Sui Network's Ecosystem in Disarray: Cetus Protocol Exploit Leads to $260 Million Theft
Sui's Largest DEX, Cetus Protocol, Suffers Major Exploit
In a significant blow to the Sui blockchain, the primary decentralized exchange (DEX) and liquidity provider, Cetus Protocol, has suffered a devastating exploit, draining its liquidity pools and triggering a ripple effect across the ecosystem.
Cetus Protocol, a crucial component of Sui's DeFi landscape, confirmed the incident on its official account. Smart contracts were immediately halted, aiming to prevent further losses while the team investigates the vulnerability.
"An incident has been detected on our protocol, and our smart contracts have been paused temporarily for safety. The team is investigating, and a full report will be released soon," Cetus announced.
Initial estimates suggest the attacker drained approximately $260 million worth of assets, including SUI and USDC, using spoof tokens like BULLA. This exploit capitalized on flawed reserve math and manipulated pricing curves, exploiting the automated market maker (AMM) infrastructure when rigorous token filtering was lacking.
Other related tokens, such as MOJO, also suffered steep devaluation, with some plunging over 90% in a matter of hours.
Binance has reportedly suspended CETUS deposits due to risk assessment and asset integrity concerns, despite no official Binance statement. Meanwhile, a notable whale on Hyperliquid opened a 10x long on SUI, speculating on a potential rebound or intervention from the Sui team or its core ecosystem contributors.
The future of Cetus remains uncertain. As Sui's largest liquidity provider, its sudden collapse leaves a considerable gap in the network's DeFi structure. While the team promises a thorough investigation and potential mitigation plan, the damage to user trust may take much longer to repair.
The rapid draining of liquidity and the subsequent plunge in CETUS's value has raised concerns about broader contagion within the Sui ecosystem. The crypto community closely monitors the situation, eagerly awaiting the next steps from Cetus, the Sui Foundation, and leading exchanges, which will determine the platform's fate and potential recovery.
Details about the exploit path reveal that the attacker used spoof tokens and zero-liquidity attacks, manipulating the AMM logic within the Cetus Protocol.
To execute the attack, the hacker swapped spoof assets for real tokens, manipulated liquidity pools, and exploited faulty internal calculations in the protocol.
The exploit underscores persistent risks in decentralized finance, particularly regarding smart contract logic, price oracle reliability, and potential reserve manipulation through spoofed assets.
- The exploit of Cetus Protocol, Sui's primary DEX and liquidity provider, drained approximately $260 million worth of assets, including SUI and USDC, using spoof tokens like BULLA.
- Other related tokens, such as MOJO, also suffered steep devaluation, with some plunging over 90% in a matter of hours.
- The hacker used spoof tokens and zero-liquidity attacks, manipulating the AMM logic within the Cetus Protocol to execute the attack.
- To manipulate the pricing curves and exploit the automated market maker (AMM) infrastructure, the attacker swapped spoof assets for real tokens and manipulated liquidity pools, also exploiting faulty internal calculations in the protocol.
- The future of Cetus remains uncertain, as its sudden collapse leaves a considerable gap in the network's DeFi structure.
- Binance has reportedly suspended CETUS deposits due to risk assessment and asset integrity concerns, despite no official Binance statement.
- The rapid draining of liquidity and the subsequent plunge in CETUS's value have raised concerns about broader contagion within the Sui ecosystem.
- The crypto community closely monitors the situation, with the next steps from Cetus, the Sui Foundation, and leading exchanges being crucial in determining the platform's fate and potential recovery, while also revealing persistent risks in decentralized finance.
