$SUI ha frozen approximately $160 million in assets amid growing concerns about potential exploits through cross-chain bridges. This preventive measure arises in a context where bridge exploits have represented a significant portion of losses in the DeFi ecosystem, with billions of dollars stolen in previous incidents.

Cross-chain bridges, while essential for interoperability between different blockchains, are known for their vulnerabilities. These systems often involve locking assets on one chain to mint equivalent tokens on another, or using funds in a liquidity pool. Failures in smart contracts, takeover of validators, or even sophisticated phishing attacks have been the causes of massive exploits in the past.

Sui's intervention aims to safeguard these funds before they could be transferred and potentially compromised. Although over $60 million additional already exists distributed across two addresses, almost all converted to ETH, Sui's action underscores the critical need to strengthen security in the cross-chain infrastructure to protect users' assets.