𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧: $260M Hack on Cetus Protocol - Sui Blockchain’s Largest DEX Targeted
On May 22, 2025, Cetus Protocol, the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) and liquidity provider on the Sui blockchain, was hit by a massive exploit that drained over $260 million from its liquidity pools.
This is one of the largest hacks in Sui’s ecosystem to date, causing widespread disruption and loss.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱
The attacker exploited critical vulnerabilities in Cetus’s smart contracts, specifically targeting the way the protocol calculates price curves and manages liquidity reserves.
Unlike many DeFi hacks involving oracle manipulation, Cetus calculates prices internally, relying on pool math rather than external price feeds.
The exploit involved:
→ Creating and swapping spoof tokens (fake tokens such as BULLA) into the SUI/USDC liquidity pool.
→ These spoof tokens had near-zero value but tricked Cetus’s internal math, allowing the attacker to add almost no real liquidity but withdraw large amounts of genuine assets.
→ This flaw allowed the attacker to drain massive amounts of SUI tokens and USDC from the liquidity pools without depositing equivalent value.
Once the assets were stolen, the attacker converted a significant portion into USDC and moved around $60 million cross-chain to Ethereum, likely to convert further into ETH and obfuscate the trail.
𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗸
→ Over $260 million stolen, with the attacker’s wallet holding up to $200 million at one point.
→ Liquidity in key pools like SUI/USDC dropped drastically, crippling trading.
→ CETUS token price fell 40%, while meme coins BULLA and MOJO lost over 90% of their value.
→ USDC temporarily lost its peg on Sui, dropping from $1 to $0.003.
The native SUI token remained relatively stable on centralized exchanges despite DeFi turmoil.
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗲𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗶 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀
Cetus paused its contracts immediately and launched an investigation. The Sui dev team confirmed the incident and is also investigating.
Users are warned to avoid Cetus until fixes are announced.
The hack exploited flaws in Cetus’s reserve math and price calculations. Spoof tokens were used to manipulate liquidity because the protocol didn’t properly validate inputs. This wasn’t an oracle attack.
The attacker showed deep knowledge of DEX mechanics and weak input checks.
𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The Sui community on social media, especially on X, reacted in “crisis mode,” expressing serious concerns about ecosystem security.
Some speculated the hack might be an insider job, but no proof has emerged. The incident occurred amid a bearish market, pushing some Sui tokens to drop as much as 70%.
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
The hack targeted only Cetus Protocol’s smart contracts, with no signs that the Sui blockchain itself was compromised.
The Sui Foundation and Mysten Labs have yet to make an official statement but are reportedly monitoring the situation closely.
This incident is much larger than a December 2024 exploit, where $29 million in SUI tokens were stolen, highlighting increasing risks in Sui’s DeFi ecosystem.
𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀
Users are advised not to interact with Cetus Protocol or its liquidity pools until the platform is confirmed secure.
Stay alert for phishing scams and fake recovery offers that often appear after such hacks.
If you have used Cetus or related DEXs on Sui, monitor your wallet activity carefully.
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