Optimistic Ethereum Roll-Up Blast and Spearbit Collaborate for $1.2 Million Security Review Competition
Blast, an upcoming optimistic Ethereum roll-up, is teaming up with Spearbit, a Web3 security research firm, to launch a security review competition with a $1.2 million bounty pool. The collaboration aims to attract solo security auditors through Cantina, Spearbit’s open marketplace for security auditors. This competition offers one of the largest reward bounties, emphasizing the layered approach to security reviews before a launch on the mainnet.
Participants globally can engage in the competition by reading the code and submitting bugs. Harikrishnan Mulackal, co-founder of Spearbit Labs, highlights that security review competitions serve as a critical layer in the security review process, uncovering potential bugs before the mainnet launch.
The competition reflects the evolving approaches to smart contract security reviews, with bug bounties being one layer of defense. Traditional auditing companies and bug bounty programs each have merits, and a comprehensive strategy often involves a combination of both. Traditional auditing offers in-depth analysis, while bug bounties leverage the collective efforts of a diverse pool of participants.
David Schwed, COO of Halborn, underscores the depth of analysis provided by traditional audits but notes the advantages of bug bounties in reaching skilled individuals and uncovering varied vulnerabilities. However, he acknowledges the challenges, such as the lack of guarantees that all vulnerabilities will be identified and the risk of participants exploiting the vulnerabilities for personal gain.
Spencer Macdonald, co-founder of Spearbit, emphasizes the importance of robust security in the blockchain industry, stating that a continuous and iterative approach is necessary. Mulackal concurs, highlighting the perpetual cycle of discovering novel bugs and improving protocols over time.
