The cryptocurrency market has experienced a significant downturn recently, with prices falling, optimism waning, and altcoins facing considerable pressure. However, according to an analyst named Matty from the Altcoin Buzz YouTube channel, historical patterns suggest that strong projects are likely to make robust comebacks. In times of market turmoil, blockchains with solid foundational structures tend to emerge as leaders.
Matty conducted a comparative analysis of Sui, SEI, and Solana (SOL) to determine which has the greatest potential to lead the upcoming bull run.
Sui’s Developer Growth and DeFi Expansion
Matty began his discussion with Sui, highlighting its surprising resilience in adoption and development despite the prevailing market conditions. Sui’s daily active users have reportedly tripled compared to Ethereum’s, and it has surpassed Mantle in stablecoin supply, indicating a significant influx of liquidity into the chain.
Sui has become a highly attractive platform for developers. Electric Capital recognized it among the top five global blockchains for new developer growth this year, placing it alongside established networks like Ethereum and Solana. This achievement is particularly noteworthy for a project that launched only a few years ago.
The Sui ecosystem is experiencing vibrant activity. Strategic partnerships, such as the collaboration with Figure Markets to launch YLDS, a yield-bearing stablecoin registered with the SEC, signal Sui's strategic entry into regulated financial markets. Furthermore, the chain supports BlackRock’s USDI tokenized money market fund, underscoring its growing relevance in real-world financial applications.
Sui's decentralized finance (DeFi) and gaming ecosystems are expanding rapidly. Platforms like Bluefin and Suiland have contributed to pushing the total value locked (TVL) above $2 billion, even during a bearish market phase. A key challenge for Sui, however, lies in achieving greater decentralization, as a substantial portion of its activity currently relies on a limited number of validators. This could pose a risk as the network continues to scale.
Matty assessed Sui’s current price at approximately $2 as “pretty undervalued,” given the pace of its development and adoption. The future trajectory of this price point will likely depend on the team's ability to effectively balance growth initiatives with ongoing efforts to enhance decentralization in the coming months.
SEI’s Speed and Institutional Momentum
The next blockchain under scrutiny is SEI Network, which Matty characterized as one of the most “focused” chains in the industry. SEI is specifically engineered for real-time trading, aiming to capture market share in sectors that demand high transaction speeds, such as DeFi, on-chain order books, and gaming.
The network’s twin-turbo consensus mechanism enables transaction finality in as little as 400 milliseconds, a speed that often surpasses Solana’s own performance benchmarks. This rapid finality is not merely a technical advantage but a crucial feature for high-frequency financial applications.
SEI has also attracted significant interest from institutional investors. Matty cited the launch of the KAIO tokenized fund on SEI, a collaboration with Laser Digital, a subsidiary of Japan’s leading investment bank, Nomura. Other prominent financial institutions, including BlackRock, Apollo, and Hamilton Lane, are reportedly exploring the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) on the SEI platform.
In terms of network activity, SEI has demonstrated substantial growth. With over 13 million monthly active addresses and $10 billion in decentralized exchange (DEX) volume over the past year, the network shows strong user engagement. However, its total value locked (TVL) still lags behind larger competitors like Solana, indicating that while adoption is on the rise, it has not yet reached its full potential.
Matty also highlighted SEI’s upcoming Giga upgrade, which is designed to enhance performance and potentially support up to 200,000 transactions per second. If this upgrade achieves its objectives, SEI could solidify its position as one of the fastest blockchains available. The recent listing of SEI on Robinhood has provided it with increased exposure to retail investors, further boosting its momentum heading into the next market cycle.
Solana’s Resilience and Real-World Adoption
A comprehensive comparison would be incomplete without including Solana, which has emerged as a remarkable comeback story in the cryptocurrency space. After facing significant challenges following the FTX collapse, the SOL token has experienced a resurgence, marked by record-breaking trading volumes, substantial growth in NFT activity, and expanding DeFi engagement.
Despite recent price pullbacks, with SOL trading around $164, Solana’s ongoing progress extends beyond its token price. As Matty observed, the launch of two spot ETFs tracking Solana, Bitwise’s and Grayscale’s GSOL, signifies a pivotal moment. This development places Solana in direct conversation with Bitcoin and Ethereum from an institutional investment perspective.
Another significant development is Western Union's integration with Solana for cross-border payment solutions. The deployment of its USDPT stablecoin across 150 countries represents a major stride toward mainstream adoption. For a company with tens of millions of users, this partnership offers substantial exposure to the Solana network.
Solana’s core strengths continue to be its high transaction speeds and scalability, enabling it to process over 65,000 transactions per second with minimal fees. The network has also become a popular hub for retail traders and meme coin enthusiasts, generating a cultural momentum that many other blockchains find challenging to replicate.
Nevertheless, concerns regarding network centralization and past outages persist among developers and users. While network stability has improved, the memory of previous downtime incidents remains a point of consideration.
Which Chain Could Lead this Bull Run
Matty concluded his analysis with a balanced perspective, acknowledging that no single project currently stands out as a definitive winner. Each of these blockchains is forging its unique path within the Web3 landscape.
Sui distinguishes itself through its robust developer community and rapid adoption rates. SEI excels in speed and its strategic focus on institutional adoption. Solana maintains a strong lead in terms of popularity, established trust, and retail user growth.
It is possible that this bull run will not be dominated by a single blockchain. Instead, multiple blockchains could thrive concurrently, each capturing a distinct segment of the future internet. As Matty suggested, the future is unlikely to be a "winner-take-all" scenario; rather, it will be determined by which projects build the most value within their respective domains.