Sui — accounting that respects the object model
Sui's object-centric data model is closer to a versioned database than Ethereum's account model. Each asset is an object with its own ID and version — and we track them that way.
Sui's design choices propagate into accounting. Every asset is an object with a unique ID, a version, and an owner; transactions consume objects and produce new ones (similar to UTXOs but with arbitrary internal structure). For a finance team, this means cost basis is tracked at the object level, not the account level. Move smart contracts replace Solidity — same kind of programmable logic but a different decoder path. SUI staking is delegator-based with epoch-by-epoch reward accrual. The Cetus and Turbos DEX ecosystem is the largest source of DeFi activity on Sui today.
What's tracked on Sui
Object-level cost basis
Each owned object is tracked individually — coins, NFTs, custom Move objects.
SUI staking
Per-epoch reward accrual against delegated validators.
Move package activity
Function calls decoded against the package's Move ABI.
Cetus / Turbos DEX
Concentrated-liquidity positions and swaps with realized-gain tracking.
Sui Coin standard
Native fungible tokens tracked alongside SUI.
Common Sui transaction patterns we classify
- Send / receive SUI
- Coin transfer (Sui Coin standard fungible token)
- Stake SUI to a validator (epoch delegation)
- Unstake SUI (epoch-end withdrawal)
- Staking reward receipt (per-epoch)
- Cetus DEX concentrated-liquidity swap or position
- Turbos Finance swap
- DeepBook order place / fill
- Navi Protocol supply / borrow / repay
- Scallop lending interaction
- NFT mint or transfer (Sui Move object)
- zkLogin account action
- Object merge or split (Coin consolidation)
What changes when you book Sui
Cost basis is tracked per Coin object, not per account balance
On Sui, SUI and other tokens are represented as individual Coin objects with unique IDs. When you spend SUI, a specific Coin object is consumed and a new Coin object for the change amount is created. Wag3s tracks basis at the object level, ensuring that the lot selected for each spend matches the on-chain object consumed. When Coin objects are merged or split, basis is propagated pro-rata to maintain continuity.
Staking rewards are paid into the staking position, not the main wallet
When you delegate SUI to a validator, rewards accrue inside the staking object at each epoch boundary. They are only accessible after you unstake or explicitly withdraw. Wag3s tracks per-epoch reward accrual and surfaces it as staking income on the epoch-close date, consistent with accrual-basis treatment. The unstaking transaction reconciles the cumulative accrued rewards against the actual SUI withdrawn to avoid double-counting.
Gas is always paid in SUI regardless of the token being transferred
All Sui transactions consume SUI for gas, even when transferring other Coin types or interacting with DeFi protocols. This means every on-chain action has a SUI disposal component for the gas amount, which is a partial realisation event if your SUI was acquired at a different price. Wag3s tracks each gas deduction as a separate lot-level disposal and applies your configured accounting method (FIFO, LIFO, HIFO) to determine the gain or loss.
Sui accounting questions
How does the object model affect cost basis?
Each Coin object on Sui is a tracked lot. When you spend a Coin, the lot's basis applies; when a Coin is split or merged, we propagate the basis pro-rata. The end-state is the same as Ethereum-style accounting from the user's perspective, but the underlying mechanic is closer to UTXO.
Are SUI staking rewards taxable on receipt?
Yes — per-epoch reward distribution is the income event, valued at the SUI price on the epoch boundary.
How are Sui fungible token transfers tracked alongside SUI?
Sui fungible tokens follow the Sui Coin standard and are represented as Coin objects just like SUI itself. Each token type has its own object class and its own cost-basis ledger. Wag3s decodes the Coin type from the Move package ABI so token metadata (name, symbol, decimals) appears in the audit trail rather than raw type addresses, and FIFO/LIFO/HIFO is applied per token independently.
Other chain coverage and tax guides relevant to this network.
Book Sui the right way
Free during Alpha. Connect a wallet, see every transaction reconciled to journal entries.