How to Apply for the Arbitrum Audit Fund, and Pick the Right Partner

The Arbitrum ecosystem just launched one of the largest security grant programs in crypto - the Arbitrum Audit Program - allocating $10M in ARB to subsidize audits for early-stage projects over one year. It's a big step toward supporting safer growth across the Arbitrum ecosystem, especially for teams moving quickly with limited budgets.

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Nethermind Security is proud to be one of the first 12 audit firms approved by the Arbitrum DAO. After a rigorous two-step evaluation process, including document screening followed by technical interviews, we're now eligible to audit teams applying through the program, alongside leading firms like Trail of Bits, OpenZeppelin, and Certora.

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Why it matters

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Security is often one of the most underfunded pieces of the dev stack. The cost of a high-quality audit can prevent early-stage teams from prioritizing it - or delay them from going live.

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The Arbitrum Audit Program is designed to change that. It provides subsidized funding for eligible teams who:

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• Are building or plan to build on Arbitrum
• Have a clear use case and product-market fit
• Are planning upgrades or new deployments

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With funding in place and a vetted list of auditors to choose from, it's now easier than ever for teams to ship more securely - without compromising timelines or traction.

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What to expect from the application

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Applying to the program is straightforward. Projects submit basic details about their protocol, GitHub repos, audit scope, and preferred timeline and preferred auditor.

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Once approved, teams are matched with audit firms through the Arbitrum Audit Committee, which includes members from the Arbitrum Foundation, Offchain Labs, and DAO-elected technical experts. The Foundation selected audit partners through a rigorous evaluation process, assessing firms on track record with recent references, technical depth, pricing models, availability, and the specific qualifications of auditors who would work on Arbitrum projects.

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What to look for in an audit partner

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Choosing the right audit firm is more than ticking a checkbox. Teams should look for:

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• Deep experience with L2 and rollup ecosystems
• A track record of working in the open (public reports, shared findings)
• Clear communication throughout the audit

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What sets Nethermind Security apart

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Many audit firms treat security as a checkbox exercise. At Nethermind Security, we focus on what matters most: complex business logic vulnerabilities that could fundamentally alter your protocol's behavior. This approach, combined with our collaborative methodology, is why over 70% of our workload comes from returning clients who view us as long-term security partners, not just service providers.

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Here’s what distinguishes a truly effective audit partner, and how we deliver on that standard:

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• Deep collaborative process - Direct integration with your dev team through twice-weekly syncs and direct auditor-to-developer communication, not just a final report handoff
• Business logic expertise - Specialized focus on complex protocol behavior that could silently break your system for months if missed
• Sustainable quality approach - We prioritize quality over speed. Our audits may take longer, but we never rush or overextend our team. Each auditor reviews about 700 lines of code per week, ensuring every assessment is thorough and sustainable.
• Proven partnership track record - A high repeat client rate demonstrating long-term value beyond one-time audits

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Our engineering-first approach, especially across Ethereum, Taiko, Gnosis, and zkSync, gives us an edge when it comes to identifying protocol-level vulnerabilities.

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Since 2022, Nethermind Security has audited over 200,000 lines of code and surfaced 1,700+ vulnerabilities - including for L2 teams preparing for mainnet.

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Why we're excited

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Audits aren't just a compliance step. They help strengthen codebases, prevent exploits, and give your users more confidence. And now, thanks to the Arbitrum DAO, access to high-quality collaborative audits is more equitable through this carefully curated program.

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We're excited to support more teams building in the Arbitrum ecosystem with the same integrated approach that's earned the trust of projects like Starknet, Lido, Polygon, and zkSync.

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Learn more or apply to the Arbitrum Audit Program →