Cetus, the Sui DEX, falls victim to a $223 million hack
A thunderclap rumbles through the Sui ecosystem. The Cetus protocol, the main decentralized exchange platform on the network, has just experienced one of the biggest hacks of 2025. In just a few transactions, over $223 million has been drained from its liquidity pools, triggering panic across all tokens based on Sui.
Massive exploit via fake tokens
According to early analysis, the attack relies on a strategy as sneaky as it is effective: exploiting fake tokens to manipulate price curves and reserve formulas. By adding almost no liquidity, the attacker was able to deceive the internal state of liquidity pools and withdraw real assets, mainly SUI and USDC, without depositing anything of value.
The Cetus smart contract was urgently paused. The team promises more detailed communication shortly, but confirms that around $162 million has been temporarily “frozen”. They are working closely with the Sui Foundation to try to recover the remaining funds.
A well-filled wallet, a market in ruins
The address associated with the exploit, 0xe28b50, still holds over 12.9 million SUI tokens, worth nearly $54 million at the current rate. Their wallet has seen over 32.9 million SUI transferred in total, approximately $137 million, indicating the beginnings of a concealment operation using multi-chain bridges or swaps.
Meanwhile, the slide continues on the markets. The CETUS token drops 40% in just a few hours. Even worse, meme coins based on Sui like BULLA or MOJO plummet by over 90%, caught in the turmoil.
What’s next for Sui
Binance, through its founder CZ, has announced reaching out to the Sui team to offer assistance.
The question remains whether the technical response will measure up. For now, the Sui validators agree to block any transactions coming from the hacker’s wallet. One thing is certain: Cetus, a cornerstone of the Sui ecosystem until now, has just revealed its biggest vulnerability.
