Simulated case

Cetusexploit recovery.Back in17 days.

On 22 May 2025 an attacker drained about $223m from Cetus, the largest DEX on Sui. Seventeen days later the protocol relaunched, with its liquidity pools restored to at least 85% of their value.

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iClaim was not involved in this case. It is one of the 100+ incidents we’ve simulated our claims process on. All figures come from public reporting.

Cetus

Smart-contract exploit

≥85%

of pool value restored at relaunch

drained on 22 May 2025
$223m
drained on 22 May 2025
frozen by Sui validators and returned
$162m
frozen by Sui validators and returned
from Cetus reserves and a Sui Foundation loan
$37m
from Cetus reserves and a Sui Foundation loan
from the exploit to the relaunch
17 days
from the exploit to the relaunch

01

What happened at Cetus?

An attacker used a flaw in an overflow check in Cetus’s liquidity maths to drain about $223m from its pools. Liquidity providers were left with the loss.

02

How was the loss covered?

Sui validators froze about $162m of the stolen funds within hours, and an on-chain vote on 29 May approved returning them. Cetus added its $7m cash reserves and a $30m USDC loan from the Sui Foundation.

03

What was left for liquidity providers?

When Cetus relaunched on 8 June, pools were restored to at least 85% of their value. The remaining shortfall is paid in CETUS tokens over 12 months.

Timeline

  1. 22 May 2025

    About $223m is drained from Cetus pools. Sui validators freeze about $162m of it.

  2. 29 May 2025

    An on-chain Sui vote approves returning the frozen funds.

  3. Jun 2025

    Cetus commits its $7m cash reserves and takes a $30m USDC loan from the Sui Foundation.

  4. 8 Jun 2025

    Cetus relaunches, with pools restored to at least 85% of their value.

  5. Jun 2025 – Jun 2026

    The rest of the losses are paid in CETUS tokens over 12 months.

What does this case show?

  1. 1

    Speed decides the outcome

    Funds frozen within hours and a vote within a week made a 17-day relaunch possible.

  2. 2

    Recovery comes from several sources

    Frozen funds, the protocol’s own reserves and an ecosystem loan together covered most of the loss.

  3. 3

    What’s left is a claim

    A loss repaid in tokens over 12 months is a claim with a timeline: exactly what a secondary market can price.

Frequently asked questions

Anything else, book a call or write to us. hey@iclaim.xyz

Mostly. After about $223m was drained on 22 May 2025, Sui validators froze $162m, and Cetus added $7m of its own reserves and a $30m loan from the Sui Foundation. When the protocol relaunched on 8 June 2025, its liquidity pools were restored to at least 85% of their value. The rest is paid in CETUS tokens over 12 months.

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Sources

Figures are summarised from public reporting and may be revised.

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