Cetus Offers $6M Bounty to Hacker After $223M SUI Theft

Cetus Protocol, a decentralized exchange on the Sui blockchain, is taking bold steps to recover stolen funds after experiencing a major hack. On Thursday, the platform lost over $223 million in crypto assets to a security breach.

A recent X post revealed that Cetus has offered the hacker a massive bounty to return most of the stolen funds. Cetus has also worked with others in the Sui network to freeze some funds and fix its security flaw.

Hacker Drains Millions From Cetus Liquidity Pool

The hacker exploited a flaw in Cetus’ smart contracts and drained millions from its liquidity pool. The stolen tokens were converted into USDC and sent to the Ethereum network, making recovery harder.

With help from analytics firm Inca Digital, Cetus was able to track the hacker’s Ethereum wallet. The team then sent a message on the blockchain asking the hacker to return 20,920 ETH, worth about $56.3 million, along with any remaining funds on the Sui network.

In exchange, Cetus is offering the hacker 2,324 ETH, worth about $6 million as a bounty, and promises not to take legal action or involve authorities if the funds are returned.

As crypto scams and hacks increase, more crypto firms offer hackers bounties in exchange for stolen funds. 

In April, the ZKsync Association was able to  successfully recover nearly $5.7 million worth of tokens stolen during a recent breach of its airdrop distribution contract. 

Cetus and Sui Work to Freeze Funds

Cetus patched the vulnerability to protect users and teamed up with the Sui Foundation and its validators to limit the damage. About $162 million in stolen tokens were frozen. 

In addition, Sui validators are now blocking transactions from the hacker’s wallets. This means the hacker’s attempt to use these addresses on the Sui network will be ignored.

Furthermore, Cetus confirmed in its post that the exploit has been fixed. It also noted that most stolen funds have been either frozen or recovered. The team is now waiting for the hacker to respond.

This shows a growing trend in crypto, where exchanges work with blockchain foundations, analytics firms, and validators to recover stolen funds. 

Industry leaders like Tether and Binance are also working with global enforcement agencies to fight illegal crypto activities and recover stolen funds.  

Critics Question Sui’s Decentralization

Some community members have criticized the strong actions taken by Sui validators. They argue that the ability to block or censor transactions shows that Sui is not fully decentralized.

Others raised concerns about a new feature reportedly added by Sui developers. This feature may allow certain wallets or transactions to bypass checks. 

This feature was suggested to possibly help the hacker return the funds quietly. However, it also raises concerns about control and transparency.

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