a total supply of 10 billion tokens. The exact allocation percentages for the distribution of tokens have not been released, but the presence of the storage fund can create monetary dynamics and reduce the amount of SUI in circulation.
Funding
Aptos Labs has amassed a total of about $400 million in funding from a wide array of capital ventures, including Andreessen Horowitz, FTX Ventures, Jump Crypto, a16z, Tiger Global, and Multicoin Capital, among others. At present, Aptos Labs counts 28 investors among its backers.
Meanwhile, Sui is making significant strides with its latest funding round, the Series B, which took place in September 2022. The company behind Sui, Mysten Labs, has received significant support from major investors, such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, and Redpoint and managed to secure $300 million in this funding round, bringing Sui’s total funding to $36 million when combined with the $336 million raised in the Series A. Sui has also announced that it currently holds a valuation of over $2 billion.
| Aptos/AptosLabs | Sui/Mysten Labs | |
| Founders, Core team | Mo Shaikh, Avery Ching (ex-Meta) | Evan Cheng, Sam Blackshear, Adeniyi Abiodun, George Danezis (ex-Meta) |
| Funds Raised | 400M$ | 36M$ (Round A)300M$ (Round B) |
| Investors | Andreessen Horowitz, FTX Ventures, Jump Crypto, a16z, Tiger Global, Multicoin Capital | Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint |
| Token | APT | SUI |
| Consensus Protocol | Proof-of-Stake (Byzantine Fault Tolerance) | Delegated Proof-of-Stake (Narwhal and Bullshark) |
| Capacity, TPS | 130000 TPS | 120000 TPS |
| Mainnet Launch | October 17, 2022 | Planned in Q2 2023 |
What Can You Get Involved With Aptos and Sui
Both Aptos and Sui offer various opportunities for developers and businesses to get involved, such as incentivized testnets, hackathons, and partnership programs. By participating in these events, you can contribute to the growth of the networks, gain firsthand experience with the technology, and potentially develop innovative solutions using either Aptos or Sui.
Sui is well suited to projects where high transaction speeds and high levels of security are critical, as it is based on the Move language and designed to provide security when using smart contracts. Sui is also uniquely suited to the development of financial dapps such as exchange platforms and protocols, payment systems, etc.
On the other hand, Aptos may be preferred for projects requiring greater programming and application development capabilities, as it supports various programming languages such as Rust, C++, Python, etc. Aptos also provides more options for creating various applications, including smart contracts, dapps, wallets and provides scalability due to its architecture.
Thus, the choice between Sui and Aptos will depend on the specific needs of the project and the developer’s preferences.
We at Blaize have already shared our expertise in creating and deploying smart contracts and comparing the most popular blockchains. You can get acquainted with the topic here.
Blaize Experience
At Blaize, we have worked closely with both Aptos and Sui. Our team has gained in-depth knowledge of their respective strengths and weaknesses, allowing us to provide our clients with tailored solutions based on their specific needs. We have wide experience in Aptos and Sui networks and auditing the security of various applications, from supply chain management to decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. By leveraging our expertise, you can confidently choose the right blockchain technology for your business.
One example of a project that could be developed using Aptos is a Play-To-Earn project with a front end and backend. This project could take advantage of Aptos’ low fees and fast transaction times to provide a seamless user experience for players, while the backend could use smart contracts to ensure fair play and secure payouts. Additionally, since Aptos is designed to be scalable, the platform could handle large volumes of transactions without sacrificing performance.
On the other hand, the Sui blockchain is also built on the Move programming language and is designed to provide a secure and scalable platform for various applications, including financial transactions. One project developed using Sui is a Dutch auction, while another more significant project is a fractionalized NFT auction platform. These platforms can take advantage of Sui’s high level of security and scalability to ensure efficient and transparent processing of all transactions.
Sui blockchain features perfectly suit NFT projects (NFT marketplaces, P2E games, etc.). Moreover, Sui’s smart contracts can provide an additional layer of security to ensure fair auctions and equitable revenue distribution among all parties involved.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both Aptos and Sui have their unique selling points and hold great potential for businesses looking to adopt blockchain technology. However, Sui and Aptos are rapidly developing ecosystems, they’re still pretty ‘young’ compared to other big players in the industry. Thus, they are definitely expected to settle all security audit issues soon.
Overall, it is not possible to objectively assess one company as the best or the worst, as both are still in their early stages of development. It is important to monitor their continued success regarding their security and to consider the interests and needs of users when using their products and services.
A good recommendation would be to analyze as many sources of information as possible to find out the non-evident peculiarities of the projects. For instance, various forums, AMA-session recaps, etc. Both projects are truly prospective and worth consideration.
At Blaize, we are committed to helping you navigate the complex world of blockchain and find the best solution for your needs. We know the strong and weak points of blockchains and will definitely help you to pick a better one for your project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Aptos and Sui secure?
Both Sui and Aptos definitely focus on security but they haven’t formalized it yet through core elements audit. This is a perfect example showing the importance of creating adaptive methods for Aptos and Sui projects audit. Currently, Blaize audit experts prioritize this direction.
Is the Aptos blockchain better than the Sui blockchain?
Each blockchain has its strengths and weaknesses. It is crucial to evaluate both based on your business needs and priorities. At Blaize we assist our clients in choosing the most suitable option for their business needs and goals.
What are the key differences between Aptos and Sui?
The main difference between Aptos and Sui is that Aptos mainnet has already been launched, and Sui mainnet will be launched in Q2 2023. Another crucial difference comprises capacity: Aptos’s capacity (TPS) is currently higher than Sui’s one.
What kind of projects can be built over Aptos and Sui blockchains?
Aptos and Sui are pretty universal, so there are a lot of various projects, for instance, DeFi, NFT projects, wallets, supply chains, play-to-earn games, etc. Blaize expertise lets us use the advantages of both chains in crafting supreme products for our clients.
WHICH CONSENSUS PROTOCOL DOES SUI UTILIZE?
Sui blockchain utilizes a novel peer-reviewed consensus protocol based on Narwhal and Bullshark, which provides a DAG-based mempool and efficient Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus. The Narwhal and Bullshark consensus engines are designed to optimize the performance and robustness of the blockchain network, providing fast execution and efficient transaction processing.