Blockchain security firm CertiK raises $37M to combat DeFi and crypto risks

Published at: July 14, 2021

Blockchain security firm CertiK announced Wednesday that it has received $37 million in fresh financing to expand its product and security capabilities for the cryptocurrency and DeFi industries.

“We’re proud to advance transparency in the space by providing the tools and resources – including our official audit reports – so the community can make sense of vital security information,” said CertiK co-founder Professor Ronghu Gu.

Kai Jiang, a partner at Coatue Management, said blockchain security is becoming increasingly important amid the DeFi revolution:

“Decentralized finance has grown enormously over the last 18 months, giving millions of people access to innovative financial tools and savings products. With such rapid innovation, security is of the utmost importance.”

CertiK has gained popularity for its Skynet platform, which uses on-chain and off-chain data to provide real-time insights into the security status of DeFi applications. To date, Skynet has monitored over 2 million smart contract addresses and more than 2 billion on-chain transactions, the company said.

As Cointelegraph reported, CertiK released its real-time smart contract auditing blockchain in October 2020. Less than one month later, it implemented its automated tool for scanning smart contract vulnerabilities.

When asked about the biggest security threats facing DeFi, a CertiK spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the main issue is keeping pace with the "rapid speed of innovation" in the sector. "As projects implement novel ideas into their code, this opens up the possibility of unforeseen errors and manipulations," including rug pulls, they said. "Projects may be forced to choose between delaying a launch for the sake of a third-party audit or testing their code directly in production, which is a difficult choice to make."

"CertiK combats this risk by conducting KYC on major projects that are handling a substantial amount of user funds, as well as monitoring suspicious transactions and social media chatter through the Skynet," the spokesperson said.

CertiK has emerged as one of the most heavily backed blockchain security companies on the market. In addition to the venture capital stalwarts that supported its Series B fundraiser, the company is also backed by IDG Capital, Binance, Yale University, Lightspeed Venture and others.

Since 2018, CertiK has successfully raised $48 million. The company closed an $11 million funding round less than a year ago, which helped to finance its continued expansion. Since then, CertiK has worked with over 600 new clients, with revenues quadrupling through the first half of the year as compared with 2020.