SushiSwap is a decentralized exchange (DEX) powered by an automated market maker (AMM), running on the Ethereum blockchain. A DEX is a platform where secure peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions can take place without the need for an intermediary, and an AMM uses a pricing aggregation algorithm to price assets – instead of an orderbook like traditional exchanges. SushiSwap originated as a fork of Uniswap – another popular AMM DEX – and provided improved incentives for network participation through the introduction of the SUSHI token. Liquidity providers earn rewards in SUSHI, and SUSHI token holders are entitled to governance rights along with a percentage of the protocol’s transaction fees.

Since its launch in September 2020, SushiSwap quickly grew to become one the most popular projects in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector with billions of dollars in total value locked (TVL) inside the protocol’s smart contracts. This has been reflected in the price of SUSHI and if you want to know why then you’re in the right place. We’ve compiled everything you need to know about the price history of SUSHI – as well as the factors which influence it.

SushiSwap Price History

SUSHI tokens hit the market at the end of August 2020 trading at around $2.59. Prices dropped 70% the next day to $0.73 but then began to surge around the start of September. On September 1st, SUSHI spiked 160% in less than 24 hours to briefly reach $15.97.

After that sudden surge came a crash that was just as quick and nearly as dramatic. Five days later the price of SUSHI had fallen more than 90% from its peak, down to $1.13. The following two months were spent in steady decline until SUSHI bottomed out at $0.47 on November 4th.

The rest of the year provided a more optimistic outlook as SUSHI set a series of higher highs and higher lows until it ended 2020 trading at a value of $2.87. This represented a slight improvement in its starting price but was still less than a fifth of its peak value.

SUSHI’s upwards momentum continued into 2021 and became much more pronounced. After setting even higher highs and higher lows in January, SushiSwap’s market cap surpassed $1 billion for the first time on January 24th. SUSHI price went on to regain – and surpass – $15 for the first time in five months when it surged to a new high of $16.60 around the beginning of February.

From there, price growth continued, although with greater volatility as the price swings between successive peaks became larger. On March 13th, 2021, SUSHI rallied to an all-time high of $23.38, giving the project a market cap of over $2.8 billion. At that point, its price had experienced an increase of more than 715% in the 3 months since the start of the year.

During the next fortnight, SUSHI pulled back 40% to $14.08 and proceeded to set lower highs and lower lows for the rest of March and into the start of April. By 9 April 2021, SUSHI was trading at $14.70, which still represented impressive year-to-date gains of over 410%.

Analyzing SushiSwap Price History

SUSHI’s price history can be analyzed with many of the same techniques as stock market analysis. Technical analysis (TA) involves looking at the charts to make sense of previous price movements. With SUSHI, as with many other tradable assets, large price swings are often accompanied by spikes in trading volume, as a large number of users buy or sell their coins on exchanges. SUSHI received a Binance listing on September 1st, 2020 and major exchange listings often influence a coin’s price. On that day, SUSHI’s trading volume was more than double what it was on the previous day and unsurprisingly, its price spiked significantly.

Fundamental analysis, on the other hand, looks at the finances and activities of a company, as well as the state of the wider market and economy. While the founders of SushiSwap are anonymous their actions can still impact SUSHI’s price. On September 5th, 2020, SushiSwap co-founder Chef Nomi removed $13 million worth of ETH from the project’s development fund in what many at the time thought to be an exit scam. The price of SUSHI fell almost 60% on that day alone and continued to decline for the next two months.

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried took de facto control of SushiSwap on September 6th, 2020 and his impressive credentials in the crypto space served to bolster the legitimacy behind SushiSwap’s existing fundamentals. This change of leadership may have helped curb the decline in price that SUSHI was experiencing at the time and restore some positive sentiment in the project.

Broader market trends also likely played a role in SUSHI’s price history. Its surge at the end of 2020 which continued into 2021 wasn’t unique – the entire crypto market pumped around this time. Bitcoin was in the midst of a major bull run, and with such strong market dominance, any significant price movement for Bitcoin often impacts other cryptocurrencies.

The overall price trend of SUSHI tends to follow what’s known as a boom-and-bust cycle. This is a pattern in which a period of growing excitement leads to a surge in price before doubt and disillusionment set in and result in a crash.

Factors Influencing The Price of SushiSwap (SUSHI)

A variety of different things can affect the price of SUSHI, including project news and developments, the flow of assets on exchanges, public sentiment, and emerging trends in the wider cryptocurrency market and global economies.

SUSHI was initially created with no max supply, with 100 SUSHI being arbitrarily minted every time an Ethereum block was mined. This perpetual inflation was seen as a factor that may have a negative effect on the price of SUSHI, so in September 2020, SUSHI holders voted to alter the emission schedule and introduce a max supply of 250 million SUSHI. This cap will be reached in 2023, and until then the supply of SUSHI will increase according to its tapering emission schedule and Ethereum’s block rate.

Another important factor that affects SUSHI’s price is the demand for it, and this will be especially true after it becomes a scarce asset in 2023. One catalyst for increased demand could be the governance rights that SUSHI provides. Anyone who holds SUSHI can vote on proposed changes to the SushiSwap ecosystem, and the governance model will be transitioning into a full decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) which will mean successful proposals will be automatically executed. The decision of SUSHI holders to impose a max supply likely improved the long-term value of SUSHI and the ability to make changes like this which affect the protocol’s earning potential could drive serious demand for the token.

Each transaction on SushiSwap incurs a 0.3% fee, the vast majority of which goes directly to the platform’s liquidity providers. However, 0.05% is distributed to SUSHI holders, which drives demand for SUSHI among investors who want to earn a portion of fees. On top of this, SushiSwap must purchase the SUSHI for paying out these rewards which creates a somewhat regular source of buying pressure in the market.

As the volume traded on SushiSwap increases, more fees will be generated and more SUSHI bought for rewards, making it a more attractive token to buy and hold. As such, it seems likely that the price of SUSHI will be greatly influenced by the level of adoption of SushiSwap, and this relationship can be seen in the correlation between SUSHI’s price and SushiSwap’s TVL. SUSHI price will therefore also probably be indirectly impacted by factors affecting SushiSwap adoption, such as protocol changes and the performance of rival DEXs like Uniswap.

Live SushiSwap Value and Market Cap

The live price of SUSHI varies from moment to moment as it’s dictated by the balance of buyers and sellers across all exchanges, which is in constant flux. 

Given SUSHI’s volatility, its live price can change by a large amount in a very short space of time. The market cap of SushiSwap is equal to the price of SUSHI multiplied by the number of SUSHI in circulation.

SushiSwap Price FAQ

How is the price of SUSHI calculated?

SUSHI’s price at any given time is decided by the balance of supply and demand on exchanges. When more people are buying SUSHI than selling it, the price goes up, and when more are selling than buying, the price goes down.

Why is the price of SUSHI different on different cryptocurrency exchanges?

SUSHI’s price is based purely on trading as there is no standard global SUSHI price, so no one knows what it is “supposed” to cost. The trading volume and liquidity is different for each exchange and those differences are what affect the price.

What will SUSHI be worth in the future?

It’s impossible to make price predictions with any kind of certainty as a whole host of different factors could influence SUSHI’s future value. However, if SushiSwap continues to grow and isn’t outpaced by other DEXs, it seems likely that the value of SUSHI will increase.

Conclusion

The price of SUSHI has been on quite a journey in the relatively short time that it has been on the market, from being worth less than $3 when it launched, hitting a low under $0.50, then reaching an all-time high of $23.38 in March of 2021. It hasn’t been a smooth ride, with SUSHI’s volatility leading to plenty of volatile surges and crashes along the way – but volatility also provides opportunities for active traders to take advantage of.

Many different factors have played a role in determining the price of SUSHI, including changes to its emission schedule, the actions of its founders, and trends in the rest of the crypto market. Its current valuation is derived from the balance of supply and demand in the markets and constantly changes.

If you want to get started with the most user-friendly trading experience on the market, register with Kriptomat today to begin your journey into the world of SushiSwap and cryptocurrencies!