DeFi Platform Nemo Protocol Exploited for $2.4 Million in Hack

Nemo Protocol, a DeFi platform built on the Sui blockchain, was hacked for $2.4 million late on Sunday, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield.

The attack preceded scheduled maintenance on the platform planned for Monday and Tuesday.

In a tweet, Nemo protocol stated that a “security incident” had affected its market pool. “We are investigating the matter and have suspended all smart contract activity for the time being. We plan to share when more information becomes available," it added.

The incident comes during a grim year for crypto security. According to Chainalysis’ 2025 Crypto Crime Mid-Year Update, hackers have already stolen more than $2.17 billion from cryptocurrency services, surpassing the total losses recorded in all of 2024. Much of that figure stems from the record-breaking $1.5 billion theft from exchange ByBit, attributed to North Korean actors.

By June, service hacks had stolen 17% more than in 2022, previously the worst year on record. If current trends continue, losses could top $4 billion by year’s end. While centralized services still make up the bulk of the damage, attackers are also increasingly targeting individuals, with “wrench attacks” and personal wallet compromises gaining ground as favored tactics.

Nemo added that all Vault assets remain untouched, though community members have reported via Discord that the protocol was not showing their assets deposited in its vault feature.

Community frustration has built after moderators on Telegram and Discord went quiet. “I wonder why there is no message from the official team except the very vague announcement?” one member asked, echoing concerns of others about the lack of follow-up.

Nemo has not yet responded to requests for comment or further explanation of the exploit, including from Decrypt.

Nemo describes itself as a yield infrastructure on Sui. Its founder and CEO, Alex Yeung, appears to have little online presence and was only identifiable via ads for talks and AMAs. Nemo's website gives no further details about the team and the link to its contact page is broken.

A LinkedIn profile for the company's Web3 project growth lists the individual as working remotely from Shanghai—where crypto trading is banned—while another account with just three connections claims to be a co-founder based in Dubai.