Last updated Jul 21, 2026 · 10:55 UTC
Showing 21–40 of 301
301 audit contests
| Protocol | Source | Prize | Window | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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FrankenDAO
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$16K |
Nov 09 - Nov 14, 2022
5 days
|
View |
|
Bond Protocol
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$33K |
Nov 07 - Nov 16, 2022
9 days
|
View |
|
Bull v Bear
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$10K |
Nov 14 - Nov 17, 2022
3 days
|
View |
|
Buffer Finance
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$21K |
Nov 14 - Nov 20, 2022
6 days
|
View |
|
Telcoin
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$10K |
Nov 17 - Nov 20, 2022
3 days
|
View |
|
Opyn Crab Netting
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$25K |
Nov 23 - Nov 30, 2022
7 days
|
View |
|
Sentiment Update #2
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$10K |
Nov 28 - Dec 01, 2022
3 days
|
View |
|
NounsDAO
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$10K |
Dec 01 - Dec 04, 2022
3 days
|
View |
|
Isomorph
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$50K |
Nov 23 - Dec 07, 2022
14 days
|
View |
|
Rain
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$10K |
Dec 12 - Dec 15, 2022
3 days
|
View |
|
Lyra
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$100K |
Dec 05 - Jan 02, 2023
28 days
|
View |
|
Notional Update
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$25K |
Jan 02 - Jan 09, 2023
7 days
|
View |
|
Illuminate Round 2
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$10K |
Jan 09 - Jan 12, 2023
3 days
|
View |
|
UXD Protocol
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$50K |
Jan 02 - Jan 16, 2023
14 days
|
View |
|
Sentiment Update #3
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$10K |
Jan 18 - Jan 21, 2023
3 days
|
View |
|
Cooler
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$10K |
Jan 20 - Jan 23, 2023
3 days
|
View |
|
Ajna
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$75K |
Jan 09 - Jan 30, 2023
21 days
|
View |
|
Optimism
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$700K |
Jan 23 - Feb 06, 2023
14 days
|
View |
|
Union Finance Update
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$10K |
Feb 08 - Feb 11, 2023
3 days
|
View |
|
OpenQ
|
Sherlock
Finished
|
$50K |
Feb 01 - Feb 15, 2023
14 days
|
View |
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Finished
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Sherlock launched in 2022 with a unique twist: protocols that pass a Sherlock audit can buy on-chain coverage backed by Sherlock and its watson community. Contests typically run 7 to 30 days with $50,000-$300,000 prize pools. Watsons (Sherlock auditors) submit findings, the judging panel determines severity, and the prize is split across valid unique findings.
This page shows only contests aggregated from Sherlock. For audit contests on other platforms, see the full Web3 audit competition tracker.
Six major platforms host the Web3 audit competitions and smart contract bug bounty programs aggregated above. Click any platform to see only its active contests.
| Platform | Type | Typical Prize | Contest Length | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Code4rena
|
Audit contests | $50K to $500K | 3 to 14 days | DeFi protocols pre-launch |
|
Sherlock
|
Contests + bounties | $50K to $300K | 7 to 30 days | Insurance-backed audits |
CodeHawks
|
Audit contests + First Flights | $5K to $200K | 3 to 21 days | Newer auditors building a track record |
Cantina
|
Mega-comps + bounties | $200K to $2M+ | 14 to 30 days | Experienced researchers, high-value protocols |
Immunefi
|
Ongoing bug bounties | Up to $15M per critical | Ongoing | Production protocol vulnerability hunting |
HackenProof
|
Bounties + crowdsourced audits | $1K to $1M+ | Ongoing or time-boxed | Managed Web3 programs and exchange/protocol bounties |
Sherlock contests have stricter judging and include an insurance-backed bounty period afterward. Code4rena focuses purely on time-boxed contests. Sherlock prize pools are typically smaller ($50K-$300K) than Code4rena ($50K-$500K), but Sherlock watsons earn from post-contest bounties too.
Every currently-active Sherlock audit competition appears in the listing above, pulled from the Sherlock API every 2 hours. You can also browse all contests directly on audits.sherlock.xyz.
The leading Web3 bug bounty platforms are Immunefi (largest, $15M max payouts on DeFi protocols), Cantina (Spearbit's bounty program plus audit competitions), HackenProof (managed Web3 bounties and crowdsourced audits), Sherlock (audit contests with insurance-backed bounties), and Code4rena (best known for time-boxed audit competitions). Codehawks rounds out the field with Cyfrin-run contests focused on emerging protocols and beginner-friendly First Flights.
Cantina runs the largest audit competitions ($2M+ prize pools for protocols like EigenLayer and Uniswap v4). Immunefi pays the highest per-bug bounty (up to $15M for critical findings). Code4rena and Sherlock typically run $100K-$500K audit contests. Codehawks First Flights are smaller but accessible to newer auditors.
Audit competitions invite security researchers to review a protocol's smart contract code for a fixed prize pool over 1-4 weeks. Rewards are split based on unique valid findings, weighted by severity (critical, high, medium). Code4rena, Sherlock, Codehawks, and Cantina are the main platforms.
Top auditors earn $10,000-$500,000+ per competition. Cantina and Code4rena regularly run $500K-$2M prize pool contests. Bug bounties can pay up to $15M per critical finding on platforms like Immunefi.
Audit contests run for a fixed time window with a fixed prize pool shared among all valid findings. Bug bounties are ongoing programs where each valid submission earns a direct per-vulnerability reward (often $50K-$15M depending on severity). Bug bounties require finding a real vulnerability in production code.
Learn the most common vulnerability classes first: reentrancy, flash loan attacks, oracle manipulation, and access control. The SCH Smart Contract Hacking Course covers all the core attack patterns that audit competitions test, starting from zero experience.
A practical path from learning vulnerability classes to submitting your first contest finding.
Master reentrancy, access control, oracle manipulation, flash loan attacks, and arithmetic overflows. These five classes account for most contest findings.
Read every public report from past Code4rena and Sherlock contests. Try to spot findings yourself before reading the writeup. This is how every top auditor trained.
First Flights are small audit contests designed for newer auditors. Prize pools are under $20K, scope is small, and competition is lighter. They build real submission history.
Pick an active audit contest from the tracker above filtered by Solidity and a $50K-$200K prize range. Spend 20 to 40 hours on the contest, even if you only find one valid medium-severity issue.
Publish your findings, share writeups on Twitter and Mirror, and start accumulating valid submissions across multiple platforms. A documented track record is what opens bug bounty access and full-time auditor roles.