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Blockchain security firm Sec3 raises $10 million in seed funding

Quick Take

  • Sec3 raises $10 million in seed funding, led by Multicoin Capital.
  • The web3 security firm currently serves projects in the Solana ecosystem.

Sec3, a blockchain security firm that audits smart contracts among other services, raised $10 million in a seed funding round.

Multicoin Capital led the round, with Sanctor Capital and Essence VC participating, Sec3 announced Tuesday. Several angel investors, including Santiago Santos, a former ParaFi Capital partner, and Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, also joined the round.

As part of the deal, Multicoin Capital holds a board observer seat, Chris Wang, co-founder and president of Sec3, said in an interview. Sec3 began raising for the seed round in February last year and closed it in April but only decided to announce now as the firm was occupied building products, Wang said.

Sec3, formerly Soteria, is also publicly launching its products today. Until now, the firm only served private clients. Sec3 offers four products —Launch Audits, X-Ray, CircuitBreaker and WatchTower — that work across project stages. "We are the only audit firm to provide security solutions before, during and after projects launch on Solana," Wang said.

Solana ecosystem

Sec3 currently only serves projects in the Solana ecosystem, where its clients include Helium Network, Metaplex and Tulip. The firm has plans to expand into other blockchains in the near future, including Aptos, Sui, Ethereum and Polygon, said Wang.

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When asked if it is too late to launch Sec3 in an already crowded smart contracts audit market, Wang said crypto is still early and that there is "enough space for multiple companies to build."

Sec3's Launch Audits product helps projects examine if their smart contracts are ready to launch on mainnet. Its X-Ray product continuously analyzes smart contracts to prevent future vulnerabilities. WatchTower, on the other hand, monitors on-chain transactions for malicious activity. And its CircuitBreaker product works together with WatchTower to detect and block suspicious activities in real time.

Sec3 plans to continue building and improving its products with fresh capital in hand. To that end, it also looks to double its current team of 15 people by the end of this year by hiring staff in engineering and business development functions, Wang said.

Looking ahead, Sec3 also aims to launch its own token to decentralize its operations.


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.

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