Sherlock

Sherlock is a Web3 security platform that provides complete lifecycle security for blockchain protocols from development through launch to live operations. Founded in 2021, Sherlock was established to address the recurring security failures across Web3, where traditional audits stopped at reports without accountability for outcomes.

Core Products and Services

Sherlock offers a comprehensive security model spanning three critical phases:

Development Phase: Sherlock AI delivers auditor-level analysis during development using intelligence trained on real audit data and expert methodology. The AI integrates natively with GitHub to run automated security checks on every commit and PR, detecting real exploit paths by mapping contract interactions to uncover logic, access, and permission flaws that attackers target.

Audit Phase: Sherlock provides two audit approaches - Collaborative Audits that assemble top-performing Web3 auditors from an 11,000+ researcher network for deep security review, and Audit Contests that apply large-scale adversarial pressure through competitive security research where hundreds of ranked researchers test code in parallel.

Post-Launch Phase: After deployment, Sherlock maintains security through Bug Bounties with stake-gated submissions and lead auditor review, plus Sherlock Shield which provides financial coverage for audited contracts during live operation, with coverage amounts determined by audit scores.

Key Strengths

Sherlock's platform is distinguished by its data-driven approach to security. Every auditor in the network is ranked by verified accuracy, impact, and specialization, with performance metrics informing team assembly for each engagement. The platform has completed over 400 audits, uncovered 2,000+ critical vulnerabilities, and secured protocols managing $250B+ in TVL. Sherlock's collaborative model consistently outperforms traditional audits, finding more severe issues when reviewing the same codebases.

The company's researcher network includes elite security experts like record-setting auditors, with researchers ranked through a merit-based system where access and earnings follow performance. This actuarial approach to audit design uses predictive modeling to match domain experts to specific codebases.

Notable Clients and Projects

Sherlock secures leading Web3 protocols including Aave, Sky (formerly MakerDAO), Morpho, Centrifuge, and the Ethereum Foundation. Case studies demonstrate Sherlock's impact: Centrifuge integrated Sherlock AI into daily development to surface earlier security signals across their complex multi-chain protocol, Morpho used Sherlock's Blackthorn collaborative audit to secure their Vaults V2 immutable vault standard before September 2025 launch, and Perennial relied on Sherlock to uncover hidden systemic risks in their DeFi derivatives protocol through broad adversarial review.

Why Choose Sherlock

Sherlock delivers trust at the scale required for global financial systems by aligning world-class researchers, advanced auditing technology, and financial coverage into a unified lifecycle security model. Unlike point-in-time audits, Sherlock's continuous protection model means security work compounds across each engagement - development insights inform auditing, audit findings shape post-launch protection, and each phase strengthens the next instead of starting from zero. This approach reduces late-stage rework, cuts audit costs, accelerates launch timelines, and provides measurable proof that specialists with demonstrated track records reviewed the code.