Introducing the Rekt Test

The continued growth of the digital asset ecosystem means security exploits are becoming more costly than ever before. Industry participants need to take a security-first approach to protect consumers and the ecosystem as a whole. At Anchorage Digital, security has been foundational since the very start, allowing us to safeguard billions of dollars in digital assets for some of the biggest institutional names in finance. That is why today, we are proud to join a consortium of industry-leading firms in announcing the Rekt Test, a new initiative to make blockchains more secure and resilient.

Much like crypto itself, the Rekt Test is driven by consensus among industry members that new blockchains need a better approach to security. Earlier this year, I joined a group of blockchain security and policy experts from across the industry to identify ways we can work together to protect consumers and prevent attacks and security exploits. Together, we developed the Rekt Test as the first in a series of industry initiatives aimed at preventing, mitigating, and responding to security exploits on-chain.

The Rekt Test is a simple, 12-question guide that blockchain developers can use to assess the maturity of the overall security program of their project. Designed as a starting point for informed discussion on blockchain security, the Rekt Test provides a framework for developers to determine if their project:

• Is ready for launch;
• Contains basic safeguards against attackers and scammers; and
• Complies with best practices for access control, custody and key management, and safety against other vectors for attacker exploits.    

The Rekt Test will not prevent all exploits—blockchain protocols, DeFi projects, and other industry participants still need sound architecture, rigorous auditing, and proper security controls. Nonetheless, the Rekt Test is designed as an out-of-the-box tool that provides clear Web3 security guidance for blockchain projects, drawing on industry best practices.  

While the Rekt Test helps teams assess the security posture of their projects, at Anchorage Digital, we also believe blockchain organizations should take the critical step in protecting treasury assets with a qualified custodian that utilizes the technologies of air-gapped hardware security modules (HSMs) to protect all digital wallet keys.

As an industry leader in security and custody with the only federally chartered crypto bank, Anchorage Digital is trusted by leading protocols for pre-launch support, post-mainnet scaling, treasury management, team distributions, governance, staking, and access to institutions. Helping to develop the Rekt Test marks the latest in our commitment to provide innovative blockchain projects with the best in safety and security.

Anchorage Digital is proud to serve as a partner for protocols as we work together to advance a safer, more secure digital asset ecosystem. If you would like to learn more about how Anchorage Digital provides the secure infrastructure and regulatory certainty that protocols need for sustainable growth, please get in touch.