Introduction

As the Layer-1 landscape diversifies, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and automated market makers (AMMs) are evolving to serve new-generation blockchains like Sui and Aptos. One project rising prominently in this arena is Cetus Protocol (CETUS)—a modular liquidity protocol built to power capital-efficient trading across emerging Move-based chains.

Since its launch in 2023, Cetus has developed a solid reputation for its concentrated liquidity engine, active community, and cross-chain infrastructure. While recent headlines surrounding a security exploit briefly disrupted market sentiment, the team’s swift incident response and transparency have re-established trust among its users.

With CETUS trading at ~$0.1287 as of May 2025, this article provides a detailed look into Cetus Protocol’s design, market position, recent performance, and forward-looking price expectations for 2025 through 2030.

Project Background

Cetus Protocol is an AMM and liquidity infrastructure project built for the Sui and Aptos ecosystems. It supports concentrated liquidity (like Uniswap v3), dynamic fee markets, and modular architecture optimized for performance and composability.

Launched in mid-2023, Cetus sought to provide DeFi builders with a flexible engine for building DEXs, stablecoin pairs, or cross-chain swap routers. Its design emphasizes:

Capital Efficiency – Concentrated liquidity allows LPs to provide depth in narrower price ranges
Composability – Modular design enables third-party dApps to plug into its liquidity directly
Cross-Ecosystem Functionality – Operates on both Sui and Aptos with plans to integrate more Move-based chains

The project is backed by teams with Move development experience, and its early integration into wallets, bridges, and DeFi protocols (like Surf, Aftermath, Turbos, etc.) helped bootstrap ecosystem adoption.

Cetus Protocol also emphasizes transparency. Following a recent exploit in early 2025, the team published a full incident report detailing the vulnerability, response, and future security measures—earning praise from community members and audit firms.

Project Categories

Cetus falls into multiple key blockchain infrastructure categories:

1. Modular DEX Infrastructure

Unlike traditional AMMs with rigid pools, Cetus is modular—allowing developers to build custom liquidity solutions. It’s often compared to Uniswap v3 but offers deeper on-chain configuration options specific to Move-based chains.

2. Sui & Aptos Ecosystem DeFi

Cetus is a foundational DEX for both Sui and Aptos, providing essential liquidity infrastructure in two of the fastest-growing Layer-1 ecosystems. It benefits from early-mover advantage and composability with native wallets and bridges.

3. Concentrated Liquidity Protocol

Much like Curve, Uniswap v3, and Trader Joe’s Liquidity Book, Cetus offers capital-efficient liquidity provisioning. This makes it attractive to LPs seeking higher returns and traders needing tighter spreads.

4. Incident-Resilient Projects

Cetus has now become a case study in post-exploit transparency and recovery. The way the team handled its early 2025 exploit has earned it long-term credibility—similar to how Curve and Compound navigated prior crises.

Market Analysis

As of May 27, 2025, key CETUS metrics include:

Price: $0.1287
Market Cap: $93.41 million
Fully Diluted Valuation: $128.76 million
Circulating Supply: 725.32M CETUS
Total Supply: 1 billion CETUS
24H Volume: $69.2 million
Vol/Mcap Ratio: 74% – indicating extremely high trading activity relative to market cap
Sentiment: 90% bullish (based on 56,000+ votes)

The token has seen both highs and lows. From its all-time high above $0.40 in late 2024, CETUS has retraced over 65% following the exploit. However, recent recovery and a well-received incident report have brought renewed buying interest.

Cetus is still one of the highest-volume tokens on Sui and Aptos, often ranking among the top 5 DEXs by volume. This speaks to its network importance, even amid price turbulence.

Price Analysis

CETUS’s historical price action highlights the volatility typical of early-stage infrastructure tokens:

All-time high: ~$0.42 (Nov 2024)
Recent low: ~$0.10 (April 2025)
Current: $0.1287
Decline from ATH: ~69%
Support zones: $0.10 and $0.12
Resistance levels: $0.15 and $0.20

Technical indicators suggest CETUS is building a higher low structure, potentially setting up for a reclaim of the $0.18–$0.22 range.

Its price recovery is likely tied to:

Market response to its exploit resolution
Continued trading volume dominance on Sui
Release of roadmap milestones (e.g. governance DAO, dynamic pool incentives)

CETUS Price Prediction 2025–2030

This section provides a multi-year projection using a simplified trend + fundamentals model. Unlike speculative extrapolations, this forecast focuses on realistic scenarios based on adoption, protocol revenue, and competitive positioning.

2025 Forecast

A year of rebuilding trust and regaining price floors after the early 2025 exploit. Key factors include further exchange listings, liquidity incentives, and DAO proposals.

Bear Case: $0.10
Base Case: $0.20
Bull Case: $0.30

2026 Forecast

If Sui and Aptos continue ecosystem growth, and Cetus maintains its DEX dominance, CETUS could see broader institutional attention.

Bear Case: $0.15
Base Case: $0.35
Bull Case: $0.50

2027 Forecast

Assuming protocol fee revenue continues scaling and DAO governance evolves, CETUS may gain staking utility and token buybacks.

Bear Case: $0.25
Base Case: $0.55
Bull Case: $0.80

2028–2030 Forecast

By this stage, the market will have filtered long-term winners from short-term hype. If Cetus is still the dominant DEX infra layer across multiple Move-based chains, it could attain blue-chip DeFi status.

2028: $0.30–$0.90
2030: $0.40–$1.20 (if multi-chain adoption matures)

Price Forecast Summary Table

Project Overview

Token Name: Cetus Protocol
Token Symbol: CETUS
Blockchain: Sui & Aptos
Total Supply: 1,000,000,000 CETUS
Circulating Supply: 725,320,000 CETUS
Contract: 0x06864a6f921804860930db6ddbe2e16acdf8504495ea7481637a1c8b9a8fe54b::cetus::CETUS
Website: https://www.cetus.zone
Explorer: Sui Explorer
Socials: Twitter | Discord

FAQ

Q: What makes Cetus different from Uniswap or PancakeSwap?

A: Cetus is built for Move-based chains like Sui and Aptos, offering modular liquidity tools tailored to those ecosystems. It also launched with concentrated liquidity and composability by default.

Q: Will CETUS introduce token utility like staking or buybacks?

A: According to recent community proposals, the CETUS DAO is exploring staking rewards, dynamic fee adjustments, and deflationary mechanics. These could enhance token utility over time.

Q: How does Cetus recover from the 2025 exploit?

A: The team’s incident report detailed the exploit root cause, closed the vulnerability, and implemented stricter audit practices. Transparency and speed of response were widely praised by the DeFi community.

Conclusion

Cetus Protocol stands as a core pillar of the Move-based DeFi world. With strong infrastructure, high capital efficiency, and one of the most active trading communities on Sui and Aptos, CETUS has shown both ambition and resilience.

While its token remains volatile and subject to protocol risks, the fundamentals suggest long-term staying power. Investors seeking exposure to next-gen AMMs or the Move ecosystem should keep CETUS on their radar.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

CETUS (Cetus Protocol) Price Prediction 2025, 2026-2030