Uniswap, one of the top players in the decentralized exchange arena, has announced a whopping $15.5 million reward to anyone who can pinpoint vulnerabilities in the newest iteration of its protocol, dubbed Uniswap v4. This staggering bounty, hailed as the largest ever for such initiatives, aims to fortify the security of Uniswap’s latest protocol evolution.
In tech circles, bug bounty programs are a popular strategy to coax ethical hackers—often referred to as “white hats”—into finding software vulnerabilities before malicious actors do.
Building on the foundation laid by Uniswap v3, which was introduced back in 2021, v4 aims to offer users transactions that are both more economical and tailored to individual needs. Uniswap decided to unveil this bug bounty with a hefty $15.5 million prize as its development nears completion, surpassing LayerZero’s $15 million bug bounty set last year.
Uniswap has already subjected the latest version of its protocol to robust security measures. These include an impressive nine independent audits and a $2.35 million security contest that drew in 500 researchers, none of whom uncovered any critical vulnerabilities, as highlighted in Uniswap’s press release.
Despite these rigorous evaluations, Uniswap is going the extra mile to ensure their protocol’s security. Given that it facilitates transactions worth billions daily and is irreversible once live, this precaution seems prudent.
“The Uniswap protocol is a cornerstone of DeFi, safeguarding trades over $2.5 trillion. With v4, we’re enabling limitless customization,” Hayden Adams, CEO of Uniswap Labs, remarked. “Introducing this record-breaking $15.5 million bug bounty underscores our dedication to crafting secure smart contracts for all our users and developers.”
The bug bounty program is specifically focused on issues within the core contracts of Uniswap v4. It excludes vulnerabilities in third-party contracts not deployed by Uniswap Labs, those already highlighted during audits in the v4 repository, or problems within third-party applications utilizing Uniswap Labs contracts, among others.
Not every talented hacker will walk away with the full $15.5 million. Instead, rewards are distributed based on the seriousness of the bug discovered, using a tiered risk scoring system. A “critical” bug earns the full $15.5 million prize, while “high” and “medium” risk bugs fetch $1 million and $100,000, respectively.
To qualify for these rewards, the bugs must be reported within 24 hours of discovery. Additionally, those who find them must keep the information confidential until the issue has been addressed.
The idea of bug bounty programs dates back to the 1980s when a company named Hunter and Ready offered a Volkswagen Beetle to anyone who could find a flaw in their operating system. Since then, these programs have gained traction in the tech world and are occasionally even utilized by the U.S. government.
