DeFi Moonshots Program
What is the DeFi Moonshots Program?
The Moonshots Program is for teams building new financial products designed for real usage. This is not a cohort or accelerator. The focus is on bringing new ideas to market that drive sustained usage across Sui DeFi.
Build products that drive real usage Earn incentives through real trading activity, supported by Sui
Move from idea to launch faster Work closely with the Sui team to design and ship your product
Launch with distribution and visibility Reach active users and key surfaces across Sui DeFi from day one
What kind of Moonshot teams?
We work with teams building something meaningfully new in finance. This includes novel products, fundamentally better versions of existing categories, and consumer applications that drive repeat behavior. Teams should bring a differentiated approach and a credible path to sustained adoption.
Novel financial primitives
Primitives that introduce new ways to interact with financial instruments, with a clear and differentiated design
Capital efficiency improvements
Products with a credible technical approach to improving capital utilization, liquidity efficiency, or execution quality
New capital inflows
Products with a clear thesis for sustainably bringing new users or capital on-chain, with an identified source of demand
High-value consumer applications
Products designed for specific user segments with strong retention and repeat usage beyond TVL accumulation
Shipping velocity & traction
Demonstrated ability to ship and iterate quickly, with a track record of building products that reached real usage
Domain expertise
Deep domain expertise in the financial area they are building in
Open source contributions
Meaningful open source contributions
Successful previous ventures
Founded/early team at acquired companies or successful protocols
Market validation
Fundraising ability / market validation or history of raising capital from credible investors
What do Moonshot teams get?
Moonshot teams work closely with Sui from build through launch, including:
Growth incentives
Up to $500K tied to launch and post-launch traction
Technical support
Direct collaboration with the Sui DeFi engineering team for product decisions and technical support throughout the build process
Audit credits
All teams receive audit credits via Sui’s audit partners
Marketing support
All teams receive marketing support across launch and key growth moments
Frequently asked questions
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. We evaluate teams based on product quality, originality, and potential to drive meaningful adoption.
Teams building something that aligns with the product and team criteria above are encouraged to apply, even if they don’t fit every dimension perfectly.
No. Moonshots is a liquidity incentive program designed to drive real usage, paired with hands-on support across product and go-to-market. Incentives are distributed through your product to drive user activity.
10 teams are selected each year.
Applications are reviewed by the Moonshots team across product, engineering, and partnerships. Shortlisted teams will be invited to interview.
Accepted teams will work closely with the Sui team through regular check-ins across product, engineering, and go-to-market. Post-launch, teams will share onchain data to track growth and inform ongoing support and incentives.
The program duration varies depending on the launch timeline of each team.