Cetus Pushes for $162M Unlock to Reimburse Sui Users—Will the Community Bite?

Cetus, a key player in the Sui ecosystem, is making waves with a bold proposal: free up $162 million locked in reserves to compensate users. The move comes amid growing pressure to address lingering financial gaps—because nothing says ’decentralized finance’ like a nine-figure bailout.

The proposal hinges on community approval, putting Sui token holders in the driver’s seat. Will they greenlight the payout, or will this turn into another crypto democracy theater? Either way, it’s a high-stakes test of whether DeFi can actually deliver on its ’user-first’ promises—or if it’s just Wall Street with extra steps.

Full recovery possible

The Sui Foundation confirmed the arrangement in a separate post, describing the loan as an “extraordinary measure” designed to restore user balances beyond what Cetus could fund alone.

Sui Foundation officials stated that the community vote proposal will appear on-chain “shortly” and that validators remain ready to MOVE the frozen tokens if holders approve.

Furthermore, Foundation executives added that the loan proceeds are in escrow, and deployment could occur as soon as the smart contract community concludes the proposal.

Cetus paused all contracts on May 22 after an attacker exploited a flaw in the protocol’s pricing logic. 

On-chain data indicates that the breach resulted in $223 million worth of tokens, with $61 million transferred to ethereum and $162 million halted by Sui validators.

Cetus contacted the exploiter through on-chain messages, offering a $6 million bounty in exchange for the funds bridged to Ethereum. However, the protocol did not receive a reply.

Project developers said they “deeply regret the impact” and will “begin recovery immediately” once they finalize the mechanics for distributing reimbursements. 

Cetus reiterated that rebuilding user trust remains its top priority and is committed to providing periodic progress updates. The protocol has not disclosed a timeline for code fixes or the resumption of trading.