Cetus Protocol, the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) and liquidity provider on the Sui blockchain, has reportedly been drained of over $260 million in a catastrophic exploit, according to on-chain data flagged by blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain.
The wallet tied to the exploit—address 0xe28b50—currently holds more than 12.9 million SUI, valued at approximately $54 million. However, deeper analysis reveals the attacker’s total holdings exceed 32.9 million SUI, indicating substantial bridging and fund obfuscation may already be underway.
“This confirms the scale of the exploit and further pressures Sui’s DeFi infrastructure,” said Lookonchain.
Initial signs of the breach emerged when USDC on Sui depegged to near zero and token prices across Cetus trading pools plummeted by up to 99%, triggering panic across the ecosystem. Liquidity providers have reported total losses, and major token pairs remain non-functional as the attacker continues to move assets across networks.
With $260 million drained, this is now one of the largest DeFi exploits of 2025, and the most severe attack on the Sui ecosystem to date.
The attacker’s wallet remains active, raising concerns that funds may soon be routed through privacy protocols or mixers to avoid recovery.
The Cetus team has not yet issued an official post-mortem or mitigation plan, as community trust in the platform and broader Sui DeFi landscape faces a severe stress test.
As investigations unfold, users are urged to avoid interacting with affected contracts or pools, and await formal communication from the protocol’s developers.
In a brief comment, Binance CEO CZ acknowledged the situation and expressed solidarity:
“We are doing what we can to help SUI. Not a pleasant situation. Hope everyone stay SAFU!”
CZ’s statement signals potential coordination between exchanges and developers to respond to the crisis. However, without formal updates from Cetus or Sui’s core team, users are urged to exercise caution and avoid interacting with affected pools or smart contracts until further notice.
Kosta Gushterov
Reporter at Coindoo
Kosta has been a part of the team since 2021 and has solidified his position with a thirst for knowledge, incredible dedication to his work and a “detective-like” mindset. He not only covers a wide range of trending topics, he also creates reviews, PR articles and educational content. His work has also been referenced by other news outlets.
Source: https://coindoo.com/cetus-protocol-hacked-for-260m-sui-defi-in-crisis-as-binance-steps-in/