- Sui validators acted swiftly to freeze most of the stolen funds from the Cetus protocol breach.
- The attack targeted a smart contract vulnerability on the Sui blockchain, exploiting a misconfigured pool.
What happened: Validators on the Sui network have frozen stolen assets following a $220 million exploit targeting decentralised exchange Cetus.
A coordinated exploit targeting Cetus—a decentralised exchange (DEX) built on the Sui blockchain—led to the theft of nearly $220 million in crypto assets. The attacker manipulated a vulnerability in the liquidity pool smart contracts, which allowed them to drain tokens by exploiting faulty swap calculations. The breach was traced to a misconfigured tick spacing parameter, affecting pricing mechanics in the protocol.
Following the exploit, validators on the Sui network responded by freezing the attacker’s address, successfully immobilising a significant portion of the stolen funds. The Cetus team confirmed that no user funds or smart contract code were directly compromised, but the liquidity pools sustained major damage. The hacker had initially funnelled stolen assets through various wallets in an attempt to obfuscate the trail.
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Why this is important
This incident underscores the growing security risks associated with newer blockchain ecosystems like Sui, which launched in 2023 with backing from Mysten Labs. While the quick reaction from validators prevented complete asset loss, the attack highlights a critical vulnerability in the decentralised finance (DeFi) infrastructure. Smart contract misconfigurations remain one of the most exploited weak points in DeFi.
The Sui network’s centralised validator structure enabled the rapid freezing of funds—an action that raises broader questions about decentralisation and control in blockchain protocols. Critics argue that such intervention contradicts DeFi’s principle of censorship resistance, though supporters see it as a necessary failsafe.
The Cetus breach joins a growing list of high-profile DeFi hacks in 2025, following recent exploits on Rain.fi and Blueberry Protocol. Collectively, these incidents have cost users and investors billions in digital assets. The rapid escalation of exploits is prompting renewed scrutiny of security practices and the governance models underpinning DeFi ecosystems.
