In 2022, a researcher found a critical vulnerability in the Wormhole bridge and reported it responsibly. The reward: $10,000,000. That's not a typo. Ten million dollars for one bug.
Web3 bug bounties are the highest-paying security work on earth right now. Here's everything you need to know.
Why Web3 Pays So Much
Traditional bug bounties pay based on company revenue and risk. Web3 is different — smart contracts hold actual money. A vulnerability in a DeFi protocol isn't just a data breach risk, it's a direct theft risk of hundreds of millions in locked funds. Protocols pay enormous bounties because the alternative is losing everything.
The Top Platform: Immunefi
Immunefi is the HackerOne of Web3. Over $100 million in bounties paid to date. Key programs:
- MakerDAO — Up to $10,000,000
- Uniswap — Up to $2,500,000
- Polygon — Up to $2,000,000
- Chainlink — Up to $1,000,000
- Ethereum Foundation — Up to $250,000
What Vulnerabilities Pay the Most
Critical (highest pay): Reentrancy attacks, integer overflow/underflow, unauthorized fund access, bridge exploits
High: Access control flaws, price oracle manipulation, flash loan attack vectors
Medium: Logic errors, gas griefing, front-running vulnerabilities
Skills Required
You need to learn Solidity (Ethereum's smart contract language) and understand how DeFi protocols work — AMMs, lending protocols, bridges, staking contracts. The learning curve is steep but the payoff is unlike anything else in security.
Tools for Smart Contract Auditing
- Slither — Static analysis for Solidity
- Echidna — Fuzzing tool for smart contracts
- Foundry — Testing framework
- MythX — Automated security analysis
- Tenderly — Transaction simulation and debugging
Getting Started Today
1. Learn Solidity basics at cryptozombies.io (free)
2. Study past exploits on rekt.news
3. Practice on vulnerable contracts at ethernaut.openzeppelin.com
4. Start reading audit reports from Trail of Bits, OpenZeppelin, and Consensys Diligence
5. Register on Immunefi and start with smaller protocols
Need a smart contract audit? Contact Greyhack Enterprises — we offer AI-assisted smart contract audits starting at ~$450.