Sui DEX Cetus suspected of being hacked: Over $200M in potential losses

Cetus, a decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Sui blockchain, is experiencing a significant exploit resulting in the suspected loss of over $200 million in digital assets. Web3 researcher COMDARE3 reported on X that users are experiencing losses, with DEX Screener data showing substantial devaluation across numerous assets within the last 24 hours. Many assets, including Lombard Staked BTC (LBTC) and AXOLcoin (AXOL), have lost almost all their value on Cetus. The top 15 affected assets each suffered price drops exceeding 75%.

The incident triggered a surge in Cetus’s transaction volume on May 22nd, reaching $2.9 billion—an 89% increase from the previous day. This heightened activity strongly suggests a large-scale outflow of funds. While LBTC saw a 4% increase on CoinMarketCap outside Cetus, AXOL experienced a near 99.5% loss.

The suspected attacker’s address currently holds substantial assets: nearly $52 million in Sui (SUI), $4.9 million in Haedal Staked SUI (HASUI), over $19.5 million each of Toilet (TOILET) and wrapped USDt (USDT), among others.

Cetus’s official X profile acknowledged the incident, confirmed the pausing of the smart contract for safety, and announced an ongoing investigation. However, concerns regarding transparency have been raised by blockchain analysts and compliance firms.

AMLBot noted the transfer of approximately $212 million to Ethereum at a rate of $1 million per minute, suggesting a deliberate and rapid action beyond a simple bug. The timing, coupled with the Cetus team’s characterization of the incident as a “bug,” has prompted skepticism, particularly given statements made on Discord. Onchain Lens corroborated the exploit, reporting the attacker’s control over all SUI-denominated pools and the movement of USDC. The situation remains fluid, and updates will follow as they become available.