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Cetus Protocol, a decentralized exchange built on the
blockchain, has reportedly fallen victim to an exploit that may have siphoned off more than $200 million in digital assets. The breach, which was first flagged by pseudonymous Web3 researcher COMDARE3, has triggered widespread panic across the Sui ecosystem, with many tokens plunging in value. Market data shows a brutal selloff, with assets like Lombard Staked BTC (LBTC) and AXOLcoin (AXOL) collapsing nearly 100%. The top 15 tokens on Cetus all suffered losses of over 75% in the past 24 hours.The protocol’s smart contracts have since been paused, according to a post on the official Cetus X account. The Cetus team has attempted to downplay the exploit, referring to it as a “bug” in statements on Discord. However, this characterization has drawn backlash from compliance experts. Onchain Lens, a blockchain analysis firm, corroborated the severity of the incident, noting that the attacker “gained control of all SUI-denominated pools” and began moving stablecoins shortly afterward.
Funds from the alleged exploiter’s wallet include $52 million in SUI, nearly $20 million in wrapped USDT, $4.9 million in Haedal Staked SUI (HASUI), and a large stash of lesser-known tokens such as Toilet (TOILET). On-chain analysts estimate the attacker has begun moving tens of millions to Ethereum, including a reported $60 million in USDC. SUI, the native token of the Sui blockchain, is down sharply following the attack, as confidence in the network’s DeFi infrastructure takes a major hit.
In the first three months of 2025, the crypto ecosystem lost a whopping $1,635,933,800 across 39 incidents. Most of that was the result of only two hacks of two centralized exchanges. Phemex suffered a $69.1 million loss in January, while Bybit lost $1.46 billion in February. Subsequently, the total number of losses in the first quarter marks a 4.7x increase compared to Q1 2024. Notably, experts assume that the infamous North Korean Lazarus Group is behind the two largest attacks. They stole $1.52 billion, or 94% of total losses.
This incident highlights the ongoing vulnerability of decentralized finance platforms to exploits and the significant impact such events can have on the broader cryptocurrency market. The Cetus Protocol hack underscores the need for enhanced security measures and compliance protocols within the DeFi ecosystem to prevent similar incidents in the future. The community's response and the protocol's actions in the aftermath will be crucial in restoring confidence and stability within the Sui ecosystem.
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