Cetus Offers Full Compensation to Users After $223M Exploit, Awaiting Sui Community Vote

The Sui-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Cetus announced on May 27 that it can fully compensate all users affected by the exploit on May 22, with the recovery depending on an upcoming on-chain vote by Sui token holders to freeze the locked funds.

The protocol, which experienced the ninth largest crypto hack in history according to Rekt News, stated that a combination of cash reserves and its own tokens, along with a secured loan from the Sui Foundation, is sufficient to cover $61 million in assets that were bridged to Ethereum by the attacker.

The Sui Foundation confirmed the loan, characterizing it as an “extraordinary measure” to ensure that user balances are restored beyond what Cetus could manage independently. Importantly, this loan specifically addresses the funds transferred from the Sui network, not the remaining $162 million that has been frozen by Sui validators on the blockchain.

The upcoming community vote will determine whether these frozen tokens will be released. Cetus has urged the Sui community for “full support” to facilitate the complete recovery of user funds. The DEX has also committed to publishing a step-by-step reimbursement plan, regardless of the vote outcome.

The Cetus exploit, which occurred on May 22, stemmed from a flaw in the protocol's pricing logic. On-chain data revealed that the breach resulted in a total of $223 million worth of affected tokens, with $61 million successfully bridged to Ethereum and the remaining $162 million halted by Sui validators.

Cetus attempted to negotiate with the exploiters through on-chain messages, offering a $6 million reward for the return of the funds bridged to Ethereum, but received no response.

Project developers have expressed deep regret over the impact of the exploit and stated they will “initiate immediate recovery.”