The Uniswap Foundation has committed $1.2M to Areta to create the Uniswap Foundation Security Fund that subsidizes security audits for teams building hooks on Uniswap v4, with nine initial teams selected to receive subsidies. We’re excited to share an update on this initiative below.
The Uniswap Foundation empowers the growth, decentralization, and sustainability of the Uniswap community through the support of builders at every stage of development. With Uniswap v4 on the horizon, a new era of permissionless development begins as builders can contribute to the Protocol through hooks.
The innovation of hooks brings new security challenges. These specialized smart contracts require advanced security audits, with costs that are significant for early-stage projects. This creates a barrier for promising projects, especially those in early stages.
About the UFSF
To address this challenge and protect Protocol users, the UF announced a $1,200,000 commitment to Areta in October 2024 to operate the Uniswap Foundation Security Fund (UFSF). This initiative enhances the safety and integrity of the Uniswap v4 hook developer community by improving access to premium audits with top providers and subsidizing security audits for builders.
The initiative creates a marketplace where vetted providers compete to deliver high-quality audits at competitive prices. Through the UFSF, Areta streamlines the audit process and reduces costs, operating through a standardized provider pool that ensures transparent pricing and quality standards. Projects can obtain quotes from whitelisted providers and select their preferred auditor, with the Foundation subsidizing up to the full cost for qualifying teams.
BP from Gamma Strategies, a subsidy recipient under the UFSF, describes this challenge: "For a lot of new projects that don't have a lot of external funding, there's a risk to developing smart contracts on top of a brand new smart contract suite that is not live or in production which can show the potential marketability of the development.”
Meet the Subsidy Recipients
We're excited to share progress on the UFSF implementation. In the first cohort, we have selected 9 teams to receive subsidized audits, each representing various use cases for Uniswap v4 hooks:
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Bunni: A rehypothecation, shapeshifting hook that combines lending vault APYs with swap fees
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Collar Protocol: Building DeFi infrastructure.
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Cork Protocol: Creating a market for onchain Credit Default Swaps with custom fees and liquidity concentration.
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Gamma Strategies: Developing a limit order hook where users earn LP fees instead of paying order fees, Building limit orders as single-sided liquidity positions.
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LIKWID.FI / COLABO: Building a permissionless, oracle-less margin trading protocol.
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Lumis: Creating delta-neutral stablecoin and synthetic ETH vaults with dynamic impermanent loss hedging.
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Tenor: Developing a custom interest rate AMM for fixed rate token swaps.
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Paladin / Mithras Labs: Creating an incentive manager hook enabling control over time, ticks and assets for optimal incentive control.
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Unicord: Maximizing yield for stablecoin pools through lending protocol integration.
Through these subsidies, we're seeing the direct impact of removing cost as a barrier to security. Many teams reported that audit expenses were a major hurdle in their development process, potentially forcing them to choose between security and continued development.
The UFSF enables teams to prioritize building without compromising on security or seeking additional funding. "Audits come with high costs, making it challenging for early-stage projects like ours to afford without support," says Yevhen from Lumis. He continues, “After receiving a UFSF subsidy, we were able to focus on development rather than fundraising from VCs, allowing us to proceed with confidence knowing that our code will meet the highest standards of security.”
Beyond immediate security benefits, teams are finding that audits strengthen their position in the ecosystem. The LIKWID team emphasizes this impact: "The audit builds our credibility in the industry. It aligns our project with established security standards, which helps attract more users and developers who trust our commitment to security, furthering our goal of providing a secure and transparent platform for the community.”
Whitelisted Providers and Next Steps
The Uniswap Foundation Security Fund works with 16 whitelisted audit providers to streamline security audits for v4 hook developers. Through our marketplace, vetted providers compete to offer high-quality audits at competitive prices, making security accessible to projects of all sizes.
We're grateful to our audit partners for their commitment to securing the future of Uniswap v4. We'll share more details about our provider selection process and marketplace mechanics in coming weeks.
Uniswap Foundation Security Fund Links and Resources
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Declaration of Interest Form (in receiving a subsidy for your audit):
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Notion Hub:
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Telegram Group: