Cetus Protocol, Sui’s Leading DEX, Hit by $223M Hack; Sui Tokens Crash Sharply
Cetus Protocol, the premier decentralized exchange and liquidity provider on the Sui blockchain, has suffered a major security breach resulting in the loss of $223 million in tokens, the project announced on X.
Of the stolen funds, $162 million have been frozen, with Cetus working alongside the Sui Foundation to recover the rest.
The hacker’s wallet address, 0xe28b50, currently holds more than 12.9 million SUI tokens, worth roughly $54 million at current valuations. On-chain analytics reveal the wallet’s total assets surpass 32.9 million SUI (about $137 million), indicating the attacker may have already funneled funds through multiple swaps or bridges.
The wallet remains active, suggesting ongoing efforts to obfuscate stolen assets. This exploit has significantly impacted Sui’s DeFi space, draining key liquidity pools and token pairs.
In response, Cetus has paused smart contracts to secure the platform and launched a full investigation. Early analysis suggests the attacker exploited weaknesses in price curves and reserve calculations using fake tokens like BULLA. By adding minimal liquidity, they manipulated the liquidity pool’s internal state and repeatedly withdrew legitimate tokens such as SUI and USDC without proper collateral.
Cetus confirmed the pause on contracts “for safety” and promised a detailed update soon.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) revealed that Binance has contacted Sui to offer assistance.
The hack sent CETUS token prices down 40%, while Sui-based meme tokens BULLA and MOJO plunged over 90%.
Share this content:
