Decentralized crypto exchange Cetus on the Sui network has successfully frozen most of the $220 million in stolen funds after a massive hacking incident.
Sui Blockchain Exploit Shakes Market Players' Confidence
The smart contract exploit incident that hit Cetus DEX on the Sui blockchain on May 22, 2025, has become the center of attention of the global crypto community. With a total loss of $223 million (around Rp3.5 trillion), this incident highlights the security risks in decentralized exchanges and their impact on the credibility of the DeFi ecosystem. For institutional investors, large losses in a short period of time put pressure on the price of digital assets and triggered bearish sentiment in the related market. According to CoinDesk analysis, similar incidents in the past have often triggered massive waves of withdrawals until the platform's liquidity dropped drastically.
Frozen Funds & Cetus Token Price Impact After Incident
The collaboration between the Cetus team, the Sui Foundation, and network validators managed to freeze around $162 million of the funds taken by the exploiters. However, according to data from the Web3 Extractor security team cited by Bloomberg, $63 million has made its way across the Ethereum network, including the transfer of 20,000 ETH to a new wallet. Following the incident, the price of the Cetus ecosystem's main token plunged more than 75% in a 24-hour period (source: CoinGecko). This drop shows the weakening of investor confidence following the incident, as well as the systemic risks facing DeFi projects with significant trading volume and total value locked (TVL).
Validator Centralization Risks and Fund Recovery Challenges
The incident highlights the security challenges in the DeFi space, and has raised debate about the centralization of power among validators on the Sui blockchain. Some members of the community have applauded the swift action taken by validators to block funds. However, concerns have been raised about the potential for concentration of authority to limit the principle of decentralization, as quoted by Reuters, "The risk of validator intervention could affect the perception of network independence." Cetus and the Sui Foundation are currently working on a full recovery and refund mechanism for affected users, although the process is expected to take time and require rigorous audits.
The global crypto industry is once again reminded of the importance of smart contract audits, transparency, and platform governance to protect user assets and prevent similar incidents from happening again.
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