Cetus makes a 'white hat' offer after the shocking hack
After the attack causing a loss of 223 million USD on the night of May 22, Cetus Protocol officially made a surprising offer to the hacker: to return 20,920 ETH (equivalent to about 56.3 million USD) and keep 2,324 ETH (~6 million USD) as a 'white hat' reward if they cooperate. At the same time, Cetus announced that they would not pursue legal action if the attacker agreed to refund and did not continue laundering money through coin mixing tools or converting to fiat.
Details of the attack and the swift response from the Sui ecosystem
The attack originated from a vulnerability in the liquidity pool smart contract on #Cetus , allowing the hacker to manipulate and withdraw funds, swap to USDC, and continue swapping to ETH. In total, the attacker withdrew a massive amount of assets and transferred them to various wallets.
Immediately after, the Sui Foundation along with validators on the Sui blockchain intervened by blocking transactions from the related wallet addresses, successfully freezing 162 million USD in assets, helping to mitigate the overall damage for users and the protocol.
Cetus makes a direct on-chain asset refund proposal
In the early hours of May 23, Cetus traced the main Ethereum wallet address of #hacker and immediately sent an on-chain proposal stating: if the hacker returns all 20,920 ETH stolen, they will be allowed to keep 2,324 ETH as a reward and will not face criminal prosecution. However, Cetus clearly warned that if the hacker attempts to convert assets to fiat or use anonymous tools like coin mixers, they will immediately pursue prosecution and investigation.
Controversy erupts: Is Sui 'ostensibly decentralized'?
The ability of validators on the network $SUI to quickly block transactions has sparked a wave of controversy in the crypto community regarding the actual level of decentralization of this blockchain. Justin Bons – founder of Cyber Capital – heavily criticized:
"The validators of SUI are colluding to censor transactions. This proves that SUI is a centralized network."
Bons emphasizes that with only 114 validators and the majority of tokens in the hands of the founding team, power in the Sui ecosystem is too centralized. He also dismissed comparisons with Ethereum, asserting that Ethereum has never censored any transactions, even during the DAO hack in 2016.
The bigger issue: trust in public blockchain
According to Bons, what is concerning is not only the specific actions of the validators but also their ability to coordinate censorship easily. This indicates that the Sui blockchain – although publicly labeled – is operating in a centralized model. This is in stark contrast to the core values that blockchain and DeFi aim for: decentralization, censorship-resistance, and transparency.
Current status and next actions of Cetus
Cetus stated that the contract vulnerability has been patched and the team is actively working to find ways to recover the remaining assets. Meanwhile, the 'white hat' offer remains open, and the entire community is watching to see if the hacker will accept the deal.
Connecting with the crypto market:
The incident at Cetus is a new warning for Web3 projects and crypto users regarding the safety of smart contracts and the true decentralization of blockchain. For users on exchanges like Binance, assessing the underlying blockchain platform before interacting is crucial, not only to avoid asset risks but also to protect privacy and trust in the decentralized system.
Risk warning: Investing in cryptocurrency carries many risks, including the possibility of losing your entire capital investment. This article is not financial advice. Always do your due diligence and consider carefully before participating in the crypto market. #anhbacong