Sui posts 40.6 million TPS, aiming for off-chain speed at AI-agent payments

During a live stress test conducted in Singapore on Wednesday, Sui reached 40,614,180 transactions per second (TPS). This result surpasses its previous record from July—which stood at 6.09 million TPS—by more than sixfold.

Crucially, this milestone was achieved through the heavy utilization of more than 10,000 off-chain tunnels rather than direct transaction processing on the Sui mainnet itself, an important nuance as the network turns its attention toward AI-driven payments.

Why the 40 million number is not native throughput

Sui’s programmable tunnels operate in a manner similar to payment channels on the Lightning Network. While transactions occur off-chain, their opening and closing states settle directly on the blockchain.

These tunnels support activities including payments, messaging, and gaming. Once a tunnel closes, its final state is verified and co-signed on-chain.

However, the 40.6 million figure does not reflect the native throughput capacity of the underlying blockchain, metrics for which are tracked separately by Chainspect.

CertiK independently verified the event’s outcome, with supporting documentation expected to follow. Yuannan Yang, CertiK’s security engineering director, noted in the Sui announcement:

“Transparent and independently verifiable performance measurements will become increasingly important.”

As previously reported by Cryptopolitan, CertiK will review the execution records, the proof of successful operation, and all associated documentation.

The payments prize Sui is chasing

Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder and chief product officer at Mysten Labs, suggests that autonomous AI agents are well-suited to leverage this capacity.

He remarked in a statement released by the Sui Foundation:

“No market in the world needs 6 million transactions per second, let alone 40 million: people just don’t move that fast. Agents do.”

Cost efficiency is central to his perspective, as each tunnel requires a maximum of two on-chain transactions. This structure enables thousands of intermediate exchanges to happen very inexpensively.

The financial stakes are substantial. McKinsey data indicates the global payments industry generates approximately $2.6 trillion annually, while agentic AI could disrupt roughly $75 billion in revenues by the year 2030.

Where it meets the real-world settlement gap

Achieving high transaction volumes in a testing environment differs significantly from moving capital across international borders.

Benchmarks established by the Financial Stability Board aim for 75% of cross-border retail payments to settle within one hour, while reducing average costs to 1% or lower by 2027.

Even so, the board’s 2025 progress report showed minimal global headway and cautioned that these goals are unlikely to be fulfilled.

Traditional financial institutions are likewise investigating accelerated settlement methods. Visa and Lloyds have experimented with 24/7 stablecoin settlement, and Swift is building blockchain-based payment rails.

Simultaneously, the Bank for International Settlements emphasizes the critical nature of trust and settlement finality in financial transactions, particularly when operating at high speeds.

A technical milestone that still has to prove itself

Having demonstrated the traffic capacity of its off-chain tunnels, Sui now faces the challenge of proving that this velocity can reduce payment expenses, accelerate cross-border transfers, and inspire sustained commercial adoption.

For now, the 40.6 million TPS figure stands as a notable technical feat. Only time will tell if it can meaningfully influence everyday payments.

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