In August 2022, white hat hackers witnessed a $190 million theft from the Nomad bridge, prompting the creation of the Safe Harbor Agreement by Security Alliance. Now, 29 crypto companies are recognized for supporting this initiative, including Polymarket and Uniswap. The framework protects ethical hackers and has led to successful fund recoveries.

SEAL volunteers, like c0ffeebabe.eth, have saved millions from crypto hacks, returning stolen funds to projects like Curve Finance and SushiSwap. In August 2024, white hats returned $12 million from the Ronin bridge. SEAL’s collective defense recently prevented a large-scale NPM supply chain attack, limiting damage to less than $50 within 24 hours.

SEAL’s Safe Harbor Champions 2025 awards are open for voting until Nov. 1, with winners announced on Nov. 3. Crypto companies adopting Safe Harbor strengthen asset protection. The framework requires returning funds within 72 hours of an exploit, with a 10% bounty on recovered funds, capped at $1 million.

Adoption of Safe Harbor demonstrates the crypto industry’s evolution towards accountability and collective action. Initiatives like Safe Harbor serve as a warning to bad actors, making exploits less profitable and riskier. White hats, supported by the Security Research Legal Defense Fund, now have legal protection to safeguard protocols during active attacks.

Read more at Cointelegraph: Ethical Hackers Have Saved Crypto Billions Thanks to Seal’s Safe Harbor