A bug bounty program is only as credible as the bounty behind it. Bug bounties are how teams catch protocol-ending vulnerabilities before attackers do, by paying white-hat researchers to find and disclose them responsibly.
The problem is the budget. To attract the caliber of researcher who can find a critical bug, the reward has to compete with what a black-hat could earn by exploiting it, which pushes top bounties into seven figures. Teams have to be ready to spend millions to protect hundreds of millions.
Who is exposed to this risk?
Protocol teams running or planning bug bounty programs through platforms like Immunefi, Cantina, or Sherlock, who want to offer meaningful rewards without taking on the full financial hit of a critical payout.
