Security1 hOctober 15, 2026, 15:26

Public smart-contract audit contests down 83%, submissions up 24%

An analysis of open data from Sherlock and Cantina shows public smart-contract audit contests fell from 76 in H1 2024 to 13 in H1 2026 (−83%), while submissions rose from 15,787 to 19,614 (+24%). Each contest now draws 7.3 times more submissions — 1,509 versus 208.

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Public smart-contract audit contests down 83%, submissions up 24%

Contests: 76 in H1 2024 vs 13 in H1 2026, an 83% drop
Submissions per contest: 208 in H1 2024 vs 1,509 in H1 2026
Median prize pool rose from $30k to $60k, median duration from 6 to 10 days
In Revert Finance's contest, 8 of 59 researchers took 82.7% of the $50k pool

#Sherlock#Cantina#Immunefi

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