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CertiK Launches Invite Only Bug Bounty Platform Hunt, where vetted security researchers run bug bounty programs, audit competitions & AI security challenges.
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CertiK, the Web3 security firm backed by Sequoia, Coatue and Goldman Sachs at a $2 billion valuation, launched CertiK Hunt on July 1, 2026, an invite-only platform where vetted security researchers run bug bounty programs, audit competitions and AI security challenges for Web3 projects. Both researchers and projects are screened before joining, a structure CertiK says addresses the disputes and delayed payouts that plague open bug bounty programs. The launch lands in a market Immunefi has dominated since 2020, with more than $110 million paid to 45,000-plus researchers across 650-plus programs, and one where an invite-only track, along with rivals like Sherlock, Cantina and HackenProof, already exists. It also arrives two years after CertiK's own highest-profile bug disclosure, a $3 million fund withdrawal from Kraken that Kraken initially called extortion and CertiK called security testing, resolved only after the money was returned. Web3 lost $482 million to hacks and scams in Q1 2026, down sharply from 2025's Bybit-driven peak, but only 18 percent of that traced to the smart contract code that bug bounties actually test.