--- title: "DATA shuts its own blockchain and moves to Sui with $30 million foundation investment" description: "DATA, the a16z crypto-backed startup formerly known as Story Protocol, is shutting down its own blockchain and moving to Sui after securing a $30 million investment from the network's foundation, CoinDesk reported. The company had raised $140 million and built its own chain before narrowing its…" language: en canonical: "https://whycoinmoves.com/en/events/sui-how-a16z-backed-data-rethinking-f8b27d891b3bf0" published: 2026-10-21T15:29:57.000Z updated: 2026-10-21T16:30:00.000Z indexable: false --- # DATA shuts its own blockchain and moves to Sui with $30 million foundation investment DATA, the a16z crypto-backed startup formerly known as Story Protocol, is shutting down its own blockchain and moving to Sui after securing a $30 million investment from the network's foundation, CoinDesk reported. The company had raised $140 million and built its own chain before narrowing its… Attributed sources: [CoinDesk]() ## Key facts DATA, the a16z crypto-backed startup formerly known as Story Protocol, is shutting down its own blockchain and moving to Sui after securing a $30 million investment from the network's foundation, CoinDesk reported. The company had raised $140 million and built its own chain before narrowing its focus to Trace, a registry for AI training data. CEO Andrea Muttoni told CoinDesk the team had been "spreading ourselves way too thin" across intellectual property types. Evidence strength: Single source, 1 publisher group(s) (CoinDesk); this describes source coverage, not truth or causation. After site detection, observed returns were 5 minutes: +0.48% (difference from BTC +0.21 pp; 21/10/2026, 15:29 → 21/10/2026, 15:34, UTC; Gate · USDT); 1 hour: +0.35% (difference from BTC -0.00 pp; 21/10/2026, 15:29 → 21/10/2026, 16:29, UTC; Gate · USDT). Unlisted windows are unavailable. In the preceding 30 days, the 99th percentile of absolute hourly returns was 3.56% (OKX · USDT; cutoff 21/10/2026, 15:29, UTC). This hourly baseline is not directly comparable with a minute move. ## Returns after site detection | Window | Return | BTC | Difference from BTC | Actual sampled interval (UTC) | Source | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 5 minutes | +0.48% | +0.26% | +0.21 pp | 21/10/2026, 15:29 → 21/10/2026, 15:34 | Gate · USDT | | 1 hour | +0.35% | +0.35% | -0.00 pp | 21/10/2026, 15:29 → 21/10/2026, 16:29 | Gate · USDT | | 24 hours | — | — | — | — | — | ## Historical hourly baseline | Metric | Value | | --- | --- | | Ready | true | | Coverage | 100.0% (720/720) | | Median absolute hourly return | 0.50% | | 99th percentile of absolute hourly returns | 3.56% | | BTC beta | 2.10 | | Source / cutoff (UTC) | OKX · USDT / 21/10/2026, 15:29 | ## Claims and open questions - CoinDesk reported that DATA secured a $30 million investment from the Sui network's foundation as it retires its own blockchain and moves to Sui. - According to CoinDesk, DATA had raised $140 million and built its own blockchain before rebranding to DATA Foundation in June and focusing on AI training data. - DATA Foundation CEO Andrea Muttoni told CoinDesk the company was "spreading ourselves way too thin across so many different types of IP" and questioned whether it still made sense to run its own layer-1 blockchain. - What share of the $30 million Sui foundation investment is in tokens versus other forms, and on what vesting or lock-up terms? - Which parts of Trace will run natively on Sui, and what happens to existing users and assets on DATA's retired chain? ## Source evidence - [How a16z-backed DATA is rethinking its blockchain strategy after $30 million Sui deal]() — CoinDesk; published 21/10/2026, 15:22; received 21/10/2026, 15:29 (UTC). ## Recent SUI events and market reactions - [Why did SUI drop 0.71% in 1 minute? Evidence check: Sui falls in a sharp one-hour drop as most tracked coins decline together · 2026-10-20]() — Received 20/10/2026, 16:17 (UTC) · Cause unresolved · Market watch · 5m -0.22% / 1h +0.65% / 24h +3.59% - [Why did SUI drop 0.98% in 1 minute? Evidence check: Sui falls in a sharp one-hour drop alongside most tracked coins · 2026-10-20]() — Received 20/10/2026, 15:13 (UTC) · Cause unresolved · Market watch · 5m +0.49% / 1h +0.48% / 24h +3.72% - [Why did SUI go up 1.02% in 1 minute? Evidence check: Sui rises in a sharp hourly move alongside most tracked coins · 2026-10-20]() — Received 20/10/2026, 14:07 (UTC) · Cause unresolved · Market watch · 5m +0.34% / 1h +0.23% / 24h -0.60% - [Full coin archive]() ## Research for this archive - [Do token unlocks lower prices? SUI, SOL and high FDV claims]() - [Crypto hacks and price impact: Bybit and Cetus case studies]() [Methods and limitations]() Publisher count is not independent evidence count. Price changes cannot verify news or prove causation.