Cetus seeks Sui community nod to unlock $162M to make users whole

Sui-based protocol Cetus said on May 27 that it can reimburse every user affected by its May 22 exploit if Sui token holders approve the return of frozen funds in an upcoming on-chain vote.

Cetus said in a May 27 social media post that its cash and token reserves, combined with a secured loan from the Sui Foundation, are enough to cover the $61 million in assets the attacker bridged to Ethereum.

According to a May 27 post by Sui, the loan applies only to the amount bridged outside Sui, not to the remaining $162 million that validators have already frozen on the network.

An upcoming community vote will decide whether to unlock the tokens that were frozen by validators after the exploit.

The DEX has asked the Sui community “for full support” to ensure it can make the affected users whole. Cetus also said it would publish a step-by-step repayment plan regardless of the vote’s outcome.

The Cetus exploit is the ninth-largest hack in the crypto industry in terms of the amount stolen, according to the Rekt News leaderboard. 

Full recovery possible

The Sui Foundation confirmed the arrangement in a separate post, describing the loan as an “extraordinary measure” designed to restore user balances beyond what Cetus could fund alone.

Sui Foundation officials stated that the community vote proposal will appear on-chain “shortly” and that validators remain ready to move the frozen tokens if holders approve.

Furthermore, Foundation executives added that the loan proceeds are in escrow, and deployment could occur as soon as the smart contract community concludes the proposal.

Cetus paused all contracts on May 22 after an attacker exploited a flaw in the protocol’s pricing logic. 

On-chain data indicates that the breach resulted in $223 million worth of tokens, with $61 million transferred to Ethereum and $162 million halted by Sui validators.

Cetus contacted the exploiter through on-chain messages, offering a $6 million bounty in exchange for the funds bridged to Ethereum. However, the protocol did not receive a reply.

Project developers said they “deeply regret the impact” and will “begin recovery immediately” once they finalize the mechanics for distributing reimbursements. 

Cetus reiterated that rebuilding user trust remains its top priority and is committed to providing periodic progress updates. The protocol has not disclosed a timeline for code fixes or the resumption of trading.

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