$260M Drained in Cetus Protocol Breach, Sui DeFi Ecosystem in Crisis
Cetus Protocol, the leading DEX and liquidity engine on the Sui blockchain, has suffered a catastrophic exploit resulting in a loss of over $260 million in tokens, according to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain.
At the heart of the exploit is a wallet identified as 0xe28b50, which currently controls over 12.9 million SUI tokens (approx. $54 million). Blockchain traces indicate this address may have already funneled or converted assets through various methods, bringing its net exposure to over 32.9 million SUI—worth approximately $137 million. The wallet remains active, likely attempting to cover its tracks across multiple chains and protocols.
The Cetus Protocol team confirmed the breach on X (formerly Twitter), announcing that smart contracts have been paused as a precaution, and an investigation is underway. Early assessments reveal that the attacker leveraged spoof tokens like BULLA to distort internal price curves and liquidity pool math.
“Seems like all @CetusProtocol LP were drained,” posted on-chain analyst @d0rsky, who traced the attacker’s method:
Swap spoof tokens (e.g., BULLA → SUI) to exploit flawed pricing logic.
Inject negligible liquidity to manipulate LP state.
Repeatedly extract real assets like SUI and USDC with minimal input.
This strategic manipulation left several token pools on Sui completely emptied. In the immediate aftermath, CETUS token prices plunged by 40%, and Sui-based meme tokens BULLA and MOJO lost over 90% of their value.
The damage isn't limited to Cetus alone. The exploit exposes larger systemic vulnerabilities in Sui's DeFi architecture. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has confirmed that his team has reached out to assist the Sui ecosystem in managing the crisis.
With major liquidity pools compromised and confidence shaken, the future of Sui’s DeFi environment now hinges on the speed and transparency of its response—and whether similar exploits can be prevented across other platforms.