Cetus Dangles $6M Bounty in Desperate Bid to Recover SUI Hack Funds

In a move that blurs the line between negotiation and surrender, Cetus just offered the SUI hacker a $6M ’bug bounty’—proof that even DeFi’s tough guys fold when the money walks.

Who needs law enforcement when you can just write a blank check? The hacker now holds all the cards—and likely a smirk—as the platform scrambles to recover assets without spooking investors.

Another day, another crypto heist where the ’decentralized’ solution looks suspiciously like old-school ransom payments. But hey—at least the hacker gets a proper 1099 for their ’consulting fee.’

TLDR

• Cetus suffered a $220 million exploit during the recent SUI hack on May 22.
• The DEX has offered a $6 million white hat bounty to recover the stolen funds.
• Cetus managed to freeze $162 million shortly after detecting the hack.
• The team warned the hacker against using mixers or off-ramping the funds.
• Sui validators are blocking malicious transactions to prevent further movement of the stolen assets.

The recent SUI hack resulted in a major exploit on May 22, targeting Cetus, a decentralized exchange on the Sui blockchain. Cetus has responded by offering a $6 million WHITE hat bounty to recover the stolen $220 million. The protocol swiftly froze $162 million of the compromised funds, but many remain at risk.

$6M Bounty Offered in SUI Hack

Cetus has announced a reward of 2,324 ETH, worth approximately $6 million, to the hacker for returning the funds. This bounty targets 20,920 ETH, valued at over $55 million, and other assets still frozen on the sui network. The DEX stated that it will not pursue legal or public actions if the assets are returned.

However, Cetus has warned that any off-ramping or use of crypto mixers will escalate their response. The team emphasized using intelligence and legal resources if malicious actions continue. Therefore, the bounty stands as a final opportunity for the hacker to resolve the matter.

Cetus aims to avoid prolonged disruptions to the SUI blockchain and maintain protocol stability. The DEX is working with ecosystem participants to monitor wallet activity related to the breach. In the meantime, transaction activities tied to the attacker remain closely restricted on-chain.

SUI Faces Backlash Over Centralized Controls

The SUI team has taken emergency steps following the SUI hack, including deploying a bypass mechanism for validator transactions. This function allows unsigned transactions to proceed, enabling fund recovery actions across the network. GitHub activity confirms a coordinated update among validators under developer instructions.

Chaofan Shou, a Solayer Labs engineer, indicated Sui validators received patched code to reclaim $160 million in frozen funds. However, according to a Sui engineer, validators have not executed the patch but are blocking malicious transactions. This approach helps prevent further fund movement while assessing the recovery path.

It appears that the Sui team asked every validator to deploy patched code so they could take away @CetusProtocol hacker’s $160 million via an unsigned tx. https://t.co/CDEIAs4C8G pic.twitter.com/wqkdY2F6py

— Chaofan Shou (svm/acc) (@shoucccc) May 22, 2025

This capability has raised concerns regarding the decentralized integrity of the Sui blockchain. Critics argue that permitting overrides of network rules weakens the principle of a permissionless ledger. Nonetheless, others claim the swift response demonstrates effective security coordination within the protocol.

SUI Hack Triggers Sharp Price Drop

The SUI hack has negatively affected the market performance of the SUI token, which now trades at $3.85. The token had reached $4.20 before experiencing strong selling pressure after the exploit. Current trading volume has surged by 45%, reaching $3.4 billion.

This price drop follows a period of bullish sentiment as SUI outperformed XRP and ADA in institutional inflows last week. Market participants remain uncertain about the recovery timeline for the stolen funds. Until then, the sui price may continue facing volatility and resistance.

The SUI hack has become one of the largest DeFi exploits in 2025. Cetus is actively working to recover user funds and restore platform trust. The outcome of the white hat offer could shape future responses to similar blockchain security breaches.