Competitive smart contract auditing platform Code4rena announced on Wednesday that it will cease operations, with Web3 security company Immunefi taking over to absorb its clients and security researchers.
"After careful consideration, we have decided to wind down Code4rena's operations," the company said. Posted X said all public contests and bounty programs will be completed, and all ongoing activities will be "smoothly concluded."
Immunefi separately announced that it will collaborate with Code4rena to serve its vulnerability bounty customers following Code4rena’s decision to shut down the platform.
“Code4rena has played a huge role in shaping crypto security,” Immunefi said, adding that protocols migrating to its platform will receive support to transfer their bounty “scope, rules, and reward structure.”
Code4rena is best known for its "competitive audit" model, in which independent researchers, called "Guardians," compete to find smart contract vulnerabilities and earn rewards. The platform also features a leaderboard.
This closure comes less than two years after the blockchain security firm Zellic shut down. Code4rena, founded in 2024, was initially announced as an independent entity following the transaction. Prior to this, Code4rena raised $6 million through an investment from Paradigm in 2023 to support auditor incentives and other platform expansions.
The DeFi industry is facing a difficult period.
This shutdown comes at a particularly challenging time for decentralized finance protocols and security.
DefiLlama recorded over 20 crypto exploits in April, marking a record monthly number of incidents, although not all incidents stemmed from smart contract vulnerabilities.
JPMorgan analysts recently pointed out that these ongoing DeFi exploit vulnerabilities are limiting the entry of major institutional investors and participants into the space.
Activity and capital in this space have also declined significantly. According to The Block's data dashboard, the total value locked in DeFi protocols has dropped from approximately $160 billion in October to around $8.3 billion today.