NAVI Prime launches Sui-based lending framework for institutional capital

A separate framework for professional users

According to NAVI Protocol, NAVI Prime is designed specifically for institutional and professional capital rather than the broader retail-style user base served by its current platform. The company framed the new product as infrastructure for funds that want closer oversight of lending activity and more direct control over asset management decisions.

Because the framework is deployed on Sui, NAVI Prime uses the chain’s onchain infrastructure as part of that transparency pitch. NAVI said this setup is intended to give participating funds clearer visibility into how capital is being deployed within a lending environment.

Built on an existing Sui lending business

NAVI already runs lending and borrowing markets on Sui. Its documentation describes the protocol as a unified service spanning lending, borrowing, trading, and yield strategies, while the Sui ecosystem directory lists it as a native liquidity protocol built with Move.

The current lending service lets users supply supported assets to earn interest, while borrowers can post collateral to access other tokens. NAVI uses overcollateralized positions to manage loan risk. DefiLlama shows the lending markets support assets including SUI, USDC, USDT, wrapped Ether, and wrapped Bitcoin, and also offer isolated pools and flash loans.

Protocol metrics and funding snapshot

DefiLlama data showed roughly $124.6 million in total value locked across NAVI Protocol on Aug. 17. Active loans were about $65.8 million, indicating that borrowers were using more than half of the capital held across the protocol’s tracked products. DefiLlama groups NAVI Lending, Volo LST, and Volo Vault under the NAVI Protocol label.

Over the previous 30 days, the protocol generated about $404,300 in fees and approximately $153,700 in protocol revenue, according to the same source. Annualized fees were estimated at $23.2 million, while cumulative fees and cumulative protocol revenue stood near $39.1 million and $16.1 million respectively.

The NAVX governance token had a circulating market value of about $5.7 million at the time of the snapshot, with roughly 816.2 million tokens in circulation out of a 1 billion maximum supply. DefiLlama also showed that NAVI raised $4 million across two funding rounds in early 2024, with listed backers including OKX Ventures, Hashed, Mysten Labs, Mechanism Capital, Coin98 Ventures, and Gate.io.

Stablecoins and bitcoin-linked activity on Sui

Stablecoins have become a larger part of lending activity on Sui, and NAVI supports assets such as USDC and USDT. In October 2024, the protocol said it would support native USDC from its first day on Sui and allow users to swap bridged USDC for the native version through the platform.

NAVI has also taken part in bitcoin-linked initiatives on the network. In June 2025, NAVI Protocol and OKX announced a two-month xBTC campaign with $700,000 in incentives for users supplying the asset through Sui, including $200,000 in SUI rewards from OKX Earn and $500,000 in NAVX from NAVI.

Sui’s stablecoin base expanded further in 2026. USDsui, issued by Bridge through its Open Issuance platform, went live on mainnet in March, after Ethena-backed suiUSDe launched a month earlier with support from NAVI and several other Sui applications.

What comes next for institutional Sui exposure

The NAVI Prime launch adds an institutional-focused layer to Sui’s lending market at a time when the network is drawing in more dollar-denominated assets and credit activity. NAVI has also built software tools that developers can use to add lending, borrowing, account management, and pool functions to Sui applications, which could broaden how its infrastructure is used.

For U.S. investors seeking regulated SUI exposure, the source article notes that CME Group launched cash-settled SUI futures in May 2026. Those contracts do not require onchain custody and come in standard and micro sizes, offering another confirmed route for professional market participants engaging with the Sui ecosystem.