Blockchain white hat hackers

Abstract

Part II, 'How Decentralised Security is Organised,’ examines the actors, infrastructures, and incentives that shape security practices in Web3—from the structural insecurity of digital infrastructure to the emergent role of white hat hackers and collaborative security initiatives they coordinate. This chapter introduces a new protagonist in the security landscape: the blockchain white hat hacker. Far from operating in the shadows, this actors play a vital role in the moral, political, and economic landscape of blockchains by helping to safeguard decentralised systems. This chapter examines the practices, motivations and incentives—both financial, moral, and reputational—that drive white hat activity, highlighting how these individuals contribute to vulnerability disclosure, incident response and the overall resilience of the blockchain ecosystem. In doing so, it situates white hats not as central figures in the evolving ecosystem of decentralised security governance.