ETHPrague 2024

The Paranoid Developer’s Guide to Safer Smart Contracts
06-02, 11:30–11:55 (Europe/Prague), Leaf Stage

Trust is a luxury. The talk is on "trust no one, not even yourself" philosophy for smart contract development. It explains the techniques we use daily, from unit to fuzz testing, from on-chain invariance monitoring to circuit breakers.


At the heart of our presentation is the philosophy that "trust is a luxury." This mantra isn't about skepticism for its own sake but a call to arms for developers to adopt a mindset where verification and testing become second nature. The goal is to inspire developers to not only adopt stronger security habits but to fundamentally rethink how they approach the development and deployment of smart contracts.

We will delve into a suite of sophisticated techniques that we employ daily to safeguard our projects. From unit testing, to fuzz testing and formal verification. We will go beyond traditional methods and introduce participants to advanced strategies such as on-chain invariance monitoring and the strategic use of circuit breakers. These tools are not just safety nets but essential components of a proactive security strategy, designed to catch issues before they become disasters.

But this talk is more than just a quick rundown of tools and techniques. It's a call to embrace a culture of security that permeates every stage of the development process. By sharing our unique approaches and the lessons we've learned, we aim to equip other developers with not just the tools but also the mindset needed to elevate the security of their projects.

Protocol Dev at Mento Labs, ex Security Auditor, building on-chain since 2013