DATA Network to Move to Sui After $30 Million Foundation Investment

Sui Foundation has announced a $30 million investment in DATA Network as the protocol and its Trace registry prepare to join the Sui stack. DATA Network will be upgraded into a protocol running natively on Sui, while Walrus will become the default storage layer for applications operated by DATA Foundation. The existing independent DATA chain will be retired after the migration is complete.

What changes in the protocol migration

Trace is an onchain registry that records the origin and usage rights of AI training data and settles payments to contributors. According to the announcement, it has registered more than 250 million contributions since its June launch and now processes more than 3 million receipts per day on average.

On Sui, datasets and licenses can be represented as programmable objects. Walrus will add encrypted, immutable reference storage so an original file can be checked against its registry record. This is designed to strengthen provenance and tamper evidence for data licensed to AI labs.

Readers tracking the network can view the verified SUI/USDT spot market and SUIUSDT perpetual market on OrangeX.com.

How DATA token holders are treated

The DATA token will carry over one-to-one to the Sui-based protocol. The announcement says holder economics and governance rights will be at least equivalent to the current arrangement, while locked and vesting positions will transfer without change. The existing network will continue operating until the upgrade is complete.

A detailed schedule and holder transition plan have not yet been published. That means users should wait for official instructions before taking migration-related action and should be cautious of unsolicited messages or links. Ongoing coverage is available through OrangeX.com Crypto News, and account-security guidance is available in the OrangeX.com Trust Center.

Investment and governance implications

The $30 million investment will make Sui Foundation the largest institutional holder in DATA Network, alongside continuing holdings from PIP Labs and DATA Foundation. SY Lee, chairman of Poseidon and chief executive of PIP Labs, will also join Sui Foundation as a strategic advisor.

This alignment may simplify product development by placing execution, registry logic and data storage in one stack. It also creates a governance concentration that token holders may want to monitor once the full transition terms are released.

OrangeX.com Analysis

The migration combines a live AI-data registry with an execution and storage stack built for high-volume applications. The strongest evidence of existing use is Trace's reported scale: more than 250 million contributions and over 3 million receipts per day. Walrus could improve verification by anchoring an encrypted copy of the underlying file rather than relying only on application-supplied metadata.

Several outcomes remain uncertain. The migration date, holder procedures and adoption by additional AI buyers have not been disclosed. The $30 million investment shows strategic commitment, but it does not guarantee future network usage or token performance. The practical test will be whether the upgraded system preserves current activity while making licensing, access control and audit trails easier for data buyers and contributors.