Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson challenges hackers to test Lace wallet security with $1M bounty

In a bold move to demonstrate the security of the Lace Paper Wallet, Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, has offered a $1 million reward to anyone who can successfully breach its defences.

The challenge, announced in a video on X (formerly Twitter) on August 17, will remain open until the end of 2024 or until someone claims the bounty by hacking the wallet.

The Lace Paper Wallet’s Security Features

The Lace Paper Wallet, developed by Hoskinson’s company IOG (Input Output Global), is designed to be one of the most secure in the cryptocurrency industry. It includes two QR codes: one for the public key and one for the private key.

The private key’s QR code is encrypted using Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), a well-known encryption method, to protect against common risks associated with paper wallets.

Hoskinson described the Lace Wallet as “the most secure paper wallet ever generated in the history of our industry.”

He expressed confidence that the wallet’s security features, including protection against replay attacks, make it exceptionally difficult for unauthorized users to access the private key and perform unauthorized transactions.

The $1 Million Bounty Details

The bounty offers $1 million in USDM stablecoin to the first person who can hack the wallet by accessing its encrypted private key and retrieving a non-fungible token (NFT) stored within. To claim the reward, participants must meet several conditions:

• They must pass a Know Your Customer (KYC) process.
• They must exclusively disclose the vulnerability to IOG.
• They are prohibited from using social engineering techniques to breach the wallet.

Objective and Purpose

The goal of this bounty program is to uncover any vulnerabilities in the Lace Wallet that may have been missed during development.

By offering such a significant financial incentive, Hoskinson and the Cardano team hope to either confirm the wallet’s robust security or identify areas that require further improvement before its public release.