WazirX co-founder’s Side Venture Floats Rs 2 cr bounty amid fund scarcity

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As a seasoned crypto investor with a decade-long journey under my belt, I find myself constantly navigating the dynamic and often unpredictable landscape of blockchain technology. The latest developments involving Nischal Shetty, co-founder of WazirX, have left me scratching my head more than once.

While numerous WazirX exchange users are eagerly waiting to retrieve their assets, another venture led by WazirX co-founder Nischal Shetty named Shardeum recently declared a “bug bounty” program worth Rs 2 crores.

Companies provide bug bounty programs for programmers and coders, rewarding them financially for discovering vulnerabilities and weaknesses in software systems, thereby contributing to stronger overall security practices.

In simpler terms, Shardeum, a new company led by Nischal Shetty, is facing backlash from WazirX users. They’ve expressed concern that Shardeum announcing a bug bounty program now, when WazirX users are experiencing a severe financial crunch, seems insensitive and poorly timed.

At present, Shetty is dealing with several ongoing lawsuits, one of which pertains to the restructuring scheme for the refund of funds, affecting over 4.4 million users. In court, he argued that his exchange lacks the necessary resources to fully compensate all affected users following the hack that occurred on July 18, resulting in a loss of approximately Rs 2000 crore.

From where #NischalShetty is paying $250K bounty pool in #sharedum??

— Monty (WazirX User) (@DelineCruze) October 14, 2024

Shardeum just started its second vulnerability rewards program jointly with Immunefi, providing a generous prize fund worth approximately 2.1 crore Indian rupees or $250,000 for identifying security issues.

After achieving great success with their initial program that took place between July 8 and August 14, 2024, they experienced a significant influx of involvement from ethical hackers and community participants.

The bug bounty program initiated on September 4, 2024, will run until October 16, 2024, at 12 PM UTC. Following the excitement from the initial phase, Shardeum aims to leverage the skills of security experts to maintain the platform’s stability and security before its mainnet launch.

The bug bounty program is organized into two sections: Core Enhancement and Supportive Enhancement. The Core Enhancement offers rewards as high as $150,000, with the primary aim of discovering weaknesses within the Shardus Core Protocol and Shardeum Validator Nodes, specifically attracting skilled ethical hackers at the top level. These advancements, such as the upgrade to validator version 1.12.2, have been prompted by issues reported from the community, ultimately enhancing network reliability.

The “Ancillaries Boost” Program, offering a total prize of $100,000, invites experienced Web2 security specialists to work on Shardeum’s Rust and TypeScript infrastructure. The aim is to enhance the overall platform security that extends beyond the core blockchain.

Although the program holds significant advantages, it’s also stirred up debate within the Indian blockchain fraternity due to some contentious issues. Lately, incidents like the WazirX hack, which resulted in substantial theft, have led users to express concerns about the management of resources.

Although it’s undeniable that bug bounty programs are crucial in the world of web3, the users at WazirX have emphasized that addressing immediate needs should be the primary focus when it comes to resource distribution.

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2024-10-14 21:56