Security and Smart Contract Audits
stake.link combines independent audits, real-time monitoring and slow, multi-party control over protocol changes.
Audits
Section titled “Audits”Smart contracts are audited by independent firms before deployment and after significant upgrades. All reports are published in the audits folder of the stakedotlink/contracts repository.
| Date | Auditor | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-29 | Cyfrin | PR187 |
| 2026-03-23 | Cyfrin | Rebase batching |
| 2026-02-04 | Cyfrin | Espresso staking |
| 2025-08-02 | Cyfrin | SDL vesting |
| 2025-07-02 | Zellic | Polygon staking |
| 2025-06-04 | Cyfrin | LINK migrator |
| 2025-05-19 | Cyfrin | Polygon staking |
| 2025-02-28 | Cyfrin | Chainlink rewards claiming |
| 2025-02-04 | Trust Security | LINK staking withdrawals |
| 2025-01-20 | Cyfrin | Staking proxy |
| 2024-11-27 | CodeHawks | LINK staking withdrawals |
| 2024-09-17 | Cyfrin | LINK staking withdrawals |
| 2023-10-01 | Trust Security | Priority Pool and LINK Staking v0.2 |
| 2023-08-25 | Cyfrin | Priority Pool |
| 2023-08-06 | Trust Security | SDL Pool |
| 2023-01-01 | Sigma Prime | Core and LINK staking |
| 2022-08-01 | Sigma Prime | Core staking contracts |
The repository contains more reports, including for earlier and retired products.
Real-time monitoring
Section titled “Real-time monitoring”stake.link uses Hypernative for 24/7 monitoring of on-chain and off-chain activity. It detects threats such as economic exploits, governance attacks, oracle deviations and phishing campaigns, and triggers alerts and automated responses.
Multisig and timelock
Section titled “Multisig and timelock”- 6-of-8 multisig. Critical operations and treasury funds are controlled by a Gnosis Safe. Every transaction needs six of eight signers. The signers include core contributors, Chainlink node operators, a representative elected by the SDL DAO, and an independent corporate services firm.
- 48-hour timelock. Actions executed by the multisig go through the GovernanceTimelock, which gives the community time to review pending changes.
Emergency controls
Section titled “Emergency controls”The RebaseController closes the Priority Pool when a strategy loss exceeds a set threshold, or when an emergency pauser triggers a pause. This halts deposits, withdrawals and rebases. Only the contract owner can reopen it.
Non-custodial design
Section titled “Non-custodial design”Node operators and core contributors never take custody of user funds. Smart contracts stake deposits directly into the underlying networks’ official staking contracts, and you hold your position as a liquid staking token.
Like any DeFi protocol, stake.link carries risks, including smart contract bugs, market volatility and liquidation risk when liquid staking tokens are used as collateral. Do your own research. See the FAQ for details.