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It’s a bull market. Web3 security has changed.

It's a bull market. Web3 security has changed.

The crypto bull market is here. The entire space is buzzing with excitement, and we’re just beginning. What does it mean for builders, projects, and DeFi innovators?

Clear signs we’re entering a bull market right now:

  • - Bitcoin has broken its past all-time high (~$72k).
  • - Ethereum is within 10% of its all-time high (~$4k).
  • - Solana is up 8x (~$160) from its 2022 lows.

Beyond prices:

  • - Early-stage crypto fundraising is picking up again (1).
  • - Active addresses, number of on-chain transactions, and downloads of crypto developer tools are at all-time high levels (2).

Past cycles have shown there is a linear relationship between market prices and development activity. As prices go up, more developers build more projects (3). I expect this year’s bull run to be no different, except now, developers are more multi-chain than ever (4).

Now the question is, “what exactly will this bull market mean for the web3 security industry?”

  • Increased capital deployment
  • Growth of projects deployed onchain
  • More security reviews and services needed

The team at C4 saw first-hand the security challenges projects faced in the last bull market:

  • Long wait times for traditional auditing firms to start
  • Longer times for audits to complete
  • Shortages in engineering and auditing talent

Near-term outlook for projects:

We will see more projects launching and upgrading, crowding the DeFi space and competing for security services in 2024. Organizations will launch more onchain services on more platforms, across ecosystems. At C4, we’ve observed this already happening, but it will further accelerate.

As the size of the pie grows, so do the size of the threats. Projects will need to develop, secure, and launch new services at top speed—without compromising on the quality of security results. They’ll need more flexible, scalable teams of the best security researchers to keep up.

How C4 helps:

As the market need for onchain security services expands, C4 is ready to answer the additional demand. We’ve been through this in the last cycle. With the largest participating base of code auditors, battle-tested processes, and rock-solid reputation for fairness, we are the marketplace of choice for securing onchain projects.

We couldn’t be more excited about supporting all the amazing innovation that will come out of this bull market. We’re here to secure it. Bring it on.

SOURCES

  1. Messari January 2024 Crypto Fundraising Report
  2. a16z State of Crypto - Active address, transactions, and developer library downloads
  3. Electric Capital 2021 Crypto Developer Report - Monthly active developers
  4. Electric Capital 2023 Crypto Developer Report - Developers across ecosystems

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