Immunefi to absorb Code4rena bug bounty customers after shutdown decision

Competitive smart contract auditing platform Code4rena said Wednesday it will wind down operations, with Web3 security firm Immunefi stepping in to absorb its customers and security researchers.

“After careful consideration, we’ve made the decision to wind down Code4rena,” the company posted on X. The firm said all open contests and bounties would still be completed and that active engagements would be “seen through to a proper close.”

Immunefi separately announced it would be partnering with Code4rena to onboard its bug bounty customers following the decision to sunset the platform.

“Code4rena played a huge role in shaping crypto security,” Immunefi said, adding that protocols migrating onto its platform would receive support in transferring bounty “scopes, rules and reward structures.”

Code4rena is best known for its “competitive audit” model, where independent researchers, known as “wardens,” competed to find smart contract vulnerabilities for pay. The platform also incorporated leaderboard rankings.

The shutdown comes less than two years after blockchain security firm Zellic acquired Code4rena in 2024. At the time, the companies said Code4rena would operate independently following the deal. Before that, Code4rena raised $6 million from Paradigm in 2023 to help fund its auditor incentives and other platform expansions.

Tough times in DeFi

The shutdown comes amid a particularly difficult stretch for decentralized finance protocols and security.

DefiLlama recorded more than 20 crypto exploits in April alone, marking the highest monthly incident count on record, though not all of them stemmed from smart contract vulnerabilities.

Analysts at JPMorgan recently argued that these persistent DeFi exploits and security issues are limiting major institutional investors and players from making an entrance into the space.

The sector has also seen a sharp decline in activity and capital. Total value locked across DeFi protocols has fallen from roughly $160 billion in October to about $83 billion today, according to The Block’s data dashboard.