On May 22, Cetus, the leading decentralized exchange on the Sui blockchain, was hacked, losing around $223 million. The attack involved fake tokens that manipulated the platform’s price system. Within hours, $60 million was moved to Ethereum, but Sui validators acted quickly and froze about $162 million. In response, Cetus and the Sui Foundation worked together on a recovery plan.
A proposal titled “Whether to Return Stolen Assets of the Cetus Protocol Through a Special Transaction” was put to a vote. It aimed to reclaim the frozen funds from the hacker’s wallet. The Sui community voted strongly in favor, with over 52% of the stake supporting the idea. The proposal has now passed. Moreover, a multisig wallet, managed by the Sui Foundation and OtterSec, will receive the funds and ensure their safe return to Cetus.
How the Vote Works
The vote started on May 27 and will remain open until June 3. Only validators can vote, and their stake weight decides the result. The Sui Foundation, although involved, stayed neutral and did not use its stake to influence the outcome. The goal is to reimburse affected users fully. If final approval is given, a future Sui upgrade will include two hard-coded transactions that move the assets directly from the hacker’s wallets to the secure multisig wallet.
A Mixed Bag of Reaction
News of the recovery sparked a 7% price jump for SUI, showing a strong short-term boost in trader confidence. SUI is currently trading at $3.68. While some celebrate the rapid response and user-first approach, others raise concerns about centralization, as freezing funds without wide community input goes against core decentralization values. The debate continues, but the recovery plan is officially in motion.
