Cetus DEX on Sui Network Exploited — Over $260M Lost, CETUS Token Drops 50%

A massive exploit has hit Cetus, a leading DEX on Sui, with $260M in assets stolen, according to Lookonchain. The breach has led to a collapse in token prices across the platform — most fell by 80%, while some dropped up to 90%. Though Sui-related tokens on centralized exchanges haven’t reacted sharply yet, the liquidity exodus on-chain is already starting to affect the broader ecosystem.

Exploit Losses and Token Price Collapse

The attacker behind the Cetus exploit withdrew around $260 million, per Lookonchain. About $60 million was moved into USDC, then bridged to Ethereum for potential ETH conversions.

The CETUS token dropped nearly 50% in the immediate aftermath. Dexscreener data shows that trading pairs such as LOFI/SUI, FUD/SUI, and AXOL/SUI collapsed by 90%+, reflecting extreme market volatility on the DEX.

Exploit Vector Analysis(Preliminary)

The CTO of Hacken believes the vulnerability lies in Cetus's handling of mathematical operations within core functions (addLiquidity, removeLiquidity, swap). Specifically, flaws may involve token ratio miscalculations, rounding errors, and improper treatment of non-decimal tokens.

The attacker reportedly exploited these issues by adding negligible liquidity, manipulating the pool's internal state, and withdrawing substantial volumes of SUI and USDC without legitimate contribution.

To mitigate further losses, Cetus has suspended all smart contract operations and plans to release a detailed technical report.