Sui Network Backs Cetus Protocol Vote on Hack Recovery

Sui Network is endorsing a community vote initiated by Cetus Protocol on the Sui blockchain after a $223 million hack on May 21, 2025.

This event significantly impacts the DeFi landscape, echoing past hacks like the Ethereum DAO incident. Market reactions include scrutiny over Sui’s decentralization focus amid an on-chain vote proposal.

The Cetus Protocol, a major player in the Sui blockchain realm, suffered a $223 million hack. Following this, $162 million of funds were frozen. Cetus proposed a vote to unlock frozen assets, ensuring community involvement in recovery.

Sui Network supports but remains neutral in voting. Validators played a crucial role by freezing funds, stopping transfers from compromised addresses. The Sui Foundation emphasizes this as an extraordinary measure. As the Sui Foundation noted , “We support their call for an on-chain vote while maintaining neutrality in the actual voting process.”

The hack has shaken community confidence. ZachXBT has investigated recent incidents which contribute to broader concerns, such as the SUI token’s price decline and growing decentralization debates post-hack.

This event highlights financial risks within DeFi. The Cetus team has offered a $6 million bounty for fund recovery. Critics believe the amount is insufficient to incentivize the hacker.

The situation resembles the Ethereum DAO hack in its governance implications but opts for a protocol upgrade over a chain rollback. Recovery measures stress maintaining blockchain immutability.

Sui Network may face regulatory scrutiny if fund recovery involves censoring transactions. Historical trends indicate similar incidents often lead to creative recovery methods within evolving blockchain governance structures.