In a major step toward restitution and ecosystem resilience, the Sui community officially approved a governance vote to return over $160 million in frozen assets after a large-scale exploit of the Cetus decentralized exchange.
The decision, passed through on-chain governance, marks a decisive moment in the network’s response to one of the most significant security incidents to date.
Sui Network validators froze $162M in assets stolen during the Cetus hack
On May 22, the Cetus Protocol suffered a devastating exploit that drained more than $223 million from its liquidity pools after attackers exploited a vulnerability in third-party code.
Following the breach, Sui network validators acted quickly to freeze approximately $162 million of the stolen assets, preventing further loss.
That rapid intervention by validators set the stage for an organized recovery process, culminating in a community vote that concluded on May 29.
With 90.9% of validator stake voting “yes,” 1.5% abstaining and 7.2% not participating, the governance proposal was approved by an overwhelming majority.
Update – Validators representing 90.9% of stake have said “Yes” in the onchain community vote, and the vote has concluded early.
With this result, the impacted funds will be moved to a multi-sig wallet and held in trust until they can be returned to users according to the plan… https://t.co/qG8aPAhD8e pic.twitter.com/WjiSbLWt8n
— Sui (@SuiNetwork) May 29, 2025
The recovered funds will now be transferred to a multi-signature wallet held in trust, creating a transparent mechanism for returning assets to affected users.
Cetus, which sought community support shortly after the exploit, has committed to combining the returned funds with resources from its own treasury and an emergency loan from the Sui Foundation.
This comprehensive recovery package is intended to ensure that all affected users receive full compensation, helping to restore confidence in the protocol and the broader ecosystem.
Sui and Cetus respond swiftly to the May 22 incident
Although the vulnerability that enabled the exploit was found in Cetus’s own code, the Sui community treated the incident as a critical learning opportunity.
In response to the breach, the Sui Foundation announced a $10 million initiative to strengthen protocol security through improved audit practices and formal verification tooling.
The network is also expanding its bug bounty program to include major protocols with high total value locked, reinforcing its long-term commitment to ecosystem security.
Cetus released a detailed roadmap outlining its recovery and relaunch plans, which are expected to roll out over the coming weeks.
The protocol confirmed that the first step will involve validator-coordinated actions to move funds into the multi-signature wallet.
Cetus will then activate an emergency recovery pool and complete a full restoration of its data infrastructure.
In a May 29 update, Cetus stated that a bespoke compensation contract is being developed and will undergo an auditor review before deployment.
Within just 48 hours, the Sui community united to pass a critical on-chain vote — marking a pivotal moment for the entire ecosystem. Cetus extends our deepest gratitude to the >90% of validators and stakers who voted in favor. Regardless of your stance, your participation… https://t.co/UN2DrlDRTw
— Cetus🐳 (@CetusProtocol) May 29, 2025
Once the protocol is fully restored, liquidity providers in the affected pools will regain access to their assets, and any remaining shortfalls will be addressed via the compensation contract.
While the community’s rapid response has drawn praise across the crypto industry, some decentralization advocates have raised concerns about validators’ authority to freeze funds on-chain.
Nevertheless, the decisive governance process and transparent communication helped reinforce community trust and demonstrated Sui’s readiness to confront large-scale security challenges.
Notably, as previously reported, Sui reached an all-time high for monthly DEX volume despite price declines following the Cetus exploit.
With the vote complete and recovery efforts underway, both Cetus and the Sui ecosystem are positioned for a resilient recovery.