Between April 23 and May 23, 2025, the SUI/USDT pair surged by 97.96%, rising from $2.1872 to a high of $4.3299. The sharp rally lasted 32 days and came with a total volume of 2.88 billion USDT, according to TradingView data.
However, the rally lost strength after reaching the top. Following the peak, the price began to consolidate in a narrow range. Currently, SUI trades at around $3.6865, indicating a decline from the recent high.
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Meanwhile, the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) has climbed to $3.3556. The price now trades above this moving average, suggesting that short-term bullish momentum still holds. Yet, the pullback below $4.00 highlights growing resistance at higher levels.
If SUI fails to hold the EMA as support, it could revisit the $3.35–$3.10 zone. The move from $2.18 to over $4.32 marks a near-double gain, but sellers are beginning to pressure buyers near resistance. Trading volume also appears to taper after the peak, signaling cooling interest.
SUI RSI Drops Below 52 After Mid-May Peak
On May 23, 2025, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) for SUI/USDT fell to 51.95, based on the 14-day RSI indicator. The RSI previously peaked near 73 earlier in May, signaling overbought conditions at the time. Since then, the indicator has dropped steadily, showing weakening momentum.
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RSI (14) Daily Chart for SUI/USDT. Source: TradingView.com
The RSI moving average (yellow line) currently reads 63.35. This gap between the RSI and its average suggests short-term bearish divergence. While the RSI remains above the neutral 50 line, the downward slope reflects fading buying pressure.
At the same time, the RSI curve shows a sharp decline, marking the strongest correction in momentum since March. If the RSI falls below 50, it could confirm a shift into a neutral or bearish phase. For now, the index hovers just above that level, indicating uncertainty.
On May 22, 2025, Cetus protocol on the Sui network suffered a major security breach. The attacker exploited the protocol and stole $260 million in crypto assets. This forced Cetus to pause its smart contracts and issue a whitehat offer to the hacker.
The Sui blockchain, which hosts the protocol, allowed the freezing of transactions. This action has reignited concerns about Sui decentralization. Critics say the incident exposes how much control the network operators have.
The Cetus hack has now become one of the largest attacks on the Sui network since its launch.
Critics Say Sui Decentralization Is Misleading
After the Cetus hack, several industry voices questioned the Sui network’s decentralization. Jesus Martinez, founder of Legion, directly addressed this on social media. He said:
“Decentralization is a lie. They’re blocking transactions for the $200 million ‘hack’ that happened on SUI. The mask is now off.”
Jesus Martinez Criticizes Sui Over Cetus Hack Freeze. Source: X (@JesusMartinezEZ)
The comment gained traction within the crypto community. It triggered further scrutiny over Sui blockchain’s structure and validator governance.
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Duo Nine, the founder of YCC, pointed out that while freezing funds may help prevent losses, it shows that the Sui network can override transactions. He stated:
“While this is good in this case, this shows SUI network can freeze your funds on demand.”
Duo Nine Says Sui Network Freezes Funds on Demand. Source: X (@DU09BTC)
Duo Nine also noted that true decentralization is rare outside Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Cetus hack added to these doubts about how decentralized the Sui blockchain really is.
Token Control and Validator Power Raise Red Flags
In 2024, CyberCapital CIO Justin Bons claimed that Sui’s founders controlled 84% of staked tokens. According to him, such control allows network manipulation.
Following the Cetus protocol incident, Bons said Sui validators actively censored the hacker’s transactions. He wrote:
“SUI’s validators are colluding to CENSOR the hacker’s TXs right now! Does that make SUI centralized? The short answer is YES.”
He added that the validator count on the Sui network is only 114. Bons argued that with so few validators and high token ownership, decentralization becomes hard to maintain.
Sui developers denied controlling investor or treasury tokens. Still, the token concentration remains a key concern among critics after the $260 million hack.
Past Incidents Show Central Control Across Blockchains
The Cetus hack is not the first time a network paused activity after a breach. Ethereum’s 2016 DAO attack led to a hard fork that created Ethereum Classic. Solana previously relied on validators to coordinate silent fixes for a token issuance bug.
Bitcoin also faced a critical inflation flaw. Developers quietly reached out to major mining pools to patch the issue before announcing it publicly. The Sui blockchain’s response to the Cetus hack now follows similar patterns of control.
Other examples include Tether freezing billions of dollars to assist law enforcement and THORChain being linked to the laundering of funds from Bybit and Coinbase.
These cases highlight a recurring issue in the crypto space. Projects that stop attackers often face accusations of centralization. Projects that do not intervene risk letting users lose funds.
Debate Over Sui Validators and Blockchain Control Intensifies
Cassie.sui, an investor, reacted to the Cetus hack by criticizing the blockchain industry’s promises. She wrote:
“Crypto is a lie. We were promised pure decentralization, unstoppable code, and trustless systems.”
Cassie.sui Defends Sui Network’s Anti-Hack Measures. Source: X (@DuchessOfDeFi)
Gautham, co-founder of Polynomial, said that both sides of the debate have a point. He added:
“The crypto world is split. ‘If they can freeze funds, is it really decentralized?’ vs. ‘They saved $162 million from being stolen permanently.’”
The Cetus hack on the Sui network has placed validator behavior and token concentration under the spotlight again. Questions continue around the role of central control in blockchain systems that claim to be decentralized.
