SUI Liquidity Provider Suffers $260M Hack, Price Dumps 15%

Cetus Protocol, SUI network’s largest decentralized exchange (DEX) and liquidity provider, has suffered a massive $260 million hack. Driven by the crypto hack, the SUI price is down nearly 15% and is currently trading at $3.90. Leading figures like Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) have promised their support for the blockchain network amidst this chaos.

SUI’s Cetus Hit by $260M Hack: Details

As revealed by Lookonchain, Sui’s Cetus DEX has been exploited by a hacker, whose wallet address is identified as “0xe28b50.” Reportedly, the attacker holds over 12.9 million SUI, valued at about $54 million.

Lookonchain further uncovered that the attacker is laundering the stolen funds by converting them to USDC. Later, they transferred approximately $60 million worth of USDC to the Ethereum blockchain, where they’re being exchanged for ETH. Analyst Ted also confirmed that the hacker has already bought $60 million worth of ETH tokens.

Following the incident, the Cetus team has paused its smart contracts and is actively investigating the exploit.

Preliminary findings suggest the attacker used fake tokens, such as BULLA, to manipulate price curves and reserve calculations, adding minimal liquidity to distort internal LP states and drain real assets like SUI and USDC. The team confirmed that the contract has been paused “for safety.”

The development team sprang into action after learning of the Cetus incident. They promised to investigate and take necessary action. The team wrote,

At 3:52 AM PT, we became aware of an incident concerning Cetus. The Cetus team has our active support in this ongoing investigation and will provide further updates as soon as they become available.

In response to the crypto hack, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao shared an X post, offering full support to the platform. He wrote on X, “We are doing what we can to help SUI. Not a pleasant situation. Hope everyone stay SAFU!”

We are doing what we can to help SUI. Not a pleasant situation. Hope everyone stay SAFU!

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) May 22, 2025

SUI Price Plummets, But Maintains Momentum

Following the crypto hack, the SUI token plummeted, but is still trading in the green zone. Earlier today, the token hit a weekly high following OKX’s launch of xBTC, a 1:1 wrapped Bitcoin token, on the platform.

However, the bullish trend was momentary as the token dipped and is now trading at $3.65. While the SUI price dipped by a marginal 0.39% over the past 24 hours, it has seen a notable plummet of nearly 15% over the past four hours. Initial reports suggested a massive outflow of $200 million in funds, triggering panic across the community.

In addition to SUI’s plummet, other Sui-based tokens on Cetus, like LBTC and AXOL, experienced severe downturns, losing nearly their whole value. Other assets like LOFI, HIPPO, and SQUIRT dropped by about 80% over the past six hours, driven by the crypto hack.

Cetus Protocol revealed in an X post that it has frozen $162 million worth of stolen assets. Team members confirmed that plans are underway to recover the remaining funds, collaborating with Sui Foundation and other key ecosystem players.

🚨ANNOUNCEMENT

As of earlier today, we have confirmed that an attacker has stolen approximately $223M from Cetus Protocol. We have took immediate action to lock our contract preventing further theft of funds.

$162M of the compromised funds have been successfully paused. We are…

— Cetus🐳 (@CetusProtocol) May 22, 2025

To prevent further loss of funds, Cetus Protocol has locked its contracts as a preemptive measure. For now, investors and other stakeholders are watching with keen anticipation for a full incident report on the hack.

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Nynu V Jamal

Nynu V Jamal is a passionate crypto journalist with three years of experience in blockchain, web3, and fintech spheres. She has established herself as a knowledgeable and engaging voice in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. Her experience as an Assistant Professor in English Language and Literature has further added to her quest for crafting informative, well-researched, and accessible content.

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