SUI hits $14.8B DEX record, yet price action is trailing – Why?

• SUI sets a new DEX volume record at $14.8B, yet the price faces strong resistance below $3.87.
• Despite rising TVL and inflows, MACD and liquidation clusters signal limited short-term breakout potential.

Sui [SUI] has set a new milestone by recording its highest-ever monthly DEX volume in May 2025, reaching $14.8 billion. That’s nearly 4x its historical average of $3.93 billion.

Such an aggressive uptick points to heightened trading activity, possibly driven by growing interest in its native DeFi protocols and sustained momentum within its ecosystem. 

While volume growth often precedes price rallies, SUI’s current consolidation below key resistance suggests traders remain cautious. 

Still, this unprecedented surge in volume could lay the foundation for a breakout if buyer pressure persists.

Can rising TVL and on-chain activity fuel further upside?

SUI’s Total Value Locked (TVL) climbed to $2.346 billion, marking a 7.69% increase in the past 24 hours. 

This sharp rise signals that capital increasingly flows into SUI-based DeFi protocols.

On top of that, spot flows showed a mild accumulation bias: $54.92 million flowed in, while $53.61 million exited. That $1.31 million net inflow, coupled with rising TVL, hinted at steady hands accumulating during consolidation.

Despite robust on-chain signals, caution persists among traders.

Open Interest fell 2.83% to $1.79 billion, showing that leveraged traders may be taking a breather, either trimming exposure or locking in recent gains.

This moderation in speculative positions reflects uncertainty around short-term direction. 

Price action slows: Will resistance around $3.87 hold?

SUI traded at $3.69 at press time, up 3.98% on the day. Yet, it remained stuck under the heavy $3.87–$4.13 Fibonacci resistance zone.

So far, the price has been consolidating within this range for weeks, unable to break higher. 

The MACD indicator showed a weakening bullish trend, with the signal and MACD lines converging and histogram bars fading. 

Despite favorable DEX and TVL trends, this loss of momentum suggests that market participants are awaiting confirmation before entering aggressively. 

Therefore, unless buyers push through this resistance zone, the price may stay trapped in the current range.

Will SUI liquidation clusters block the breakout?

Liquidation Heatmap data revealed dense liquidation risk zones between $3.6 and $3.87, highlighting where short positions are most vulnerable. 

These clusters often act as resistance, as price moves toward them tend to trigger defensive selling or force liquidations. 

Breaking above $3.87 could fuel a short squeeze, accelerating the price toward the next key Fib level near $4.97. However, failure to clear this zone could invite a pullback to the $3.57 or even $3.12 levels. 

Can SUI convert growth into a decisive breakout?

Sure, SUI’s DeFi activity looks explosive, but its price still hasn’t followed suit.

The road ahead depends entirely on bulls mustering the strength to flip the $3.87–$4.13 range.

Without that breakout, even record-breaking metrics may not be enough to push SUI out of this holding pattern.