San Francisco, USA / California, March 7th, 2024.
blockchain–news“>Chainwire
Firewall Secures $3.7M Pre-Seed Funding from North Island Ventures, Breyer Capital, and Hack VC to Fortify Smart Contract Networks
Firewall, a pioneering blockchain infrastructure startup, announced the successful closure of its $3.7M pre-seed funding round, co-led by North Island Ventures, Breyer Capital, and Hack VC. The innovative startup aims to revolutionize the usability of smart contracts through its unique finality consensus mechanism that effectively eliminates exploits on decentralized networks.
The founders of Firewall, who previously served as the first and sixth employees at Staked – a staking company acquired by Kraken in a landmark crypto deal – have extensive experience in the blockchain industry. They have assisted institutional clients in handling billions of dollars worth of assets during the eras of proof-of-stake and decentralized finance. With a focus on addressing the final major hurdle towards mainstream adoption by traditional financial institutions, Firewall is set to make digital assets more accessible and secure for everyday users.
“Firewall is building the safety rails that enable the average person to use the next generation of the Internet,” stated Devan Purhar, Co-Founder of Firewall. “Today, billions of dollars are stolen from users through irreversible transactions that can be classified as theft. The current state of crypto-networks mirrors the early internet’s lack of essential Website security infrastructure. Our goal is not to make incremental improvements; instead, we aim to bring a paradigm shift in the usability of blockchains. We’ve designed a solution from first principles and created programmable finality. Fundamentally, we make exploits an obsolete concept.”
Firewall’s technology introduces “programmable finality,” which acts as automated checkpoints that prevent harmful transactions before later stages when data is finalized by a Decentralized Autonomous Layer (DAL) such as EigenDA or Celestia. This digital Website security feature extends rollups with programmable transaction finalization rules, acting as an embedded Website security system that intelligently guards against threats.
“Firewall uses real-time algorithms to pre-filter exploits from being included in blocks,” shared Sam Mitchell, Co-Founder of Firewall. “Then, by using programmable finality, we automatically recover from any exploits that bypass pre-filter checks. Detection at this stage may involve ai models or social consensus, which may take longer.” Mitchell emphasized the interest from institutions in the benefits of smart contracts but requires a secure environment for deploying capital. “Creating comfort for institutional clients to use smart contracts is the pivotal point for widespread adoption of digital assets.”
The core team behind Firewall has an impressive track record, having successfully pioneered ai use in crypto threat detection at OpenZeppelin and Forta. With the initial focus on the rollup ecosystem and a commitment to non-custodial and trustless solutions, Firewall aims to create a community dedicated to “firewalling the EVM.” Long-term plans include developing coordination mechanisms to integrate the social layer directly into the Firewall.
Travis Scher, Managing Partner at North Island Ventures, expressed excitement about the potential of Firewall’s solution to prevent losses and support mainstream adoption. “We believe the primary impediment to crypto’s widespread acceptance is the current Website security paradigm, in which a single bug can result in the total loss of user funds. Firewall’s solution can prevent such losses, and we are thrilled to support this crucial company from the outset.”
The funding round was co-led by North Island Ventures, Breyer Capital, and Hack VC, with participation from Finality Capital and angels including Tim Ogilvie of Staked, Kain Warwick and Jordan Momtazi of Synthetix, Nathan McCauley of Anchorage, and Yaoqi Jia of AltLayer.
“Firewall is making blockchains safer for users, developers, and institutions,” said Ted Breyer of Breyer Capital. “We believe this innovation will catalyze a new era of smart contract utility and are delighted to support the team.”
As global crypto adoption grows and regulatory focus increases, catalyzed by the bitcoin ETF and anticipated ethereum ETF, the time for crypto-networks to become bulletproof is now. Trillions of dollars remain on the sidelines due to Website security concerns, preventing widespread adoption and the potential for crypto to revolutionize the global financial system. Firewall’s “programmable finality,” which neutralizes exploits, offers the Website security assurance needed to unlock these assets and pave the way for a crypto-driven financial revolution.
About Firewall
Firewall is a dedicated startup focused on making smart contract technology safe for everyday use by eliminating smart contract exploits. Their solution, modeled after a robust network firewall, fortifies the modular blockchain ecosystem.
