On May 27, the Sui community initiated a seven-day onchain vote to authorize a critical transaction that could enable the full recovery of user funds lost during a $223 million exploit involving Cetus.
If passed, the vote will allow for the transfer of compromised tokens to a newly established multi-signature wallet controlled by multiple ecosystem stakeholders.
As of this writing, the proposal is on track for approval.
Out of 56 validators who have cast their votes, 54 voted in favor and only 2 voted against, translating to 55.2% in support, 0.3% opposed, and 44.4% yet to participate.
Source: Sui ExplorerWith both majority and participation thresholds already met, the outcome is unlikely to shift unless a significant portion of the remaining validators vote against it before the window closes on June 3.
Notably, the vote could conclude early, after a minimum two-day period, if the uncast stake is mathematically unable to affect the final result. This scenario may allow for early passage as soon as one day from now.
The Sui Foundation emphasized that the affected assets were frozen immediately after the breach and have remained untouched.
The current vote represents the only community-backed mechanism to return the funds and restore user balances.
Cetus Commits to Full Reimbursement If Funds Are Recovered
Cetus Protocol, a decentralized exchange on the Sui blockchain, was exploited for over $200 million on May 22, triggering panic across the ecosystem.
Cetus has paused its smart contracts, but backlash grew after the team initially downplayed the exploit as a “bug.”
Analysts confirmed the attacker gained control of SUI-denominated pools and moved tens of millions, including $60 million in USDC, to Ethereum. Cetus has since offered a bounty to the hackers.
In a post on X, the Cetus team expressed regret for the incident and pledged to fully reimburse users, contingent on the successful outcome of the community vote.
According to Cetus, it has secured the necessary capital, including both token reserves and fiat liquidity, alongside a critical loan facility from the Sui Foundation, to fully cover all stolen assets currently off-chain.
Cetus emphasized that user trust remains its top priority, stating, “We are deeply sorry and take this responsibility seriously. Today, we want to share a meaningful step forward, made possible by the collective effort of many.”
While the team has promised that recovery efforts will begin immediately after the vote ends, regardless of whether the vote passes, full user repayment depends on access to the frozen assets.
Cetus framed the vote as essential to its own recovery plan and the restoration of user confidence across the broader Sui DeFi ecosystem.
Secure Multi-Sig and Independent Oversight Guide Repayment Plan
As outlined in the Sui Foundation’s official blog, the proposed recovery structure includes the creation of a secure multi-signature wallet designed to hold and later disburse the recovered funds.
The wallet will be governed by six independent signers, including Cetus representatives, ecosystem stakeholders, and OtterSec.
At least four of the six signers must approve any transaction from the wallet, ensuring that no single party has unilateral control.
Before funds are disbursed, Cetus will submit a detailed user repayment list to the multi-sig group.
This list will first be reviewed by OtterSec, a blockchain security firm tasked with verifying the legitimacy of all claims. Only after this independent audit will the signers begin releasing funds to the affected users.
Importantly, the Foundation made clear that it will not vote on the proposal, opting instead to preserve the decentralized nature of the decision.
However, it retains the right to act as a backup signer within the multi-sig if quorum is at risk of not being met.
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