While the digital currency Sushi may be less known to those outside the cryptocurrency community, crypto enthusiasts are likely familiar with it. It is a cryptocurrency at the heart of the SushiSwap exchange. As with other currencies, Sushi has seen its fair share of volatility, but it remains among the top 150 cryptocurrencies.
Key Takeaways
- Sushi is a cryptocurrency tied to the SushiSwap crypto exchange.
- The SushiSwap token has seen high volatility since inception.
- Proposed integrations may improve the outlook for the SUSHI token.
What Is Sushi?
SushiSwap (SUSHI) is a cryptocurrency token hosted on the Ethereum (ETC) network. Versions of the SushiSwap currency are also available on the Solana, Avalanche, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Terro, Celo, Harmony, Fantom, and xDai networks.
This well-supported token works across multiple blockchain networks for one good reason. It’s used as the primary currency of the SushiSwap decentralized exchange (DEX), a peer-to-peer exchange in which transactions occur directly between crypto traders.
At the time of writing, SushiSwap is the 142nd-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, according to the aggregator of cryptocurrency market data CoinMarketCap. Of the maximum 250 million token supply, 242 million have been created. Like other cryptocurrencies, it has seen wild fluctuation of prices, with a peak of more than $20 per coin and recent values dropping to under $2 each.
SushiSwap is a DEX, in which users can exchange between different virtual currencies using a connected cryptocurrency wallet, such as MetaMask. The exchange allows swapping between 11,700 currency pairs.
What Is Staking?
To facilitate trade, users worldwide deposit currency with the exchange, known as staking. At the time of writing, the total value locked (TVL) in the exchange is $2.28 billion. TVL is the sum of all assets deposited in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
Staking occurs when an investor wants to swap assets, and the sale uses the pool of staked assets to facilitate the trade, thereby generating a fee. A portion of the fee goes to the depositors, offering an incentive to keep funds on the exchange.
SushiSwap works differently from centralized exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini, where trades are made between users. These centralized exchanges are the custodian of customer deposits which are much like an online stock brokerage. Employing a DEX-like SushiSwap, users are responsible for their individual cryptocurrency wallets. The exchange is not a custodian of deposited funds; it merely acts as a facilitator.
History of Sushi
In late 2021, Sushi tokens fell on news that developers were leaving the project, but that turned around in December when developer Daniele Sestagalli proposed that Avalanche take over the network. Sushi rose 10% with that development. In a lengthy post on the Sushi forums, Sestagalli explained a path forward to evolve SushiSwap’s governance structure and expand integrations, among other details.
Future of SushiSwap
If there’s consolidation in the decentralized exchange industry, SushiSwap could be gobbled up by a larger project or pushed even further down the rankings as more successful projects emerge.
However, if the SushiSwap community can maintain its goals of acting as an expanding exchange, whereby users can easily swap between nearly any cryptocurrency at a low, competitive cost, SushiSwap could grow.
How Is SushiSwap Different From Uniswap?
CoinMarketCap ranks SushiSwap as the 19th-largest exchange by trading volume. It’s much smaller than top DEXes Uniswap and PancakeSwap, which handle more than 10 times the daily trading volume. SushiSwap originated as a fork, or copy, of Uniswap with community-focused features.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, it is up to SushiSwap leaders, community members, and cryptocurrency market forces to decide the future of Sushi. Whether that’s going “to the moon,” as cryptocurrency fans like to say, or heading down in the dumps, is something only time will reveal.
What is a cryptocurrency?
A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. Many cryptocurrencies are decentralized networks based on blockchain technology—a distributed ledger enforced by a disparate network of computers. A defining feature of cryptocurrencies is that they are generally not issued by any central authority, rendering them theoretically immune to government interference or manipulation.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is a global virtual machine powered by blockchain technology. It is most commonly known for its native cryptocurrency, ether, or ETH. Ethereum network participants use ETH to pay for work done on the blockchain. Ethereum is designed to be scalable, programmable, secure, and decentralized. It is the blockchain of choice for developers and enterprises, who are creating technology based upon it to change the way many industries operate and the way we go about our daily lives.
What are crypto tokens?
The term crypto token refers to a special virtual currency token or how cryptocurrencies are denominated. These tokens represent fungible and tradable assets or utilities that reside on their own blockchains. Crypto tokens are often used to fundraise for crowd sales, but they can also serve as a substitute for other things. These tokens are usually created, distributed, sold, and circulated through the standard initial coin offering (ICO) process, which involves a crowdfunding exercise to fund project development.
