- Sui demonstrated a capacity of 40.6 million transactions per second (TPS) through off-chain tunnels, verified independently by blockchain security firm CertiK.
- Mysten Labs co-founder Adeniyi Abiodun emphasized that autonomous AI agents, rather than human users, are the primary market driver for such extreme throughput.
- While the technical milestone illustrates high throughput, bridging the gap to real-world global settlement and meeting cross-border payment targets remains a significant hurdle.
Sui Reaches 40.6M TPS Through State Channels
In a major technical benchmark, Sui demonstrated an off-chain throughput capacity reaching 40.6 million transactions per second (TPS). These operational tunnels are designed to process diverse digital activities, including financial payments, high-speed messaging, and gaming. Functioning via off-chain channels, each closed tunnel is co-signed and formally verified on-chain, utilizing no more than two on-chain transactions to finalize settlements. This architecture allows thousands of intermediate micro-exchanges to occur at minimal cost.
However, the 40.6 million metric does not reflect the direct, native on-chain throughput of the network, which is monitored independently by Chainspect. To provide third-party validation of the trial, blockchain security firm CertiK independently confirmed the results of the performance event. CertiK is reviewing records of the execution flow, verification that the operation was successful, and all associated technical documentation, with official proof slated for release. Yuannan Yang, security engineering director at CertiK, highlighted the necessity of external oversight in Sui’s announcement:
“Transparent and independently verifiable performance measurements will become increasingly important.”
Targeting Autonomous AI Agents and the Global Payments Prize
The motivation behind achieving tens of millions of transactions per second centers heavily on machine-driven economies. Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder and chief product officer at Mysten Labs, argued that the scale is designed intentionally for machine intelligence rather than traditional human commerce. In an official statement from the Sui Foundation, Abiodun explained:
“No market in the world needs 6 million transactions per second, let alone 40 million: people just don’t move that fast. Agents do.”
Cost efficiency serves as a cornerstone of this vision. By confining thousands of interactions inside tunnels that require only two base-layer settlements, high-frequency transactions among software agents become economically viable. The market opportunity for disruption is immense: data from McKinsey estimates that the global payments industry produces roughly $2.6 trillion in annual revenue, with agentic AI projected to put approximately $75 billion of that revenue at risk by 2030.
Addressing the Real-World Cross-Border Settlement Gap
Despite high performance figures recorded under test conditions, significant friction remains between controlled throughput demonstrations and real-world cross-border value transfer. Targets set forth by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) aim for 75% of cross-border retail payments to settle within one hour, while reducing average transaction fees to 1% or below by 2027. However, the FSB’s 2025 progress report revealed minimal global headway and cautioned that the international community is unlikely to reach these goals on schedule.
Mainstream financial institutions are actively attempting to modernize legacy corridors. Major payment networks and institutions, including Visa and Lloyds, have tested continuous 24/7 stablecoin settlement mechanisms, while Swift continues to build proprietary blockchain-based payment infrastructure. Meanwhile, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) consistently cautions that processing speed cannot come at the expense of transaction trust and legal settlement finality.
Why This Matters
Demonstrating 40.6 million TPS confirms that Sui’s off-chain tunnel architecture can manage extreme volumes of computational traffic, offering a framework tailored for fast-moving AI agents. However, translating controlled technical milestones into practical enterprise utility requires widespread commercial adoption, regulatory clarity, and dependable settlement guarantees. The broader challenge moving forward is whether these off-chain architectures can integrate with traditional banking systems, lower cross-border settlement fees, and solve persistent payment inefficiencies at scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the 40.6 million TPS represent Sui’s native on-chain speed?
No. The 40.6 million TPS figure was achieved using off-chain tunnels rather than direct, native on-chain capacity, which is tracked separately by data analytics platforms such as Chainspect. Each tunnel leverages the main chain strictly for opening and co-signing the final settlement, capping base-layer usage at two transactions.
Who validated Sui’s performance milestone?
Blockchain security firm CertiK verified the performance results independently. Led by security engineering director Yuannan Yang, CertiK is reviewing execution logs, proof of success, and supporting technical documents before releasing its formal findings.
Why is such high throughput needed if human users do not require it?
According to Mysten Labs co-founder Adeniyi Abiodun, the infrastructure is built primarily for autonomous AI agents rather than people. Machine agents executing micro-transactions, data exchanges, and programmatic settlements operate at frequencies far higher than human consumers, necessitating ultra-low fees and high-volume capacity.
