Cetus Offers $6M White Hat Reward to Recover Stolen ETH After $220M Hack

Sui-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Cetus Protocol has proposed a settlement to the attacker behind a recent exploit that resulted in over $220 million in losses. The attacker exploited a vulnerability in Cetus’ liquidity pool smart contracts, draining a substantial amount of digital assets. Part of the stolen funds was converted into USDC and subsequently swapped for ETH.

In a post shared late Thursday on X, Cetus revealed that it had identified the Ethereum wallet used in the exploit. The team also stated that it had opened communication with the hacker to discuss the return of funds.

Cetus Offers $6M White Hat Reward to Hacker

According to a joint message from Cetus and blockchain intelligence firm Inca Digital, the attacker is being asked to return 20,920 ETH, roughly valued at $56.3 million, along with all frozen assets in their Sui wallets. In return, Cetus is offering a bounty of 2,324 ETH worth approximately $6 million and has pledged to drop all legal, public, or intelligence actions if the hacker complies.

The message also warned that legal proceedings would begin if the stolen funds were moved through mixers or cashed out. Meanwhile, Cetus confirmed that the exploited vulnerability has been patched.

Additionally, the Sui Network announced that the Sui Foundation and its validators have agreed to disregard any transactions linked to the attacker’s wallet addresses.

Cetus  Offers $5M Bounty to Identify Hacker

Despite efforts to open a dialogue, the decentralized exchange noted in a follow-up tweet that the hacker has not responded. The platform urged the individual to review the terms of its proposal carefully.

🔊UPDATE: We have not received any communication from the hacker. We encourage the hacker to sincerely consider our offer terms.

Simultaneously, with the support of Inca Digital and financial support from Sui Foundation, we are announcing a bounty of $5M for relevant information…

— Cetus🐳 (@CetusProtocol) May 23, 2025

At the same time, Cetus has launched a separate $5 million bounty for credible information that could lead to the hacker’s identification. This initiative is backed by Inca Digital and financially supported by the Sui Foundation.

However, the Sui-based exchange clarified that if the attacker cooperates and returns the stolen funds, the bounty will not be pursued. The final decision on the bounty payout lies solely with the Sui Foundation.

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