INTERvIEW
0x Guard Founder Interview:
Building a Successful Affordable Audit Service
Building a Successful Affordable Audit Service
2023-08-24
There are many smart contract auditors, some of them occupy the top tier, and some go for affordability. Today we are talking to the 0xGuard founder about building an affordable audit company with high-quality service.
Let’s start with the basics. Why is a smart contract audit needed?
Well, first of all, let me start by saying that auditing smart contracts is like having a second pair of eyes – but these eyes have superpowers! You see, the purpose of auditing smart contracts is to ensure that they are as foolproof as possible. And trust me, in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain, we can't afford to have any fools running loose.
Think of smart contracts as ultra-smart, self-executing agreements we all wish we had in our lives. They handle transactions, verify identities, and even take care of your coffee cravings (well, almost). But just like with any advanced technology, there's always a risk of bugs, vulnerabilities, or even malicious code.
That's where the audit superheroes come in! These brilliant minds dig deep into the code, uncover any potential weaknesses, and make sure that everything is running smoothly. They sniff out bugs like a bloodhound on a mission, leaving no stone unturned (or no line of code unexamined).
In a nutshell, auditing smart contracts is crucial to ensure their security and reliability. It's like having a superhero squad checking every nook and cranny of the code, making sure that no evil bugs harm our precious digital assets.
Think of smart contracts as ultra-smart, self-executing agreements we all wish we had in our lives. They handle transactions, verify identities, and even take care of your coffee cravings (well, almost). But just like with any advanced technology, there's always a risk of bugs, vulnerabilities, or even malicious code.
That's where the audit superheroes come in! These brilliant minds dig deep into the code, uncover any potential weaknesses, and make sure that everything is running smoothly. They sniff out bugs like a bloodhound on a mission, leaving no stone unturned (or no line of code unexamined).
In a nutshell, auditing smart contracts is crucial to ensure their security and reliability. It's like having a superhero squad checking every nook and cranny of the code, making sure that no evil bugs harm our precious digital assets.
Thank you. That makes sense, we want everything to work properly and if we can’t guarantee it ourselves, it’s wise to seek help. Let’s move forward, Your prices start from $900 while big-name companies like Certik take thousands of dollars for their service. Why is that and does the price tag in any way reflect the quality?
We set the fairest price in the entire crypto security market.
This price includes covering the salaries of auditors, website maintenance, as well as promotion by our ambassadors.
We really believe that $900 is a very reasonable price. But keep in mind that each case is individual. Every time before preparing an offer, we evaluate the code: its number of lines and its complexity.
You can pay for an audit from more well-known and bigger companies. That would set you back $20,000 or sometimes $50,000. But that’s paying for the brand that doesn’t necessarily affect the quality. You can pay more and still get an automated audit. And a (relatively) cheap smart contract audit doesn’t always mean a bad one.
Our goal is to provide high quality without raising the price. That’s 0xGuard’s main focus. We do not run huge PR campaigns. The best PR is your positive feedback about our smart contract audit services.
This price includes covering the salaries of auditors, website maintenance, as well as promotion by our ambassadors.
We really believe that $900 is a very reasonable price. But keep in mind that each case is individual. Every time before preparing an offer, we evaluate the code: its number of lines and its complexity.
You can pay for an audit from more well-known and bigger companies. That would set you back $20,000 or sometimes $50,000. But that’s paying for the brand that doesn’t necessarily affect the quality. You can pay more and still get an automated audit. And a (relatively) cheap smart contract audit doesn’t always mean a bad one.
Our goal is to provide high quality without raising the price. That’s 0xGuard’s main focus. We do not run huge PR campaigns. The best PR is your positive feedback about our smart contract audit services.
Understood. Now another question that might interest potential clients is the process of a smart contract audit. How many steps does it involve and how long does it take to conduct one?
he audit of smart contracts includes 2 main stages.
1. Automatic check.
2. Manual check.
Automatic check is carried out using automated soft and AI. But this is only 5% of the total amount of work.
During manual verification, our team of auditors divides the smart contract code into several parts and checks them independently from each other. After that, all the results are combined and our Lead Auditor rechecks the final results.
When all that is finished, we write the audit report and publish it on GitHub and Twitter.
Now time is a whole other issue. Each audit takes up different amounts of time, depending on its volume and complexity.
Usually, a smart contract audit takes us 2-3 days, but sometimes we can work on an audit for a whole month. We’ve had such cases in our practice. That also affects the smart contract audit cost, as I’ve said earlier.
1. Automatic check.
2. Manual check.
Automatic check is carried out using automated soft and AI. But this is only 5% of the total amount of work.
During manual verification, our team of auditors divides the smart contract code into several parts and checks them independently from each other. After that, all the results are combined and our Lead Auditor rechecks the final results.
When all that is finished, we write the audit report and publish it on GitHub and Twitter.
Now time is a whole other issue. Each audit takes up different amounts of time, depending on its volume and complexity.
Usually, a smart contract audit takes us 2-3 days, but sometimes we can work on an audit for a whole month. We’ve had such cases in our practice. That also affects the smart contract audit cost, as I’ve said earlier.
So the real smart contract audit process takes a village, so to speak. That’s good to know. Now let’s talk a little about 0xGuard. You’re already a well-known company. How long have you been active?
We have been doing audits for over 2 years under the 0xGuard brand.
But our specialists have much more experience in analyzing and researching code for vulnerabilities and bugs, as well as in development in general. We all worked for bigger auditors at one point or another but eventually found our way to 0xGuard.
Frankly, it’s been freeing to be able to build our own process and set the pricing at a level we know would be attractive to new project owners.
But our specialists have much more experience in analyzing and researching code for vulnerabilities and bugs, as well as in development in general. We all worked for bigger auditors at one point or another but eventually found our way to 0xGuard.
Frankly, it’s been freeing to be able to build our own process and set the pricing at a level we know would be attractive to new project owners.
And what about the challenges? In building 0xGuard and growing it?
The most difficult thing for me, as the founder of an audit company, was the very beginning. Assembling a team of highly qualified specialists with extensive experience in auditing smart contracts. It’s not just about finding the best candidate in terms of skills. You have to balance personalities and work habits. This wasn’t easy but in time, we actually found the perfect harmony that allows us to work efficiently.
Okay, now for the last question. And this one is important. Is there any bit of wisdom you could share with auditors or those looking to become one?
Definitely, yes. Always make sure that your work is well done. Remember what exactly depends on you. Sometimes it’s a project’s success but sometimes it’s people’s finances. That’s something that can easily build or ruin your reputation. And once ruined, it will be hard to build back up.