SUI, native to the proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain of the same name, has hit a new all-time low, falling to $0.367 in the early hours of Wednesday. Thus accumulating around 70% depreciation in value since its launch.
Launched in May 2023, the SUI blockchain is presented as a first-layer smart contract platform designed to make digital asset ownership fast, private, secure and accessible to everyone.
The SUI token is used to pay gas fees, participate in staking, and govern the network.
While the SUI cryptocurrency managed a slight recovery to $0.375 at the time of the news, its value has decreased by 4.1% in just one day and 8.7% in the last week, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Accusations of Manipulation in Staking Systems
This decline comes amid accusations of manipulation hanging over the project, and regulators in South Korea have expressed their intention to investigate such comments.
The national media is extensively covering the news at the moment, as well as the X community, where due to the complication, some exclusive research on the topic has been shared.
Several tweets share what may be intentionally misrepresented broadcasts and evidence that the team itself is throwing locked and non-circulating SUI rewards to Binance.
Just In: According to blockmedia, the director of the South Korean Financial Supervisory Service responded to a question that if SUI team is manipulating the circulation through staking or improper disclosure, it must be corrected. He will check it after confirming it with the…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 17, 2023
Allegations of manipulation center on the SUI Foundation, which is credited with exploiting reserves of SUI coins locked through staking to generate profits and increase the supply in circulation.
The SUI Foundation, which supports the project, has responded to these accusations by calling them “materially false” and “baseless.”
Representative Min Byeong-deok of the Democratic Party of Korea accused the Foundation of benefiting itself by staking tokens that should not be in circulation.
The president of the South Korean Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Lee Bok-hyun, has indicated that if the manipulation accusations are confirmed, the regulator could inspect the consulting firm Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA).
The SUI Foundation has stated that the information about the circulating supply of SUI on their website and public APIs is accurate and that they have never sold SUI tokens outside of certain initial distributions.
These developments come at a time when South Korea, a market known for its fervent interest in cryptocurrencies, is actively working on regulations on the case to ensure investor safety and prevent illegal activities.
