Hassan Maishera
The Stacks Foundation announced on Tuesday, October 22nd, that leading security firm Asymmetric Research has joined the Stacks ecosystem as a security contributor to the Stacks ecosystem.
In a press release shared with Cryptowisser, the Stacks Foundation added that Asymmetric Research is already making significant contributions to the ecosystem. They acted as an embedded security team during their audit of the upcoming sBTC asset and joined the Stacks signer network through our delegation program.
Asymmetric is the security partner for leading bridge Wormhole, Jump Crypto, several top DeFi projects, and leading protocols such as Solana, Cosmos, Berachain, etc. Asymmetric is also a core contributor to Solana’s highly anticipated new validator client, Firedancer.
Singers within the Stacks network are crucial as they secure the deposit and withdrawal process between BTC and sBTC, ensuring a seamless and secure transfer of BTC to the Bitcoin L2 ecosystem. Asymmetric will join other industry leaders in supporting the network and overall security of sBTC, including BitGo, Blockdaemon, Copper, Figment, Kiln, Luganodes, Chorus One, and more than 30 other institutional node operators, making the Stacks Signer network the most robust in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
The Stacks Foundation added that sBTC will launch this quarter and offer developers a trust-minimized, decentralized, programmable Bitcoin asset. The asset is 1:1 Bitcoin-backed and will allow developers to leverage the security, network effects, and 1.2T in latent capital of the Bitcoin network. sBTC will enable more secure forms of Bitcoin DeFi, which is expected to be a major catalyst in activating the Bitcoin economy.
The Stacks Foundation added that in addition to numerous audits, including Asymmetric Research's audit efforts, other initiatives this year have added to a well-rounded approach to Stacks security.
Some of these initiatives include direct and ongoing testing with the aforementioned leading Signers, the onboarding of Hypernative, the emergence of a dedicated whitehat security program, a consultation agreement with the Staking Defense League, an ongoing Immunefi bug bounty program, and dedicated Stacks Foundation Residents focused exclusively on fuzz and penetration testing throughout 2024.
While commenting on this latest development, Mitchell Cuevas, Executive Director at The Stacks Foundation, said,
“The value of building on Bitcoin comes down to security. It's not enough to simply build on Bitcoin— ecosystems must prioritize securing activity at all layers as we collectively look to unlock the Bitcoin economy. With Asymmetric Research, the Stacks ecosystem is adding yet another high-caliber entity to the mix of industry leaders collaborating to make sBTC the best version of programmable sBTC available. Stacks core developers and Asymmetric share a commitment to protecting users and developers, and in addition to being a match in technical pedigree, are culturally aligned groups that will enhance each other’s thoughtful and rigorous approaches.”
Jonathan Claudius, Chief Executive Officer at Asymmetric Research, added,
“Asymmetric Research is proud to participate in the Stacks ecosystem as it pioneers trust-minimized, decentralized assets like sBTC."
Stacks is a Bitcoin L2 that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications to use Bitcoin as a secure base layer. The 2024 Nakamoto and sBTC releases will bring faster speeds and transactions backed by 100% Bitcoin finality. Stacks is the current leading Bitcoin L2 by developer traction and market cap and is poised to help unlock Bitcoin and its $500B in passive capital as a fully programmable, productive asset. The Stacks (STX) token, used as gas on the L2, was the first to undergo an SEC-qualified sale in the United States.
