Cetus Protocol Surpasses 150 Million Transactions

Cetus Protocol, the DEX built on Sui and Aptos, has crossed the 150 million transaction mark, underscoring its strong rebound just weeks after facing a major exploit.

Key takeaways

• Cetus Protocol surpasses 150 million transactions, signaling strong DeFi traction
• The DEX recently recovered from a $223M exploit affecting CLMM pools
• 85-99% of liquidity restored using recovered funds, treasury, and loans
• CETUS compensation plan includes 15% of token supply for affected users
• New features, audits, and open-source transition boost platform trust

Back on May 22, 2025, Cetus was hit by a $223 million exploit due to an integer overflow bug in a shared library, which compromised its CLMM pools. CETUS dropped 40%, TVL shrank by over $200 million, and operations were briefly halted. However, thanks to quick coordination with Sui validators, $162 million was frozen and later returned after an on-chain governance vote.

Recovery Plan and Protocol Enhancements

Following the exploit, Cetus relaunched on June 8 with a solid recovery roadmap. It used treasury funds, support from the Sui Foundation, and unvested team tokens to compensate affected users. Around 85-99% of pool liquidity was restored, and CETUS token distribution was structured for both immediate relief and long-term confidence.

Cetus also rolled out real-time monitoring, external security audits, and a white-hat bounty initiative to prevent future vulnerabilities. The shift to open-source development and improved oracle integration shows its renewed commitment to transparency and safety.

Volume Rebounds, Ecosystem Confidence Returns

The comeback is also evident in trading metrics. $38 million in volume was recorded within 24 hours of the relaunch. Recent campaigns with the ATTN token and other community incentives have helped re-energize the user base.

Cetus is once again positioning itself as a reliable DEX on Sui. With its latest milestones and proactive reforms, the protocol has turned crisis into an opportunity for growth, accountability, and infrastructure maturity.