DeepBook Protocol (DEEP) is the native token of DeepBook, an on-chain central limit order book protocol built on the Sui blockchain.
DeepBook functions as shared liquidity infrastructure for the Sui ecosystem, providing spot-trading order-book matching that other applications and protocols can build on top of. DEEP is used to pay and discount trading fees within the protocol and to participate in its on-chain governance.
DeepBook differentiates itself by offering a fully on-chain central limit order book rather than an automated market maker, giving Sui-based applications shared, composable liquidity instead of fragmented pools.
More than 20 applications and protocols reportedly build on DeepBook, with spot trades settling on-chain in roughly 390 milliseconds. As of 2026-09-02, the protocol's total value locked was reported at $12.3 million alongside 30-day decentralized exchange volume of $197.49 million. DEEP captures this activity through maker rebates and taker fee discounts tied to holding and staking the token.
DEEP is both a governance and a utility token within the DeepBook protocol.
Holders can stake DEEP to participate in on-chain governance, proposing and voting on changes to the protocol's taker and maker trading-fee parameters, with votes held every epoch. Market makers that hold or use DEEP earn fee rebates, while takers can receive trading-fee discounts, linking token usage directly to trading-fee economics.
DEEP has a maximum supply of 10 billion tokens, with circulating supply at approximately 5.745 billion as of 2026-09-02.
Net emission is inflationary while these multi-year vesting schedules continue releasing new supply into circulation.
DeepBook v3 and the DEEP token launched publicly on October 14, 2024, at 10:00 UTC across centralized and decentralized exchanges on Sui.
Ahead of launch, DeepBook distributed a soulbound DBClaimNFT starting March 28, 2024; 101,968 holders of this NFT claimed their DEEP allocation on launch day through a dedicated claims site. DEEP opened at an initial price of $0.0176, with an initial circulating supply of 2.5 billion tokens, 25% of maximum supply.
DEEP is deployed natively on the Sui blockchain rather than operating its own independent chain or validator set.
DeepBook functions as a core on-chain protocol within the Sui network, relying on Sui's existing network of validators to process and settle its order-book transactions.
DeepBook was originally designed and created by MovEX, which later open-sourced the protocol and contributed it to the Sui ecosystem.
Mysten Labs, the engineering company behind the Sui blockchain, was a major contributor to DeepBook's development and holds a token allocation. The Sui Foundation acts as co-developer and steward. Additional contributors involved in DeepBook's development and liquidity provisioning include Jump, Kairon Labs, GSR, Wintermute, and Aftermath Finance. No individual founders or named executives specific to DeepBook have been publicly disclosed.
DeepBook is jointly stewarded by the Sui Foundation, a nonprofit supporting the Sui blockchain, and Mysten Labs, the for-profit company behind Sui's core engineering.
The protocol builds on code originally created by MovEX. It operates as an open-source protocol rather than a separately incorporated company, with an official presence at deepbook.tech. Grayscale has launched a dedicated DeepBook (DEEP) investment trust, giving institutional investors regulated exposure to the token.
DeepBook is governed on-chain: DEEP holders stake tokens to propose and vote on changes to the protocol's taker and maker trading-fee parameters, with votes held every epoch.
This ties governance participation directly to trading-fee economics, since market makers earn rebates and takers can receive volume discounts. Broader protocol-level changes can also proceed through Sui's Sui Improvement Proposal (SIP) process, reflecting DeepBook's status as a community-governed, open-source primitive rather than a company-controlled product.
DeepBook's 2026 development has centered on native margin trading and a new prediction-markets primitive called DeepBook Predict.
DeepBook was audited by Zellic, commissioned by original creator MovEX, which identified 4 critical, 1 medium, and 1 low-severity issues, all later reported as remediated. One finding involved a zero-quantity order flaw that could enable a denial-of-service attack.
The Sui Foundation maintains a public security-audits repository and partners with audit firms OtterSec and Zellic for Move-based protocols on Sui. CertiK Skynet lists an 84.66/100 score for DeepBook but states the project is not CertiK-audited. DEEP had 27,722 on-chain holders as of 2026-09-02, and DEX liquidity relative to market cap remains a structural risk factor.