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Technical insights
Deep dives into smart contract vulnerabilities, blockchain security best practices, and technical research from CertiK engineers.
Technology analysisAdvanced Formal Verification of ZKP: Verifying a ZK InstructionWe explore exactly what’s involved in applying formal verification to a zero knowledge virtual machine (zkVM).
Technology analysisAdvanced Formal Verification of Zero-Knowledge Proof BlockchainsFormal verification is a process that mathematically proves the correctness of a system, ensuring it behaves exactly as intended under all defined conditions.
Technology analysisDecrypting MuskSwap: A web of Scams and Tracking Funds Through Tornado CashIn early 2022, CertiK confirmed that a project named MuskSwap was an exit scam resulting in millions in losses. We then monitored the malicious wallets and observed the transfer of approximately $3.5 million into Tornado Cash over a period of 4 months. 
EducationalBridging the Gap: How We Simplify Crypto SecurityAs digital assets go mainstream, it's more crucial than ever to make sure blockchain projects are secure. Just as important as this is finding ways to communicate security to users. For over five years, we’ve been building a suite of tools designed to both improve projects’ security as well as raise the level of education and understanding of security in the broader community. 
EducationalStaying Up to Date on Real-World Asset TokenizationReal-world assets (RWAs) is the latest narrative in crypto. It refers to onchain representations of tangible and intangible assets from the traditional financial realm. In this piece, we'll help you stay up to date with all that's going on with RWAs.
Technology analysisA Pet Rock No Longer: Bitcoin's Innovation AwakeningA Pet Rock No Longer: Bitcoin’s Innovation Awakening provides a comprehensive overview of the Bitcoin ecosystem's evolution over the last year.
Vulnerability researchUncovering and Resolving a Cross-Site Scripting Attack in a Popular Wallet ProtocolWe discovered an XSS vulnerability in WalletConnect's Verify API, which could have been manipulated to create a convincing phishing site.
Technology analysisOrdinals and the BRC-20 Standard: Overview and Risk AnalysisBuilding upon our initial overview, this article delves deeper into the nuances of the Ordinals and the BRC-20 standard, as well as other innovative protocols recently emerging in the Bitcoin ecosystem. It also examines the risks associated with their rapid growth and adoption.
EducationalSoft Spots in Hard Tech: Mobile Security Challenges in Web3Our recent investigation into the integration of blockchain technology with mobile devices has brought to light significant security concerns. These go beyond software risks to include potentially serious hardware vulnerabilities.
Technology analysisDeepSEA: Advanced Web3 Formal Verification of a Smart Contract CompilerCertiK carried out a research project about how to improve a particularly important part of the execution environment, namely the compiler. We produced a formally verified compiler for smart contracts, which we call DeepSEA.
Technology analysisTokenomics In DeFi StakingTokenomics is the study and design of economic systems and models based on blockchain tokens, encompassing aspects like distribution, utility, and the incentives that drive the behavior of token holders within a particular blockchain ecosystem. Staking in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) allows users to earn passive income by locking their tokens.
Technology analysisHow CertiK Verified TON's TPS ResultsSince before their mainnet went live, CertiK has proudly served as a long-standing security collaborator with TON. We were excited to be invited to verify the results of TON's record-setting throughput testing. This is how we did it.