Cetus DEX Exploit Leads to $212 Million Loss on Sui Blockchain

Cetus, a decentralized exchange (DEX) operating on the Sui blockchain, has reportedly been the target of a significant exploit, resulting in the potential loss of over $200 million in digital assets. The incident was first brought to light by a pseudonymous Web3 researcher, COMDARE3, who posted on X that users were reporting an ongoing exploit on the Sui-based DEX Cetus. The researcher shared a screenshot from DEX Screener, which showed that many assets listed on Cetus had lost more than half of their value within the last 24 hours.

Some tokens, such as Lombard Staked BTC (LBTC) and AXOLcoin (AXOL), experienced near-total value loss. The top 15 affected tokens all saw their prices drop by more than three-quarters. The alleged exploiter’s address contained a substantial amount of various assets, including nearly $52 million in Sui (SUI) tokens, $4.9 million in Haedal Staked SUI (HASUI), over $19.5 million in Toilet (TOILET), nearly $19.5 million in wrapped USDt (USDT), and many other assets.

The official Cetus X profile acknowledged the incident, stating that an issue on the protocol had been detected and that the smart contract had been paused for safety measures. However, blockchain analysts and compliance firms have expressed skepticism about the project’s transparency. A representative from AMLBot questioned the Cetus team’s claim that the incident was merely a bug, suggesting that the timing and the rapid transfer of funds raised significant concerns.

The representative noted that $212 million was being bridged to Ethereum at a rate of $1 million per minute, with an additional $3 million drained during their conversation. Onchain data service Onchain Lens also reported that the attacker had gained control of all SUI-denominated pools, exploiting over $200 million, and had begun moving $USDC. This incident highlights the ongoing challenges and risks associated with decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, where security vulnerabilities can lead to substantial financial losses.