Cetus Protocol, a Sui-based decentralized exchange (DEX), has successfully come back online after a 17-day outage caused by a recent $223 million exploit. Despite the challenges, Cetus managed to recover approximately $162 million of stolen funds and is actively pursuing legal action against the attacker, who has remained unresponsive to negotiation efforts.
In a move to support affected users, Sui stepped in on May 28 to provide a loan that reimbursed impacted traders, helping to stabilize the platform. Prior to the exploit, Cetus’ total value locked (TVL) stood at around $284 million, but it has since dropped to approximately $124 million, according to DeFiLlama data.
The breach was traced back to a flaw in Cetus’ shared math library contract, which the attacker exploited to manipulate the protocol into believing a token was worth millions of dollars. Despite efforts to negotiate a settlement, the attacker began laundering funds through Tornado Cash, a coin-mixing service, complicating recovery efforts.
Fortunately, Cetus has restored liquidity pools to between 85% and 99% of their original levels, enabling users to trade with minimal slippage once again. However, the platform’s native token, CETUS, has experienced a significant decline—losing 44% of its value over the past month and about 1% in the last 24 hours.
This incident underscores the importance of robust security measures in DeFi and highlights Cetus Protocol’s resilience and ongoing commitment to rebuilding trust within the community. As the platform continues its recovery, traders and investors are advised to stay informed about the latest updates and security practices in the evolving landscape of decentralized finance.
