Key Takeaways:
Cetus has announced a $6 million bounty aimed at recovering $56 million in Ethereum (ETH) that was taken during a major exploit valued at $223 million. In response to the situation, Sui validators have frozen addresses related to the hack, putting a stop to $162 million in compromised tokens. The incident has raised concerns regarding the centralization of the Sui network, resulting in significant drops in token values, including that of CETUS.
Cetus Protocol, a decentralized exchange operating on the Sui blockchain, is proactively offering a $6 million reward for the return of assets involved in a substantial exploit that struck the platform earlier this week.
This bounty is part of an urgent initiative to reclaim approximately 20,920 ETH, which amounts to about $56.3 million, that was shifted to Ethereum following the breach.
Cetus Initiates Contact with Hacker
In a recent communication on X, Cetus indicated it had traced the Ethereum wallet utilized in the attack and initiated negotiations with the hacker.
“As part of our offer, you may retain 2,324 ETH (~$6M) as a bounty, and we will formally consider the incident resolved,” the statement said, with collaborative input from data analytics firm Inca Digital.
The message underscored the possibility of legal and intelligence measures being undertaken if the perpetrator tries to transfer or mix the stolen assets.
The security breach, which took place on Thursday, exploited a flaw in the smart contracts associated with Cetus’ liquidity pool.
During the incident, the hacker siphoned millions in cryptocurrency, with some funds swiftly converted into USDC and then ETH. Cetus has indicated that the vulnerability has now been addressed.
In a swift response, the Sui Network coordinated with validators to freeze wallets connected to the stolen assets.
“A significant number of validators identified the addresses linked to the stolen funds and are currently halting transactions related to these addresses until further notice,” stated the Sui Foundation.
The Sui team reported that approximately $162 million worth of compromised tokens have been temporarily “paused” as part of an effort to contain the situation.
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 (@CetusProtocol) May 22, 2025
While Cetus celebrated collaboration with DeFi protocols and Sui stakeholders, the incident shed light on the centralization concerns within the crypto community.
“Does that make SUI centralized? The short answer is YES,” remarked Justin Bons, founder of Cyber Capital, while criticizing the validators’ ability to censor transactions.
He highlighted the concentration of validators and token supply as primary issues.
Following the exploit, the native token of Cetus, CETUS, experienced a dramatic decline of 50%, currently trading at $0.1714, according to CoinGecko. Other tokens linked to the protocol, such as LOFI and HIPPO, faced similar declines.
Crypto Sector Faces Significant Losses from Hacks in Q1
During the first quarter of 2025, the crypto ecosystem registered losses of approximately $1.63 billion across 39 different incidents, as reported by blockchain security platform Immunefi.
A significant portion of these losses stemmed from two separate hacks of centralized exchanges. Phemex experienced a $69.1 million loss in January, while Bybit suffered a staggering $1.46 billion loss in February.
This marks a 4.7-fold increase in total losses compared to the same period in 2024, when hackers and fraudsters stole $348.3 million.
Notably, experts suspect that the notorious North Korean hacking group, Lazarus Group, is responsible for both of the largest attacks, accounting for $1.52 billion, or 94% of the total losses.
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