Several days have passed since the security incident. According to public information, the Sui Foundation has announced it will provide a secured loan to Cetus to compensate for part of the user asset losses from this attack, amounting to about $60 million. Meanwhile, regarding the approximately $160 million in frozen on-chain assets, the related disposal upgrade plan has entered the community voting stage through on-chain governance proposals.
Meanwhile, several protocols on the Sui ecosystem have gradually resumed operation after self-inspection. For example, Momentum, which was the first to complete self-inspection and restore the DEX protocol, is also coordinating a new round of user incentives on Sui.
Could a crisis event promote progress in the Sui ecosystem?
Looking back at the progress over the past few days, although this attack incident resulted in asset losses, it also prompted a collective review of 'protocol security', 'governance mechanisms', and 'emergency responses' across the entire ecosystem.
In the past period, the Sui ecosystem has shown steady growth, but the intensity of incentives has not been very strong. However, after this incident, the new incentive cycle on Sui has provided a clear signal: after security capabilities have been tested, the ecosystem is returning to orderly advancement.
So far, there are over 10 decentralized trading protocols (DEX) actively running on the Sui network. Against this backdrop of multiple protocols developing in parallel, a protocol that has been online for about three months—Momentum—is continuously attracting market attention.
According to official data, as of the time of writing, Momentum's cumulative trading volume has surpassed $3 billion, with a total locked value (TVL) of about $700 million, and the number of participating addresses is close to 400,000. During the security incident in May, according to DefiLlama data, the overall TVL of the Sui ecosystem briefly retreated. Momentum immediately suspended trading and conducted a self-inspection after the incident, publicly disclosing its security mechanisms and operational status. Subsequently, the TVL quickly recovered to pre-incident levels.
Momentum's widespread attention is related to its underlying model and ecological positioning. Looking back at the development paths of various on-chain ecosystems, DEX is usually one of the first infrastructures to meet trading demands and release liquidity dividends. The three relatively mature mainstream DEXs on Sui include:
Cetus: Adopts an AMM (Automated Market Maker) mechanism, which is the key protocol in this round of security incidents;
Bluefin: Adopts a semi-decentralized matching and off-chain order book architecture;
Momentum: Built on the ve(3,3) mechanism, it is the first protocol on Sui to implement this architecture and launch an incentive mechanism.
The ve(3,3) model is a fusion design of Curve's vote-escrow mechanism and OlympusDAO's game-theoretic incentive structure, which has already formed scale applications on multiple mainstream public chains, such as Aerodrome on Base and Thena on the BNB chain. Momentum is the first practical implementation of this mechanism in the Sui network.
Since its launch on March 31, Momentum has quickly become one of the largest liquidity pools for the SUI/USDC trading pair on Sui. The platform has not yet opened direct circulation of governance tokens, remaining in the early incentive stage, where users can accumulate Bricks points through participating in trading, providing liquidity, etc., for future redemption of platform tokens or participation in governance.
After completing security checks and confirming system stability, Momentum resumed trading services on May 25 and simultaneously launched a new round of liquidity incentive plans, covering multiple core asset pairs, in addition to the extra incentives provided by the Sui Foundation.
The following is a detailed introduction to the current operational mechanism and incentive structure of Momentum.
Triple incentives to re-attract liquidity focus.
After experiencing a security incident, the Sui ecosystem chose to prioritize the allocation of incentive resources to DEX, providing support for continuously participating on-chain users.
According to public information, this round of Momentum incentives includes:
1. The Sui Foundation supports a 3x $SUI incentive, which is currently the most substantial on Sui;
2. Momentum's own 3x Bricks incentives cover major liquidity pools;
3. Multiple pools with double-digit APRs, some reaching over 20%, and even 600%+ (related to Scallop project pools).
Momentum has now become one of the DEXs with the highest concentration of liquidity on Sui. The TVL of several major trading pairs (such as $SUI-$USDC, $suiUSDT-$USDC, $LBTC-$wBTC) continues to rise.
Does the security mechanism stand the test?
Security issues remain the core concern for users. The response rhythm of Momentum this time relates to its long-term security mechanism design, specifically including:
1. Multi-signature control + permission-splitting design to avoid single points of failure;
2. Fully covered units + integration testing, specifically testing for overflow vulnerabilities;
3. Real-time monitoring + emergency mechanisms that can pause trading, which have been validated in multiple practical scenarios;
4. Cross-audit mechanism among multiple teams, not relying on a single result;
5. White-hat incentive program, open vulnerability reporting channels, creating positive incentives.
ve(3,3) model, releasing new protocol collaboration modes.
In addition to incentives and security, it is worth mentioning that the ve(3,3) model adopted by Momentum is gradually forming a collaborative network among protocols.
In this model:
1. Users lock $MMT to obtain veMMT, which allows participation in voting to allocate incentive directions;
2. Project parties can attract incentive flows to this protocol's trading pools through 'bribery';
3. Voters receive corresponding trading fees and rewards;
4. Ultimately achieving a rebalancing of interests among protocols, LPs, and users.
Currently, this model has been practiced on multiple mainstream public chains (like Base's Aerodrome and BNB's Thena), while Sui is still in the early stages. Momentum is one of the first projects on Sui to adopt this mechanism and form an initial flywheel effect.
At the current stage, where do the opportunities come from?
In a market that has not fully recovered, some early participation windows are emerging:
1. Significantly increased incentive intensity;
2. The entry threshold is relatively low (no need to lock assets in advance to become an LP and earn rewards);
3. Security has received additional attention and reinforcement in the short term.
Conclusion
The Cetus attack incident exposed problems and left room for progress.
For users, the short term may mean higher APR and better depth;
For the Sui ecosystem, the long term means the beginning of a new round of infrastructure rotation.
The real risk has never been a crisis, but the blindness to a crisis.
This article is for sharing and discussion purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
