Solana's Institutional Inflows Surge 125% in May, Outpacing SUI's Growth

In April 2025, the cryptocurrency market experienced notable shifts, with Bitcoin maintaining its strength amidst rising institutional interest and changing macroeconomic trends. Meanwhile, some altcoins faced challenges due to token unlocks and speculative fatigue.

Layer 1 blockchains (L1s) have seen a significant decline, with a year-to-date decrease of 34%. Despite this, institutional interest in Solana (SOL) surged in May, with $6 million in inflows during the week ending May 3. This influx marked a turnaround for Solana, which had previously struggled to maintain institutional support. The total year-to-date flows for Solana reached $80 million, surpassing SUI's $72 million. This trend was driven by Solana's strong presence in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, where it facilitated $35 billion worth of transactions via decentralized exchanges (DEXs) since the beginning of May. The potential approval of a Solana ETF further boosted its prospects, with analysts predicting that a SOL ETF could be approved before an SUI ETF, given the SEC's review of multiple applications for spot SOL ETFs.

In contrast, SUI, another blockchain project, saw a 76% increase in total value locked (TVL), reaching $2.0 billion. However, Solana's dominance in the DeFi space, with a 40% increase in TVL to $9.38 billion, indicated that SUI was unlikely to become a "Solana killer" anytime soon. SUI's growth was attributed to its scalable and technically differentiated blockchain infrastructure, which aligned with long-term investment theses. The backing from players like Franklin Templeton and Grayscale suggested that SUI's growth was more than a short-term trend.

The competition between Solana and SUI underscored the evolving dynamics of the crypto market, where institutional investment and technological innovation were key drivers. While Solana's established presence and institutional support gave it an edge, SUI's growth in the DeFi space indicated its potential for future development. The potential launch of ETFs for both Solana and SUI added another layer of complexity to the competition, with analysts predicting that Solana could gain an advantage in this regard.

Overall, April 2025 was a month of significant developments in the crypto market, with institutional investment and technological innovation driving the growth of blockchain projects like Solana and SUI. The competition between these projects highlighted the dynamic nature of the crypto landscape, where established players and emerging contenders vied for dominance in the DeFi space. As the market continued to evolve, the potential launch of ETFs for Solana and SUI added another dimension to the competition, with analysts predicting that Solana could gain an advantage in this regard.