The best white hats hunting for gaps in decentralized WEB3 protocols earn millions, transferring a remuneration ceiling in the amount of USD 300,000 in classic cyber security roles.
“Our table of leaders shows that researchers earn millions a year, compared to typical cyber security salaries in the amount of USD 150-300,000,” said Cointelegraph Mitchell Amador, co-founder and general director of Bug Bounty Immnefi Platform.
In Crypto, “white hats” refers to ethical hackers paid for revealing gaps in the protocol of decentralized finances (DEFI). Unlike corporate roles, these researchers choose their goals, set their own hours and earn on the basis of the impact of what they find.
Until now, Immunefi has facilitated over $ 120 million in payments in thousands of reports. Thirty researchers have already become millionaires.
“Protection of over $ 180 billion in total value blocked in our programs,” Amador said, adding that the platform offers prizes up to 10% for critical errors. “These payments for a million dollars reflect the reality that many protocols have dozens or hundreds of millions of rates from individual gaps,” he said.
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$ 10 million saved billions
The largest single payment of the white Web3 hat was $ 10 million, awarded to a hacker that found a deadly defect in the Wormhole transition bridge. Amador said that the vulnerability can evaporate billions.
Despite the discovery of this sensitivity, Wormhole suffered $ 321 million on his bridge Solana in 2022, the largest cryptographic hack of the year. In February 2023, the infrastructure company Web3 Jump Crypto and Oasis.app conducted a “counter -exploit” in a tunnel protocol hacker, withdrawing a total of $ 225 million.
Amador revealed that critical gaps include the largest awards. The best scientists have reached 1 million to $ 14 million, depending on the severity and the scope of their arrangements. “They are 100 times hackers who can find gaps that others miss,” he said.
While the early years of DEFI were harassed by clever contract errors, in 2025 an enhance in “without code”, such as social engineering, keys violations and falls in the field of operational security. Despite this change, the bridges remain the most lucrative goals due to their complexity of the intersection and the extensive sums that they protect.
Patterns appeared in types of projects that are most often violated. “DEFI protocols dealing with significant TVL and the lack of strong programs are the most vulnerable,” said Amador. He warned that the teams at an early stage rushing to the market without security measures, as well as self -exposed players, bear increased risk.
Related: Defi Whale loses USD 40 million when Kinto winds down and Swissborg suffers from hack: finance -defined finances
Cryptographic hackers stole $ 163 million in August
According to Cointelegraph, hacks and fraud related to cryptocurrencies reached $ 163 million losses in August, which is an enhance in 15% compared to $ 142 million. Despite the jumps, the general incidents fell down, with only 16 attacks registered compared to 20 in June.
Most losses came from two main incidents. These include a scam of social engineering worth $ 91 million focused on Bitcoiner and violation of the Turkish exchange of BTCURK with a value of $ 50 million.
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