On-chain vote backed by the Sui community to restore funds frozen subsequent to $223M Cetus hack incident.
In a significant move for the Sui network, over $160 million in previously frozen assets have been approved for release following a widespread governance vote. The decision comes after a major exploit of Cetus, a leading DeFi protocol, which saw $223 million being drained from multiple liquidity pools on May 22.
The governance proposal, which was supported by validators representing 90.9% of the total stake, was crucial to Cetus's recovery plan. The vote saw the frozen funds being transferred into a multisignature wallet, paving the way for their eventual return to affected users.
The initiative for the community vote was set in motion after Cetus requested protocol-wide support to recover and return the on-chain frozen assets following the hack. The attacker had exploited a vulnerability in third-party code to carry out the assault. Although some funds were bridged out or proved unrecoverable, validators managed to freeze $162 million of the stolen assets on Sui, preventing a larger loss.
As part of the recovery plan, the unlocked funds will be held in a trust account controlled by a multisignature until they can be returned to affected users. Cetus has pledged to combine these recovered funds with its treasury and a loan from the Sui Foundation to ensure all victims are fully reimbursed.
Although the flaw was in Cetus's code, not the Sui network itself, Sui is treating the exploit as a critical moment for the ecosystem's security model. In response, it announced a $10 million initiative to improve protocol-level audits and formal verification tools. Sui is also expanding its bug bounty program to cover major protocols with high total value locked.
Some members of the community have praised Sui's transparent and community-driven response, while others continue to express concerns about the practice of freezing wallets in a supposedly decentralized system. The vote was open to both validators and individual stakers, whose choices were reflected through their delegated stake.
With the vote now finalized, Cetus is expected to release a detailed timeline for reimbursements. Compensation efforts are set to begin soon, with full repayment now possible due to the newly recovered funds.
In a separate development, the CETUS token has seen a 20% jump in price as the protocol upgrade vote nears conclusion, indicating a renewed confidence among investors.
- The released funds, amounting to over $160 million, will be held in a trust account controlled by a multisignature wallet, awaiting return to affected users.
- The recovered funds, alongside Cetus's treasury and a loan from the Sui Foundation, will ensure complete reimbursement of all victims following the attack.
- Sui has announced a $10 million initiative to improve protocol-level audits and formal verification tools, in response to the Cetus exploit.
- The hauled funds, which were once frozen on the Sui network, were transferred following a community vote, paving the way for their return to users.
- As the reimbursement timeline is about to be unveiled by Cetus, the CETUS token has observed a 20% surge in price, reflecting renewed investor confidence.
