Coinbase announced on July 8 the launch of a massive $5 million rewards program through the Cantina platform, in a bold move aimed at enhancing the security of smart contracts and the infrastructure of its Base network, amid increasing cyber threats in the Web3 sector.
The program is one of the largest initiatives for discovering security vulnerabilities in the blockchain world, targeting critical weaknesses in Coinbase's products operating on the network, where the company invited the security research community to participate through the Cantina platform, which allows for thorough and systematic reviews.
Each report is evaluated by specialized security experts, with rewards disbursed according to the severity level and potential impact of the discovered vulnerabilities. Coinbase emphasized the importance of clear and actionable reports to ensure a swift response and remediation.
This program comes as an extension of a previous collaboration between Coinbase and Cantina, which included auditing sensitive components such as WebAuthn modules, verification pools, and Nitro authentications, paving the way for the launch of this comprehensive and open program.
The announcement coincided with rising security challenges, especially after a breach incident in May involving support staff, which prompted Coinbase to allocate a $20 million rewards fund to track down those involved instead of paying a ransom.
