TLDR
- $260M Cetus Hack Rattles Sui, But Core Network Stays Intact
- Fake Tokens Crash Cetus, Triggering Panic Sell-Off in SUI
- Sui Recovers Fast After DEX Exploit, Freezes $160M in Assets
- SUI Price Dips Despite Volume Surge, Sentiment Split on Recovery
- Cetus Resumes Trading Post-Hack, Audits and Fixes Underway
Sui’s recent price surge lost steam as its largest DEX, Cetus, suffered a $260 million exploit, shaking investor confidence. The incident halted Cetus trading, caused widespread losses in ecosystem tokens, and pressured SUI’s short-term momentum. However, Sui confirmed that the network remained unaffected and immediate recovery steps were underway.
$260M Drained from Cetus Through Fake Tokens and Flawed Curves
Cetus Protocol, the leading liquidity provider on the Sui blockchain, was exploited in an attack involving spoof tokens and manipulated liquidity pools. The attacker used BULLA and MOJO tokens to tamper with price curves, draining funds without providing real collateral. On-chain data revealed over 32.9 million SUI tied to the attacker’s wallet during the peak of the exploit.
Sui officials and ecosystem core members are holding a Space: $160M in frozen funds can be recovered and will be returned to Cetus LP; Cetus and Sui developers are working to recover the remaining $60M; the Sui network was unaffected by the exploit; Cetus protocol has fixed the… https://t.co/uRBxAj4Uwn
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) May 22, 2025
Moreover, the hacker distributed the stolen funds across four addresses spanning Sui and Ethereum chains. These addresses reportedly held SUI worth over $92 million, ETH worth $61 million, and other Sui-based tokens. Blockchain tracking tools confirmed that the attacker repeatedly utilized low-liquidity deposits and reserve imbalances to extract real assets.
Cetus immediately paused all smart contracts and halted trading activities to contain further losses and secure the protocol. Early investigations found that liquidity pools lacked protection against spoof assets, allowing reserves to be falsely inflated. In response, the Cetus team worked closely with the Sui core developers to fix the bug and resume operations.
Sui Network Responds Quickly to Support Recovery and Rebuild Confidence
Sui’s core development team provides support to Cetus, ensuring a joint response to prevent further damage to the ecosystem. They collaborated to freeze $160 million worth of assets, which are now confirmed as recoverable and set for redistribution. Additionally, recovery teams are working on tracing and retrieving the remaining $60 million.
The Sui blockchain infrastructure remained fully operational and secure throughout the exploit. As a result, Sui’s developers confirmed no compromise of its core layer or consensus mechanisms. This assurance helped ease fears of wider ecosystem instability following the Cetus incident.
Meanwhile, Cetus has patched the vulnerability, resumed protocol trading, and issued early updates about its recovery roadmap. Security audits are underway to strengthen DEX resilience and prevent similar exploits in future. The team also promised a detailed post-mortem and compensation plan for affected liquidity providers.
SUI Price Slides Amid Panic but Shows Resilience as Volume Surges
SUI experienced significant volatility throughout the day following the news of the exploit. It started the session near $3.97, briefly spiked above $4.20, but later dropped below $3.80 before recovering to $3.86. The 4.31% decline in market cap highlighted a negative shift in sentiment.
Source: CoinMarketCap
Despite the dip, SUI’s 24-hour trading volume surged 143.52% to $3.54 billion, reflecting active market engagement and speculative interest. However, the token’s short-term direction remains uncertain as the network rebuilds trust and stability within its DeFi ecosystem. Trading platforms such as Bluefin suspended activities due to shockwaves from the Cetus breach.
