Sui-based token prices plunge amid apparent Cetus Protocol exploit, team investigating

Several Sui-based tokens plunged on decentralized exchanges on Thursday morning amid an apparent exploit of Cetus Protocol.Cetus claims to offer the leading DEX and liquidity infrastructure on Sui. However, its liquidity pools appear to be in the process of being drained of millions of dollars following the suspected attack, with tokens including LOFI and HIPPO dropping more than 50% over the past hour, according to DEX Screener, and some tokens collapsing over 90%.Prices of Sui-based tokens on centralized exchange prices appear more stable. However, the liquidity drain is starting to impact market prices overall, per CoinGecko data. The CETUS token itself is down around 50% on DEXs and 30% overall in the last hour.CETUS/USD price chart. Image: CoinGecko."There was an incident detected on our protocol and our smart contract has been paused temporarily for safety," Cetus confirmed on X. "The team is investigating the incident at the moment. A further investigation statement will be made soon. We are grateful for your patience."Analysts at Lookonchain claim more than $260 million was drained from the protocol, with the attacker converting the stolen funds into USDC, bridging to Ethereum, and exchanging for ETH, estimating around $60 million USDC has been cross-chained so far. Blockchain security firm PeckShield said over $200 million has been stolen, repeating the $60 million bridged USDC figure.While many in the Sui community suggest that Cetus was not hacked and the incident relates to an oracle bug, others say an oracle exploit would be a more accurate description of the issue given the draining of funds and bridging out of USDC.The Block reached out to Cetus Protocol for comment.Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.