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The Cetus Protocol, a leading decentralized exchange on the SUI blockchain, was hit by a massive hack, resulting in losses exceeding $223 million, prompting swift action from the team and raising concerns across the DeFi community.
$260M hacked from Cetus Protocol
On May 22, 2025, Cetus Protocol, the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) and liquidity provider on the SUI blockchain, fell victim to a significant exploit. A vulnerability in its smart contract was exploited, allowing the attacker to drain liquidity pools entirely. The exploit led to an estimated loss of over $200 million, though Cetus later confirmed the figure to be around $223 million.
We’ve learned that a Cetus smart contract was hacked this morning for approximately $223M and Cetus subsequently paused their smart contracts to prevent further theft.
Cetus worked together with the other DeFi protocols, the Sui Foundation, and the Sui validators to… https://t.co/Y1iw2sNnPW
— Sui (@SuiNetwork) May 22, 2025
The attack caused a dramatic spike in transaction volume, with Cetus processing $2.9 billion in transactions on May 22, a stark contrast to the $320 million recorded the previous day, as funds were rapidly siphoned out of the protocol.
Hacken, a crypto cybersecurity company, reported that at least $63 million had already been bridged to Ethereum, with 20,000 ETH transferred to a fresh wallet in a single transaction.
Cetus worked alongside the Sui Foundation, Sui validators, and other DeFi protocols to mitigate the damage.
By the evening of May 22, the team announced they had successfully frozen $162 million of the stolen funds, leaving approximately $63 million unrecovered. The hacker was reportedly attempting to convert the remaining assets into USDC and bridge them to Ethereum for ETH, a common tactic to obscure the trail of stolen funds.
ANNOUNCEMENT
As of earlier today, we have confirmed that an attacker has stolen approximately $223M from Cetus Protocol. We have took immediate action to lock our contract preventing further theft of funds.
$162M of the compromised funds have been successfully paused. We are…
— Cetus
(@CetusProtocol) May 22, 2025
Disaster Strikes SUI Ecosystem Tokens with Heavy Losses
The hack sent shockwaves through the SUI ecosystem, with immediate repercussions on token prices. The SUI/USDC liquidity pool was nearly emptied, causing token prices on the DEX to plummet by over 75%.
Source: DexScreaner
The CETUS token saw a sharp decline, dropping 40% in value as trading halted on the platform.
Source: CoinGecko
The DEX market within the SUI ecosystem was severely disrupted, with many assets losing more than half their value in 24 hours.
The broader SUI ecosystem also felt the heat, with some X posts describing the situation as “the SUI ecosystem drowning in flames.” The community expressed a mix of frustration and concern, with users urging caution while awaiting updates.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) voiced support, stating on X, “We are doing what we can to help Sui,” signaling potential assistance from major players in the crypto space.
We are doing what we can to help SUI. Not a pleasant situation. Hope everyone stay SAFU!
— CZ
BNB (@cz_binance) May 22, 2025
$160M Has Been Recovered
As of May 23, 2025, Cetus and the Sui Foundation have made significant strides in addressing the hack. In a follow-up post, Cetus shared that they had engaged the broader ecosystem, including the Sui team, to assist in the investigation and resolution.
Dear Sui community, thank you for your patience while our team works on the incident investigation and resolution.
Since taking the actions indicated in our previous announcement, we have also done the following:
1. We engaged the broader ecosystem, Sui team, and related… https://t.co/Gs1EWXZ6AD
— Cetus
SUI co-founder and CPO discussed the exploit in a community space, confirming that $150–160 million had been secured, with efforts ongoing to recover the remaining $60 million. They also promised to refund affected users, a move that could help restore trust.
SUI co founder and CPO are talking on spaces about the recent Cetus exploit!
They confirmed that over 150-160M$ of 220M hack amount has been frozen !
Rest 60M has gone but will be worked on definitely !
Stolen funds will be refunded to users who suffered the exploit!
Seems no… pic.twitter.com/DdxTeVrwBQ
— Crypto Masters (@CryptoMasterCom) May 22, 2025
The hacker’s movements are under scrutiny, with blockchain analysts tracking the funds to identify potential recovery opportunities. Cetus has not yet resumed trading, and users are advised to remain cautious as the situation develops.
The incident has also drawn attention to the broader DeFi landscape, with some experts calling for stricter security measures across protocols. While Cetus has labeled the event a “bug,” the scale of the exploit underscores the need for rigorous smart contract audits, especially for platforms handling significant liquidity like Cetus, which is a cornerstone of the SUI ecosystem.
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