On May 22, 2025, the decentralized exchange Cetus, operating on the Sui blockchain, suffered a massive hacker attack. Preliminary estimates suggest that the attackers managed to withdraw approximately $11 million in SUI tokens from the platform.
This is reported by Business • Media
Liquidity Loss and Token Value Collapse
Cetus is a leading liquidity aggregator in the Sui ecosystem. The exchange’s hack led to a sharp decline in the value of tokens based on this blockchain: individual assets lost over 80% of their market price. Even the main coin SUI experienced a noticeable, albeit temporary, drop in value, after which it partially regained its position. The CETUS token, associated with the exchange itself, lost about 40% of its price.
Stablecoin Issues and Team Response
The crisis also affected the USDC stablecoin on the Sui network, which lost its peg to the US dollar. At the time of publication, the price of USDC was around $0.035, indicating a significant loss of trust in the asset on this platform.
The Cetus team responded to the situation by announcing the suspension of the smart contract to ensure user safety and to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the hack.
«An incident has been detected in our protocol, and for safety reasons, the smart contract has been temporarily suspended. The team is currently conducting an investigation. An additional statement regarding the incident will be released shortly,» the statement reads.
It is worth noting that from April 20 to April 26, 2025, trading volumes on decentralized exchanges in the Sui network reached a record $3.649 billion, indicating the significant role of this ecosystem in the cryptocurrency world. However, the current incident poses a serious test for its resilience and reputation.