Apparently Ethical Crypto Hackers Are Not Doing It For Money

A recent study by Immunefi found that most white hat hackers crack cryptocurrencies to solve technical problems. Believe it or not, it’s up to you.

On Thursday, Immunefi, Web3’s bug bounty platform, released new statistics showing that money is not the main motivation for white hat hackers.

According to their Hacker Ecosystem Survey, 77% of respondents are more interested in solving technical challenges than getting paid. This is followed by 69% interested in money, 62% in career opportunities and 38% in community. Other factors that motivate them are learning about the future of the internet and decentralized technology and staying ahead of the curve.

A white hat hacker is someone who abuses systems and networks for ethical purposes. Their stated purpose is to test and improve compromised systems. This may or may not be with permission. They are different from “black hat” hackers who exploit them for personal gain.

Crypto hacking is a youth game

This may come as a surprise to victims of thousands of crypto exploits, according to Chainalysis, which broke records for the number of stolen funds last year. So maybe we need white hats more than ever?

According to the report, the majority of white hat hackers are between the ages of 20 and 29 (54%), with a small percentage over the age of 40 (12.4%).

The majority of white hat hackers are men (95.5%), while more women are trying to abuse cryptocurrencies. Also, most of the respondents consider hacking to be their main job (55.8%), while the rest of the respondents hack in their free time and work as software developers in the web3 or security industry.

When it comes to chains, white hat hackers are mostly interested in Ethereum (92%). Others are far behind. Solana (SOL) is second at 31%, followed by Avalanche (AVAX) at 20.4%, Cosmos (ATOM) at 13.3% and Tezos (XTZ) at 8%.