How Polygon Will Seek To Strengthen DeFi With $2 Million Bug Bounty

In the face of an increase in the number of attacks on DeFi platforms, Polygon has decided to take new measures. The Ethereum scaling platform recently announced a $2 million bug bounty.

In that way, Polygon expects to “root out and eliminate potential security flaws”, according to a press release. Only a few months ago, the DeFi ecosystem experienced one of its biggest hacks when it lost over $600 million on different platforms.

Polygon recorded an $85 million loss at the time. While Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) recorded a combined estimate of $500 million in losses.

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The exploit used by the Poly Network hacker focused on a blockchain agnostic trading pool called O3 Swap. Ironically, the attacker that perpetrated this hack asked the projects for more security measures and transparency.

The Polygon network bounty program is live since September 20, 2021, on the bug bounty platform Immunefi. Focused on DeFi and smart contract security, the platform will host the program as an “open invitation to security researchers”.

In that way, the project expects to find and fixed potential security vulnerabilities in the smart contracts and dApps ecosystem power by Polygon. Thus, the platform seeks to offer its users more security and protection for their funds.

The bug bounty program will reward white hackers in relation to their findings and the severity of the potential security vulnerability discovered. The rewards will range from the $1,000 for “low-level threats”, the release clarifies”, and $2,000,000 for critical threats.

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On the other hand, if a white hacker finds a vulnerability on a dApp, they could receive a reward ranging from $2,500 to $15,000. Payments will be made in the following cryptocurrencies: Polygon (MATIC), Ethereum (ETH), or a stablecoin.

How Polygon Will Operate Its Bounty Program

Polygon will leverage Immunefi Vulnerability Classification System. This mechanism will allow the team to have a threat classification system according to the potential vulnerability of the network.

In order to be eligible for a reward, white hackers must submit a report that needs to include certain details about their findings. For example, reports must have a step-by-step guide so the Polygon team can reproduce the potential threat and other evidence such as screenshots and logs.

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Data from research firm Messari claims that over $284 million have been lost to DeFi hacks since 2019. Thus, why an improvement in this sector’s security has become a “matter of utmost importance”.

Source: Messari via Twitter

Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder of Polygon said the following on their new bounty program:

User security is at the forefront of Polygon’s ethos. This substantial bounty offering aims to solidify what we know to be an extremely secure network.

On the other hand, founder and CEO of Immunefi Mitchell Amador said:

Bug bounty programs continue to be an essential part of the security stack for protecting crypto protocols and user funds locked in their contracts. We’re proud Polygon chose us among other platforms to ensure the safety of its protocol, and look forward to our collaboration.

At the time of writing, MATIC trades at $1,21 with a 9.5% profit in the daily chart.

MATIC trends to the upside in the daily chart. Source: MATICUSDT Tradingview