Decentralized finance platform Nemo Protocol, built on the Sui blockchain, has been exploited for roughly $2.4 million in stablecoins, security firm PeckShield confirmed early Monday. The attacker reportedly drained the project’s Market pool and has already bridged the stolen USDC from Arbitrum to Ethereum.
Nemo acknowledged the breach in a Telegram announcement at 3:27 a.m. ET, calling it a “security incident” and confirming that all smart contract activity has been suspended while investigations continue. The protocol reassured its users that vault assets remain secure but has not yet disclosed the technical root cause of the exploit.
The timing added to confusion, as Nemo had already scheduled platform maintenance for Monday and Tuesday. The team said further details will be provided once more is known.
Nemo Protocol specializes in yield infrastructure and yield trading on Sui, offering users tools to tokenize, hedge, and leverage yield streams. Its architecture is designed to simplify yield management across DeFi, positioning itself as a “native yield-trading platform” in the Sui ecosystem.
The incident underscores the persistent vulnerabilities facing DeFi projects, even those on newer chains like Sui. Exploits involving stablecoins remain a recurring theme, with attackers often targeting liquidity pools and then moving stolen assets across chains to obscure their trail.
As of Monday morning, Nemo has not shared recovery plans or whether negotiations with the attacker are on the table. The Block has reached out to the team for comment.
With DeFi hacks surpassing $160 million in August alone, the Nemo exploit adds to mounting pressure on platforms to prioritize stronger smart contract audits and on-chain risk management. Investors will now be watching closely for updates on Nemo’s remediation steps, as well as whether the incident damages confidence in Sui’s DeFi ecosystem.
