The ability of Sui validators to freeze on-chain assets during the Cetus protocol exploit of May 2025 sparked debate in the crypto industry, with some viewing it as a decentralization risk and others praising the rapid intervention.

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Sui’s transparent and community-driven response has been praised by some community members, while others continue to express concerns about freezing wallets in a supposedly decentralized system

While some decentralization advocates criticized validators’ ability to freeze the funds, other industry watchers praised the rapid response as a step forward against growing crypto industry exploits.