Christian Thompson, Managing Director of the Sui Foundation, sat down with BeInCrypto during his first Asia tour since taking the position. As a former Deputy CISO at Meta who led blockchain security for the Libra/Diem project, Thompson brings over 30 years of leadership experience across various industries, including successful entrepreneurship and law enforcement.

In a wide-ranging interview in Seoul, Thompson discussed SUI’s achievements in 2024 and ambitious plans for 2025, including the launch of SuiPlay0X1, the first blockchain gaming console. He emphasized Korea’s strategic importance in SUI’s global expansion, sharing insights on the convergence of Web2 and Web3. He also reflected on lessons learned from Meta’s Libra project amid the evolving US regulatory landscape.

How would you evaluate SUI’s performance in 2024, and what’s your vision for 2025?

2024 was about testing and ensuring our technology was stable and scalable. We achieved $1.75 billion in DeFi TVL, which has grown to $2 billion in just the last three months. We also reached $35 billion in DEX volume and 300,000 daily active wallets in gaming. For 2025, we’re going to be very aggressive in marketing, ecosystem, and community. We need thousands of developers building in Web3 to make adoption happen across billions of people.

SuiPlay0X1 marked a milestone as the first blockchain gaming hardware. What led to this unprecedented initiative, and how does it fit into your gaming strategy?

Gaming was a big early bet for us – we chose it because it’s unpredictable and a great way to test technology. For SuiPlay0X1, we announced it at Korea Blockchain Week in September 2024 and received about 1,700 pre-orders in that first week. Now, we’re up to 7,000 pre-orders for our 2025 release. While $599 isn’t cheap, our strategy is about getting a Web3 device into people’s hands responsibly. We’ve partnered with NHN and Xociety in Korea, and we’re building this as a bridge between Web2 and Web3. It’s the first handheld device for Web3 – no one else has anything like it.

How do you view the relationship between Web2 and Web3?

I maintain that they’ll merge. I don’t think Web3 will take over or change Web2 – they’ll just naturally merge. You’re seeing disparate technologies converging already – AI with blockchain, AR/VR, robotics. This will create demand from people who want ownership of their own content, medical records, and data. As a content creator, you want to control how it’s monetized. As a consumer, you want to know where your information comes from.

You chose Seoul as a key destination for your first Asia tour as Managing Director, and SUI maintains a strong presence at Korea Blockchain Week. What makes Korea such a critical market in your global strategy?

Korea is an incredibly dynamic market. The retail community here is very interested and involved in crypto, which makes them very educated about the technology and early adopters. The developer community is similar because they’ve had all this background of being exposed to it. When you can partner with a country that’s at the forefront of technology and are early adopters, you benefit from that. The gaming business here is particularly remarkable – it pushes the limits.

Given Korea’s example, which other regions do you see having the potential to become another hub like Korea?

The UAE is at the forefront of attracting Web3 business with its regulatory environment. Vietnam is making remarkable strides with developers. Greece has amazing education systems, producing capable builders at scale. In Africa, people are remarkably adept at adopting new technologies, especially in commerce integration through chat platforms.

SUI carries forward lessons from Meta’s Libra project while the US regulatory landscape is shifting. How do these experiences shape your view of the current environment?

I wouldn’t call Libra a failure – it was intentionally closed for very good reasons. Much of what became SUI originated from Libra, and we took away amazing technology that was birthed at Meta. The Move language was built at Facebook to support 3.5 billion people, and we built SUI to accommodate that scale. Looking ahead, the administration is now thinking about the right things – meaningful regulation, meaningful policy, and creating an environment that keeps brain power and builds toward an accommodative economy.