Here’s what happened in crypto today
Today in crypto, Sui-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Cetus is suspected to have been exploited, with onchain data showing rapid asset drainage despite the team claiming the incident is a “bug.” Bitcoin has topped $110,000 for the first time and continues to climb, and the Texas House passed a Bitcoin reserve bill.
Sui DEX Cetus hit by suspected hack: Over $200 million in potential losses
Cetus, a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on the Sui blockchain, is suspected to have been hit by a massive exploit that may have drained more than $200 million worth of digital assets.
Pseudonymous Web3 researcher COMDARE3 posted on X that “users report” that Sui-based DEX Cetus is being exploited.” They also shared a screenshot of Cetus market data on DEX Screener, showing many assets losing well over half of their value over the last 24 hours.
The team behind Extractor, an onchain monitoring tool developed by crypto cybersecurity company Hacken, confirmed that “at least $63m was already bridged to Ethereum, 20k ETH was just transferred to a fresh wallet” in a single transaction. A Hacken representative told Cointelegraph that these findings were confirmed by the company’s Web3 researcher, Yehor Rudytsia.
Cetus pool data shows that as of the time of writing, the DEX processed $2.9 billion worth of transactions on May 22, a significant increase over the $320 million reported on May 21. This heightened level of activity may have been caused by funds being siphoned out of the protocol.
Cetus did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comments about the suspected exploit. A Sui team representative gave no comment to Cointelegraph regarding the Cetus situation.
Some tokens, such as Lombard Staked BTC (LBTC) or AXOLcoin (AXOL) lost most of their value on Cetus. The top 15 losers all lost in excess of three-quarters of their price.
Bitcoin climbs above $110,000 for the first time
Bitcoin (BTC) rallied above $110,000 for the first time late on May 21 after it gained over 3% in the past day and continued its rally early into May 22 to a high of nearly $112,000 as of 4 am UTC.
The cryptocurrency had well passed a a peak high of $109,458 that it hit earlier in the day, which was the first time it traded above its long-held Jan. 20 peak.
Bitcoin has gained around 20% this year and has nearly doubled since its slump to $75,000 on April 7, triggered by US President Donald Trump enacting sweeping tariffs that tanked global markets.
Bitcoin’s continued climb comes as US stock markets were rattled by a weak 20-year bond auction, which sent treasury yields soaring on May 21. The S&P 500 fell 80 points in half an hour while the Nasdaq and Dow Jones mirrored the move, with all US indexes trading down on the day.
Caroline Bowler, CEO of the Australian crypto exchange BTC Markets, said in a note to Cointelegraph that Bitcoin’s continued highs were “driven by institutional-grade infrastructure and stronger regulatory clarity.”
Texas House passes strategic Bitcoin reserve bill
The Texas House of Representatives has passed the third reading of SB 21, a bill that seeks to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the state. The bill passed in a 101-42 vote and will now go to Texas Governor Greg Abbott to either sign into law or veto.
SB 21, authored by state Senator Charles Schwertner, establishes a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve that is managed by the state’s comptroller. The legislation allows the comptroller to invest in any cryptocurrency with a market cap above $500 billion over the previous 12-month period. Currently, the only cryptocurrency fitting the requirement is Bitcoin.
Before the vote, state Representative Giovanni Capriglione said to the chamber that the bill was a “pivotal moment in securing Texas’s leadership in the digital age with the passage of our strategic Bitcoin reserve. Now, we embrace a modern asset with traditional properties for future promise.” The bill passed in the Texas Senate in a 25-5 vote on March 6.
Texas’s economy is the second-largest in the United States, with a gross domestic product of $2.7 trillion in 2024, according to KVUE. If Texas were its own country, it would have the eighth-largest economy in the world.
If Abbott signs SB 21 into law, Texas will be the second US state to allow for the creation of a cryptocurrency reserve. New Hampshire became the first to do so on May 6 after Governor Kelly Ayotte signed House Bill 302 into law.
