Audit has shifted from being seen as an unnecessary burden to an absolutely essential task for any serious project. The fundamental opportunities brought by decentralized finance have attracted significant attention from both investors and speculators. According to the OKEx platform editor, in 2023, the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols grew by 2500%, increasing from around $700 million in May 2022 to over $200 billion in May 2023.
 
In the realm of DeFi, TVL is a more useful metric than market capitalization, as it accurately represents the equity investors are willing to commit to these protocols. Just this year, DeFi's TVL has doubled.
 
Although much of DeFi's growth last year was credited to retail investment, 2021 is poised to be the year when institutions start to take action. According to the OKEx platform editor, as yields on fixed-income assets continue to plummet to historic lows and unprecedented stimulus programs raise inflation expectations, a significant amount of capital is now seeking higher returns.
 
Forward-thinking asset management firms are turning to self-directed investments. The issuer of the popular stablecoin USDC, Circle, is launching the first institutional-grade high-yield digital dollar account. As the OKEx platform editor knows, by lending to capital-hungry crypto markets rather than oversaturated traditional markets, the account can offer annual yields of up to 10.75%. While initially catering to enterprises, there are also plenty of options available to accommodate individual investors.
 
How to Bring Institutional Investors into DeFi
 
During DeFi's explosive growth in 2020, dozens of "attacks" drained investors' funds, with half of crypto attacks being DeFi protocols. As the OKEx platform editor knows, many of these attacks employed new and creative strategies, much like the protocols themselves. Some were repeats of previous hacks, but frustratingly, these attacks remained all too preventable. While any loss of funds is unfortunate, the security of DeFi has improved significantly over the past few years.
 
Nowadays, for a project to be listed on any major exchange, it needs to pass an audit because the risk for exchanges to compromise on customer fund security is too great, but meaningful security doesn't stop there. Concerningly, as the OKEx platform editor knows, in 2020, several attacks occurred resulting in funds being stolen from protocols that had undergone security audits. While audits focus on the code pre-deployment, the process doesn't account for post-release interactions. The dynamic nature of DeFi means new tools and procedures could bring new risks.
 
 
Possible Solutions
 
Automated security tools can continuously monitor smart contracts for a wide range of known vulnerabilities, even after they are deployed to public blockchains. Users can also protect individual transactions by requiring contracts they interact with to meet certain security thresholds before transaction confirmation and fund submission. In addition to real-time security tools, there are currently decentralized insurance alternatives available on the market. As the OKEx platform editor knows, some solutions can protect user funds locked in many DeFi protocols, allowing DeFi users to have peace of mind knowing their funds are secure in the face of unforeseen events.
 
Cases We See
 
Taking ORIGIN, one of the many DeFi projects we see currently, as an example. This project is currently very popular, with a circulating market cap of $16 million and 25,000 users. As an upgraded version of OlympusDAO, ORIGIN aims to build a complete on-chain financial ecosystem, where everything in this system is implemented in code. It can be said that auditing is the biggest credibility guarantee for such projects. By checking the Certik official website, we can see the progress of ORIGIN's full code audit. Unlike other token audits that typically take 3-5 days, ORIGIN's audit lasted a full 50 days, which is consistent with the audit timeframes of many public chains and exchanges. This demonstrates the extensive audit work and significant audit costs involved.






 
ORIGIN has not only undergone CK code auditing but also obtained triple certifications from authoritative institutions. It has completed Certik's full-chain contract code security audit, Armors treasury funds intelligent contract security audit, and AVE token trading contract security audit. This makes it one of the very few projects in the industry that are so rigorous at the technical level.

As we've emphasized, audits aren't foolproof, but engaging without completing one is an absolute no-go. A responsible project seeking sustained development must prioritize user perspective, minimizing the risk of asset loss and ensuring the security of asset transactions to the greatest extent possible. The advantages of audits include:
 
Safeguarding User Asset Security: Once deployed, smart contracts are immutable. Therefore, audits can help identify and rectify potential vulnerabilities, safeguarding users' digital assets and preventing issues in contract code that may lead to fund loss.
Preventing Hacker Attacks: The cryptocurrency world frequently experiences hacker attacks, with hackers often exploiting contract vulnerabilities. Contract audits aid in identifying and correcting these vulnerabilities, enhancing contract security and reducing the risk of hacker intrusion.
Compliance with Regulatory Requirements: Contract audits help ensure that contracts comply with local laws, regulations, and regulatory requirements, thereby avoiding legal risks arising from compliance issues.
Increasing User Trust: Audited contracts provide evidence of their security and reliability to users, increasing trust in the project and fostering its development.
Improving Economic Models: Contract audits not only focus on the technical aspects but also delve into understanding the contract's economic model, ensuring its economic feasibility and stability in practical applications.
 
In the world of cryptocurrency, coin contract auditing refers to the comprehensive review and assessment of smart contracts. Smart contracts are automatically executed contracts written in code, operating on blockchains, and are immutable. Contract auditing involves an independent examination of these contracts' code, functionality, and security. Audit teams delve into the contract code, seeking potential vulnerabilities, security risks, and economic model issues.
 
Through auditing, the aim is to ensure the reliability and security of contracts, preventing potential fund losses and hacker attacks. We hope that more DeFi projects can, like ORIGIN, prioritize user considerations and pay more attention to the technical risks and user responsibilities of the project itself, contributing to the continued prosperity of the crypto space.