SUI Hack Results in $220M Exploit, $6M Bounty Offered to Recover Funds

The recent SUI hack resulted in a major exploit on May 22, targeting Cetus, a decentralized exchange on the Sui blockchain.

A major exploit occurred on May 22 targeting Cetus, a decentralized exchange on the Sui blockchain. In response, the exchange is offering a $6 million bounty to recover the stolen $220 million.

Cetus has swiftly frozen $162 million of the compromised funds, but a significant portion remains at risk. To encourage the return of the remaining assets, Cetus is offering 2,324 ETH, valued at approximately $6 million, for the hacker to return the funds.

This bounty targets 20,920 ETH, estimated at over $55 million, and other assets still frozen on the Sui network. The DEX stated it will not pursue any legal or public actions if the assets are returned within the specified timeframe.

However, Cetus has issued a strong warning that any attempt at off-ramping the funds or mixing them will escalate their response. The team will be utilizing advanced intelligence and legal resources to continue tracking the stolen assets if the initial offer is ignored.

The bounty stands as a final opportunity for the hacker to cooperate and potentially avoid further complications. Cetus is keen to avoid prolonged disruptions to the Sui blockchain and maintain the protocol’s stability in the long term.

Cetus is working closely with ecosystem participants to monitor wallet activity related to the breach. Transaction activities tied to the attacker are closely restricted on-chain, and several addresses involved in the exploit have been identified.

The SUI team has taken emergency steps following the SUI hack, deploying a bypass mechanism for validator transactions. This function allows unsigned transactions to proceed, enabling fund recovery actions across the network.

According to reports, the SUI team is working with validators to recover 160,000 ATOM, part of the larger sum stolen in the Cetus hack. Transactions by validators are usually signed, but this new capability allows for unsigned transactions to be processed.

A report by Solayer Labs engineer Chaofan Shou on Monday indicated that Sui validators received patched code to reclaim $160 million in frozen funds. However, according to a Sui engineer, validators have not yet executed the patch. Instead, they are applying a Band-Aid solution by blocking transactions from the attacker’s wallet.

This approach helps prevent further movement of the funds while they assess the best path for recovery. It appears that the Sui team asked every validator to deploy patched code so they could take away @CetusProtocol hacker’s $160 million via an unsigned tx.

This capability has raised concerns regarding the decentralized integrity of the Sui blockchain. Critics argue that permitting overides of network rules in this manner undermines the principle of a permissionless ledger.

Despite this, others maintain that the swift response from the SUI team and validators demonstrates effective coordination and stability within the protocol. Ultimately, the outcome of this exploit will have broader implications for the nascent Layer 1 ecosystem.

The SUI hack has had a significant impact on the market performance of the SUI token, which has seen a 9% price drop in 24 hours and trades at $3.85. The token had reached $4.20.

The token is now experiencing strong selling pressure after the exploit, which occurred on May 22. It is still unclear when the stolen funds will be fully recovered.

The exploit, which targeted the Cetus protocol on the Sui network, resulted in the theft of $220 million. A large portion of the funds, estimated at $162 million, has since been frozen by the protocol.

The Cetus team is offering a bounty of 2,324 ETH, currently valued at over $6 million, for the hacker to return the remaining 20,920 ETH and other assets. The tokens alone are estimated at over $55 million.

This comes as the SUI token saw a 16% price surge on Monday following a report by Blockstix that revealed a strong preference for SUI among institutional investors.

According to the report by Blockstix, which analyzes institutional capital flows, SUI was the most popular token among institutions last week, outperforming other major tokens like XRP and ADA.

Institutions reportedly sold ADA and LINK in large quantities last week, indicating a potential shift in investment strategy. Among the tokens that saw significant outflows, MATIC faced the highest selling pressure.

This exploit is one of the largest DeFi hacks of 2025 so far.output: TLDR

The recent SUI hack has seen major developments as Cetus, a decentralized exchange on the Sui blockchain, is offering a $6 million bounty to recover the stolen $220 million.

Cetus has quickly frozen $162 million of the compromised funds, but a significant portion remains at risk. To encourage the return of the remaining assets, Cetus is offering 2,324 ETH, valued at approximately $6 million, for the hacker to return the funds.