Smart contracts on Ethereum power decentralized applications but operate in a trustless and immutable environment where even minor flaws can lead to catastrophic outcomes. Ensuring their correctness and security is paramount. Formal verification offers a rigorous approach to guarantee smart contracts meet their specifications, yet current methods face challenges such as complexity, scalability, and limited integration into developer workflows.

This talk introduces the Data-Aware Finite State Machine (DAFSM) model as a practical pathway toward the formal verification of Ethereum smart contracts. DAFSM models contracts as finite state machines with enriched capabilities for handling data, inter-contract communication, and modular transitions. This approach ensures safety properties, such as reentrancy prevention and role consistency, while supporting multi-contract verification for complex decentralized systems.

In addition to its existing capabilities, DAFSM serves as a foundation for a robust verification pipeline. Future developments include symbolic model checking for infinite data domains, plugins for integrated development environments (IDEs) like Remix and VS Code, and tools for analyzing and optimizing gas efficiency. The model also paves the way for privacy-preserving verification techniques, enabling contracts to leverage zero-knowledge proofs while maintaining formal guarantees.

Attendees will gain insights into the current state of formal verification, learn how DAFSM addresses critical challenges, and explore the potential of integrating verification seamlessly into smart contract development. This talk bridges the gap between theoretical rigor and practical application, offering a vision for building more secure and efficient Ethereum smart contracts.