In the crypto ecosystem, moments of crisis often reveal the strength of decentralized governance. The recent Cetus exploit exposed vulnerabilities—but also sparked an unprecedented collective response from the Sui community. The outcome: a $162 million recovery initiative led by validator consensus.
Sui Validators Approve Major Recovery Plan
After Cetus, a decentralized exchange, was exploited for over $220 million on May 22, Sui validators acted quickly to freeze $162 million in digital assets. The fate of these funds was determined through a governance vote concluded on May 29.
With 90.9% of validators voting in favor, the recovery proposal passed. The frozen assets will now be transferred to a multisignature wallet and held in trust until distributed to affected users, according to Sui’s official announcement.
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This move signals a pivotal step toward financial restitution for those impacted by the exploit.

Validator Intervention Sparks Governance Debate
The swift validator action reignited debate within the crypto world. While decentralization purists voiced concern over the ability to freeze onchain assets, others praised the move as an effective counter to escalating security threats in DeFi.
The recovery initiative extends beyond the frozen funds. It will also leverage Cetus’ own treasury and an emergency loan from the Sui Foundation to fully restore protocol operations.
Cetus Targets Full Recovery Within One Week
Cetus expressed appreciation for the rapid community support and outlined a full roadmap for protocol recovery. The first phase involves upgrading validator nodes to transfer the funds to a multisig wallet, followed by system restoration.
The team expects a full restart within one week. All liquidity providers will regain access to their assets, while remaining losses will be compensated via a dedicated smart contract currently undergoing auditor review.
Cetus emphasized that this compensation mechanism will ensure fair restitution for all affected users.
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