Immunefi Raises $ 5.5 Million to Crush Web3 Crypto Bugs That Could Cost Billions – TechCrunch

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Traditional website and app bug bounty platforms, such as HackerOne and BugCrowd, have been successful in this old model of the world. But there is a huge difference between the existing “Web2” bug bounties and the new era of “Web3” bugs associated with blockchains and crypto. In the age of decentralized finance (DeFi), Web3 bug bounties take on the critical nature of being associated with real monetary value, not just software bugs.

This might explain why Immunefi, one of the emerging bug bounty and security services platforms for DeFi, has now raised $ 5.5 million in funding led by Electric Capital. Also participating are Blueprint Forest, Framework Ventures, Bitscale Capital, P2P Capital, IDEO Colab, The LAO, BR Capital, 3rd Prime Ventures, North Island Ventures and other individual investors.

With DeFi, billions of dollars in user funds are locked in smart contracts that are visible and accessible to everyone. And the stakes are high. In 2020, hackers stole an estimated $ 120 million from DeFi protocols in 15 separate attacks. And the problems are only getting worse. Hackers have raised over $ 1.7 billion this year.

Immunefi claims that its bug bounty platform for smart contracts and crypto projects allows security researchers to examine code, disclose vulnerabilities, and get paid to do so. It also allows companies to access security talent.

Mitchell Amador, Founder and CEO of Immunefi said: “DeFi is unique because code vulnerabilities represent a possibility of direct loss of money for users. Bug bounty programs are open invitations to security researchers to find these vulnerabilities in exchange for a reward … We believe that by helping launch such programs on Immunefi, we are not only helping to protect DeFi projects for today. hui, but also to shape the technology industry for the future. “

Clients of its platform include Synthetix, Chainlink, SushiSwap, PancakeSwap, Bancor, Cream Finance, Compound, Alchemix and other projects.

The company claims that Belt Finance recently paid $ 1,050,000 to a hacker, via Immunefi, who discovered a critical vulnerability in its protocol that endangered more than $ 10 million in capital.

Roy Learner, Director at Framework Ventures, said: “This year Immunefi has succeeded in becoming DeFi’s leading bug bounty platform, gaining the trust of major industry players, and we are confident that Immunefi will not. just started.

Speaking to TechCrunch, Amador added, “The reality is that Web3 is a much more confrontational environment, which means that every part of the bug bounty process works differently from before, submitting and processing a report. the validation of a report, the negotiation of a payment. Where traditional web2 bug bounties are a handy bug fixing tool, our Web3 bug bounties are a much more critical emergency response system for DeFi projects.

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