SUI Price Under Pressure as Traders Pull Back From Futures Contracts 

• $SUI price poised to escape month-long consolidation as buyers attempt a breakout from the inverted pennant pattern.
• $SUI futures open interest declined from $955.5 million to $476 million, reflecting a sharp contraction in derivatives activity.
• Crypto fear and greed index at 15% suggests an extreme bearish sentiment among market participants.

On Wednesday, March 11th, the $SUI price rose over 3% to exchange hands at $0.987. The bullish uptick aligns with broader market surge following the US CPI data for February 2026 showing annual inflation steady at 2.4%. The figure, in line with market expectations, raises odds for Fed rate cut in March. However, the total volume locked (TVL) in the $SUI network remains sluggish since last months suggesting hesitation among market participants amid geopolitical tension. Can $SUI price regain $1 this month?

$SUI Ecosystem Growth Slows as TVL and Derivatives Activity Decline

$SUI, the native cryptocurrency of $SUI network, recorded a significant correction from its January high of $2 to current trading value of $0.98 registering 51% loss. Consequently, the asset market capitalization plunged to $3.86 billion.

Along with price correction, the derivative market witnessed a significant drawdown in $SUI futures trading. According to Coinglass, the open interest tied to $SUI’s futures contract has plunged from $955.5 million to $476 million, registering a 50% loss.

The initial drop in this metric can be linked to sudden drop in coin price which triggered cascading liquidation. However, the continued fall suggests traders are still withdrawing from $SUI’s derivative contracts ,indicating the loss of speculative force for price recovery.

In addition, TVL on $SUI has become sluggish at $650 million since last month, which signals weak DeFi participation and slowing fresh liquidity into the ecosystem. Stagnant TVL often correlates with weaker network effects, lower fees/revenue generation, and reduced demand for the native token ($SUI).

Overall, the above metrics suggest Sui is in a holding pattern rather than expansion mode – not collapsing, but not being adopted more explosively than top-tier L1s to reclaim the earlier hype. For the ecosystem to reverse this it would likely need renewed inflows to break out of the $1 resistance.

$SUI Price Eyes $1 Breakout Despite Emerging Bearish Pattern

Since February 5th, 2026, the $SUI price has traded in a range-bound trend within two converging trendlines of an inverted pennant pattern. The chart setup is characterized by a downsloping pole indicating prevailing downtrend followed by such consolidation within the triangle to regain its bearish momentum.

However, the $SUI price is up 3% today and challenges the pattern’s resistance trendline for a bullish breakout. An upside break of a triangle is rare in bearish pattern and therefore it indicates a stronger conviction from buyers.

The coin price recently bounced above the 20-day exponential moving average suggesting the initial shift in market sentiment.

If the daily candle closes above the $0.98 resistance, the buyers would gain sufficient support to drive a 20% surge and hit the next key resistance at $1.16.

$SUI/USDT -1d Chart

On the contrary, if the sellers continue to defend the triangle resistance, the coin price could decline from $0.98 floor and prolong ongoing consolidation.