$260M Drained: Cetus Protocol Exploit Sparks Panic Across Sui Network Ecosystem
Key Takeaways:
- Cetus Protocol, Sui’s largest DEX and LP, confirmed a major exploit that drained its liquidity pools.
- Hackers manipulated spoof tokens to exploit reserve calculations and price curves.
- CETUS token value plunged 40%, while related memecoins like BULLA and MOJO fell over 90%.
Cetus Protocol, the backbone of liquidity on the Sui blockchain, has suffered a devastating exploit. The incident, which drained its liquidity pools and halted operations, has triggered a chain reaction across the ecosystem, with users scrambling to withdraw assets and exchanges locking deposits.
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Cetus Protocol Confirms Exploit and Halts Smart Contracts
Cetus Protocol, widely recognized as the primary decentralized exchange (DEX) and liquidity provider on the Sui blockchain, officially acknowledged the exploit on its X (formerly Twitter) account. The project paused all smart contracts to prevent further losses while it investigates the vulnerability.
“An incident has been detected on our protocol, and our smart contract has been paused temporarily for safety. The team is investigating and will release a full report soon,” Cetus posted.
Early estimates suggest the attacker drained roughly $260 million worth of assets, including SUI and USDC, using spoof tokens like BULLA. Blockchain analysts indicate that the exploit involved swapping spoof assets for real tokens by taking advantage of flawed reserve math and manipulated pricing curves.
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Exploit Path: Spoof Tokens and Zero-Liquidity Attacks
How the Attacker Gained Access
According to on-chain investigator @d0rsky, the attacker executed a multi-step process:
- Swapped spoof tokens (e.g., BULLA) into legitimate tokens like SUI using vulnerable liquidity pools.
- Injected near-zero liquidity into the pools to manipulate the internal state and reserve calculations.
- Extracted real assets without depositing any meaningful value.
This kind of exploit, leveraging artificially skewed price curves and faulty internal calculations, exposes critical flaws in AMM-based DEX infrastructure when rigorous token filtering is not enforced.
Other ecosystem tokens like MOJO also experienced rapid devaluation, with some memecoins plunging over 90% in a matter of hours.
Immediate Fallout: CETUS Down 40%, Binance Halts Deposits
The price of CETUS dropped sharply—falling over 40% within hours—as liquidity was drained and confidence collapsed. Related tokens, especially those used in spoofing (like BULLA), faced even steeper declines.
Binance has reportedly suspended deposits for CETUS, citing risk assessment and asset integrity concerns. While no official Binance statement has been released, community sources flagged halted transactions and deposit locks.
Meanwhile, traders are reacting sharply. A prominent whale on Hyperliquid opened a 10x long on SUI, speculating on a rebound or possible rescue operation by the Sui team or its core ecosystem contributors.
Uncertainty Ahead: Will Cetus Survive?
Questions now surround the future of Cetus. As Sui’s largest liquidity provider, its sudden collapse leaves a significant hole in the network’s DeFi structure. While the team promises a full investigation and potential mitigation plan, the damage to user trust may take far longer to repair.
With assets locked, liquidity drained, and token prices collapsing, the incident has already triggered fear of broader contagion within the Sui ecosystem.
Crypto communities are closely monitoring the situation, as the next steps from Cetus, Sui Foundation, and leading exchanges will determine whether the platform can recover—or become another name added to the long list of DeFi protocols brought down by exploits.
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