Crypto bug bounty platform Immunefi raises $24M led by Framework Ventures

Published at: Sept. 22, 2022

Web3 bug bounty and security services platform Immunefi has closed a $24 million Series A funding round, putting the company on track to scale its in-house capacity amid widespread vulnerabilities in the blockchain industry.

The funding round was led by the San Francisco-based venture firm Framework Ventures, with additional participation from Electric Capital, Polygon Ventures, Samsung Next, P2P Capital and others. Immunefi said the capital would be used to hire staff as it scales to meet the growing demand for blockchain security and bug bounty services.

Immunefi claims to have paid out $60 million in total bounties since its inception less than two years ago. The platform now supports over 300 projects across the crypto ecosystem, including Chainlink, MakerDAO and Compound. To incentivize white hat hackers, Immunefi offers bounties and rewards for uncovering security vulnerabilities of leading blockchain protocols.

In demand! The rise of crypto hacks over 2022 has skyrocketed demand for blockchain security experts, with some auditors making upwards of $430,000 per year. https://t.co/rafgW5TNBP

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) August 23, 2022

As reported by Cointelegraph, Immunefi raised $5.5 million in funding last October to further boost its security capabilities. At the time, the company had paid out $7.5 million in bounties.

Related: The impact of the Wintermute hack could have been worse than 3AC, Voyager and Celsius — Here is why

The decentralized finance, or DeFi, sector has been especially prone to security vulnerabilities. In 2021 alone, scams and exploits targeting DeFi protocols cost the industry over $10.2 billion, according to research undertaken by Immunefi. DeFi remains a prime attack vector for scammers in 2022, as evidenced by the recent $160 million exploit of crypto market maker Wintermute.

One of the biggest DeFi exploits occurred in April of this year when Axie Infinity’s Ronin bridge was hacked for over $600 million. Axie relaunched its Ronin bridge three months later.

Tags
Business
Hacks
Funding
Venture Capital
Related Posts
Blockchain security firm CertiK approaches unicorn status following $80M raise
Global blockchain security firm CertiK has concluded an $80 million investment round backed by some of crypto’s biggest venture funds, putting the company on track to reach the lofty $1 billion valuation mark in the foreseeable future. The Series B2 investment round was led by Sequoia, a California-based venture fund, with additional participation from Tiger Global, Coatue Management and GL Ventures, CertiK announced Wednesday. In the startup world, Series B or B2 financing refers to the second round of funding for a business through either private equity or venture capital. CertiK has now raised over $140 million over the past …
Business / Dec. 1, 2021
Galaxy Interactive raises another $325M fund aimed at metaverse and next-gen games
Galaxy Interactive, a venture capital firm focused on next-generation interactive technology, has announced it has raised $325 million for its second fund from 70 different investors. The fund is focused on virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and blockchain-based games. In a Tuesday announcement, Galaxy Digital, the majority owner of Galaxy Interactive, stated that $150 million from the fund has already been allocated to new portfolio companies, including Republic, 1047 Games, Elodie, Roar, Art Blocks and Masterworks, with other additional investments to be announced in coming months. Established in 2018 by general partners Sam Englebardt and Richard Kim, the company …
Technology / Oct. 20, 2021
Report: ICO Fundraising Plummeted 95% Year-Over-Year in 2019
A report published by research firm CB Insights has found that equity funding has dramatically overtaken initial coin offerings (ICOs) as the dominant means of finance in the blockchain space. While the largely unregulated ICO boom of 2018 raised $7.8 billion, initial coin offering funding fell more than 95% to raise $371 million in 2019. By contrast, equity funding raised $2.8 billion last year. The report also notes the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi), noting that there are currently more than $1 billion in assets on DeFi platforms — up from $300 million as of January 2019. Crypto firms are …
Decentralization / March 23, 2020
Polygon raises $450M in Sequoia-led funding round
Layer-2 scaling solution Polygon has raised $450 million in a funding round that was backed by some of blockchain’s biggest venture funds — offering further evidence that major investors are looking to support the future of Web3 development. The investment round was led by Sequoia Capital India with participation from more than 40 venture capital funds, including SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Galaxy Digital, Tiger Global and Republic Capital. Billionaire investor Kevin O’Leary also participated in the raise. Polygon will use the funding to expand its scaling solutions, which includes Polygon PoS, Polygon Edge and Polygon Avail, and support mainstream adoption …
Business / Feb. 7, 2022
Skyweaver's parent company secures $40M in Series A funding
Horizon Blockchain Games, the developer behind the Skyweaver game, has raised $40 million in Series A funding, the company disclosed on Oct. 4. The round was led by Brevan Howard Digital and Morgan Creek Digital, with additional participation from Polygon, Take-Two Interactive, Ubisoft, Xsolla, The Sandbox’s co-founder Sebastien Borget, Sky Mavis and Axie Infinity co-founder Aleks Larsen, among other investors. With the funds, Horizon plans to invest in Web3 products and scale its operations. Specifically, the company wants to grow its developer stack and smart wallet Sequence, expand the content and reach of the nonfungible token (NFT) turn-based card game …
Nft / Oct. 5, 2022