Sui Debunks $400M Insider Trading Claims, Says Sales Are From Infrastructure Partner

Sui Foundation, the non-profit organization behind the layer-1 blockchain and ecosystem, has debunked allegations of insiders selling $400 million worth of the network’s native token, SUI since the asset began its remarkable rally.

According to a tweet from the foundation, the wallet address involved in the sales likely belongs to an infrastructure partner, and the token releases align with Sui’s lockup schedule.

$400M SUI Insider Trading Allegations

On October 14, pseudonymous crypto trader and analyst Lightcrypto took to X to outline a “baffling” occurrence they had noticed in the last few weeks: the dramatic rally of SUI. Lightcrypto questioned the basis for the surge from a risk-reward perspective, insisting that the belief that SUI can follow in Solana’s (SOL) footsteps is no longer sustainable.

The crypto analyst further questioned if SUI had shown a quarter of Solana’s potential, even as the coin was trading at a $23 billion fully diluted valuation (FDV) at the time, a quarter of Solana’s valuation.

Data from CoinMarketCap shows Sui’s FDV has fallen to $21.33 billion at the time of writing. The asset has rallied 96% in the last 30 days and roughly 10% in the past week. However, the insider trading allegations pulled the coin down 5% in the past 24 hours to $2.13.

Lightcrypto believes Sui’s rally results from the crypto market being starved for winners and having found one for awful reasons. According to the trader, insiders, including a large foundation wallet, have sold $400 million worth of SUI throughout the surge. They began offloading the tokens at much lower prices and have increased their selling with the price surge.

“It does not bring comfort that the people building this ecosystem, the people who arguably know this token’s value best, are unloading hundreds of millions of dollars of the token into less informed buyers chasing momentum,” Lightcrypto added.

SUI Sales by Compliant Partner

The Sui Foundation insists that no insiders, employees, or SUI investors, including individuals from its core contributor, Mysten Labs, have engaged in any preemptive selling of the coin or the violation of its supply schedule.

However, since Lightcrypto did not identify the wallet address making the sales, it is believed that a compliant partner of the foundation is carrying out the actions. Notably, the foundation monitors and enforces the supply schedule, which is enforced by qualified custodians.