Sui’s ecosystem keeps growing. Currently, there are almost 90 projects that have launched on Sui. So, the ecosystem could have some potential gems. We’re on the lookout for these gems in the Sui ecosystem. One protocol that caught our attention is Cetus. It’s a DEX that uses a modified version of an AMM. The protocol is available on both the Sui and Aptos chain.

So, let’s dive a bit deeper into what Cetus Protocol is all about.

What Is Cetus Protocol?

Cetus Protocol is a multichain DEX. It caters to chains that use the Move programming language. Currently, the market leaders in this sector are Sui and Aptos. DeFiLlama tells us that Cetus has a TVL of $123 million on Sui. On the other hand, on Aptos their TVL is only $95,184. So, a reason to focus on Sui. 

Cetus has a different approach to traditional AMMs. It offers a concentrated liquidity option. That’s a CLMM or Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker. This offers more capital-efficient liquidity. Now you can use their DEX almost like a CEX, with swaps or range and limit orders. 

Furthermore, Cetus also offers a launchpad and a bridging option with Portal. The Portal bridge is part of the Wormhole ecosystem. Cetus launched in May 2023. This was almost at the same time when Sui launched their mainnet.

The picture below shows the Cetus Protocol app, ready to connect to a Sui wallet.

Cetus Protocol

Source: Cetus Protocol app

How Does Cetus Protocol Work?

As already mentioned, Cetus allows you to have custom price ranges in your positions. This increases the efficiency of your deposited liquidity. That’s because it uses more of your targeted liquidity. The CLMM adds various trading strategy options.

A unique feature is its Range Order. You provide liquidity for a single-sided asset. It allows you to act as a maker (the person who adds orders to a book) and you can simulate limit orders. In a limit order, there’s a fixed buy or sell price. On the other hand, a range order has a price range. Once in this price range, it activates a continuous token swap. Once you cross the price range, the position will fill, and you can withdraw and close your position.

Their ‘Liquidity As A Service’ option aims for developers and their apps. It allows them to access Cetus’ liquidity. This can be with their vaults, derivatives, or leveraged farming. With their bridging option, Cetus supports another 20+ chains.

Cetus Protocol Team and Social Media

We couldn’t locate a team for the Cetus Protocol. Although this is not unusual for some DeFi projects, it does raise a reason for concern. A doxed team creates trust. It tells you about the team’s background and experience level. Having an anonymous team is a red flag.

On the other hand, on X they have 273k followers. However, only a very small percentage interacts with their posts. On Twitterscore their account gets barely 24%. Their Telegram channel has 3,527 subscribers. This seems to be a much more organic figure. However, interaction is also low here. On Discord, there are almost 73k members. Discord also has a relative low interaction level. To sum up, their social media numbers look inflated compared to active users.

Cetus Protocol Tokenomics

The current $CETUS price is $0.07242. That’s up 0.5% from 24 hours ago. Its 7-, 14-, and 30 days percentages are in the red, ranging between 20.6% and 26.8%. However, over the last year, $CETUS is up by 124.5%.

It has a market cap of $23.4 million. Its FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation) is $36.7 million. We base the FDV on the total tokens in circulation. That’s 500 million. However, the max number of $CETUS tokens is 1 billion. So, the actual FDV is $73.4 million. That’s still a low figure. Currently, 319 million $CETUS tokens circulate.

Token Distribution

Token distribution is as follows.

  • Community & LP: 50%. Distributed via mining, farming and other liquidity incentivization schemes and marketing campaigns. 
  • Team & Advisors: 20%. Owned by the founding team contributors and key advisors. 12 months locking + 24 months monthly vesting.
  • Investors: 15%. Allocations to private investors; 6 months locking + 12 months monthly vesting.
  • Liquidity Treasury: 15%. Initial liquidity and long-term CEX/DEX liquidity maintenance.

Cetus Protocol

Source: Cetus Protocol docs

Vesting

Until November 2024, each month, 19.54 million $CETUS tokens unlock. That’s 6.12% of their market cap and 1.95% of their max supply. This is also the moment when their investors have received all their tokens. These are 8 million monthly tokens by the team and advisors. Another 11.54 million tokens are from Investors. From December 2024 until May 2026, each month, 8 million $CETUS will unlock. These are from the team and advisors. That’s 2.51% of their current market cap and 0.8% of their max supply.

500 million tokens are not tracked and can unlock at any moment. This equals the community allocation. This can dilute the market and affect the $CETUS price.

There’s also the $xCETUS token, used for governance. Check their docs for more info. This token is not listed on any exchange. You receive $xCETUS by staking $CETUS. You can only vote on features of the platform. Holders can’t vote on any operational and management decisions.

Cetus Protocol

Source: CryptoRank

Backers and Funding

Cetus Protocol has 11 backers listed on their website. According to CryptoRank, they range between Tier 2 and Tier 4 investors. These are,

1) Tier 2;

  • KuCoin Ventures
  • OKX Ventures
  • Animoca Brands
  • Jump Crypto

2) Tier 3;

  • NGC Ventures

3) Tier 4;

  • Sui
  • IDG Capital
  • Comma3 Ventures
  • AC Capital
  • Leland Ventures

Their website lists Coin98 and Gate.io Labs as backers. CryptoRank also lists Arche Fund and Adaverse as Tier 3 backers.

According to CryptoRank, there were also two funding rounds. The first was a strategic round with Sui in February 2024. The second was a seed round in May 2023. This seed round saw 11 investors. However, for both rounds, there’s no information available on the raised funds.

The fact that Sui funded a strategic round is positive. One can only assume that the Sui team met with the Cetus team. In other words, they know who the Cetus team are. However, not releasing any information on the raised funds is not reassuring.

Cetus Protocol

Source: Cetus Protocol website

Cetus Protocol News

Cetus announced a couple of recent partnerships. For example, with Bluefin. This is a professional orderbook-based trading platform.

During early June 2024, Cetus realized a total trading volume of $8 billion. Stashed also went live on Cetus in early June.

During Q2, 24, Cetus saw their Limit Order go live. The team also launched the Cetus Aquarium Incubator Program. This Sui Foundation powers this, and it will nurture innovative Web3 projects on Sui.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • First mover in Move blockchains with CLMM. That’s concentrated liquidity and it improves capital efficiency.
  • Devs can easily integrate their apps.
  • Second on Sui for TVL.
  • Various features, including launchpad and bridging options.
  • Trading is fast and easy.
  • Permissionless.

Cons

  • No team information.
  • Funding information is not disclosed.
  • 50% of tokens are untracked.
  • Looks like inflated social media numbers. High numbers but low user interaction.
Conclusion

Cetus Protocol is one of the top Sui protocols when measured by TVL. It takes second spot on Sui. Cetus uses a concentrated liquidity model with a CLMM set up. This gives them a first mover advantage in chains that use the Move coding language. 

The initial question was if Cetus is a gem in the Sui ecosystem. As such, Cetus has a couple of great features that look very promising. For example, the CLMM and their TVL. However, there are also a couple of red flags. The biggest one being that it has an anonymous team. It feels strange that Sui is a financial backer. Sui must know the team, and you would expect other backers are also familiar with the team. So, why keep the team identity anonymous?

The same goes for their funding rounds. Why is no information shared about the amount the team raised? Disclosing this information would reassure investors. Now they are left with question marks and doubt.

Furthermore, 50% of their tokens are untracked. This gives a distorted view of their FDV. Once these tokens hit the market, they can negatively impact the $CETUS price. And last, their social media numbers look inflated. For the number of apparent followers, there’s not much interaction going on.

So, despite having a good and solid product, we don’t see Cetus as a potential gem….yet. However, this can change. For example, if more information about the team and their funding becomes available.

Disclaimer

The information discussed by Altcoin Buzz is not financial advice. This is for educational, entertainment and informational purposes only. Any information or strategies are thoughts and opinions relevant to accepted levels of risk tolerance of the writer/reviewers, and their risk tolerance may be different from yours.

We are not responsible for any losses that you may incur as a result of any investments directly or indirectly related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments, so please do your due diligence. This article has been sponsored by Sui.

Copyright Altcoin Buzz Pte Ltd.

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