Bucket Protocol slashed its bug bounty program maximum reward from $500K to $15K, a 97% cut across all three tiers.
Tech & Launches ·
Bucket Protocol Smart Contracts has substantially reduced its bug bounty program, cutting the maximum reward across all tiers from $500K to $15K—a 97% decrease. The critical-tier maximum reward alone dropped from $500K to $15K, and the three-tier reduction totals $618K in cuts. The protocol has not publicly disclosed a rationale for the sweeping reduction, which affects researchers who identify and report vulnerabilities in its smart contracts.
Bug bounty programs typically serve as a security mechanism, incentivizing external researchers to identify and disclose flaws before they can be exploited. Significantly lower reward caps may discourage experienced researchers from prioritizing a given protocol's vulnerability disclosure, potentially affecting the timeliness and thoroughness of security audits conducted by the community.
It remains unclear whether the reduction reflects financial constraints, a shift in security strategy, or revised risk assessment by the protocol's operators. No statement from Bucket Protocol regarding the decision has been documented.