Dickson Wu and Robert MacWha, Initiative Leads for the SEAL Whitehat Safe Harbor Agreement
Today, we’re announcing the adoption of the SEAL Whitehat Safe Harbor Agreement by Uniswap Governance, joining a growing list of leading DeFi protocols including Balancer, Origin, Polymarket, Sandclock, and Silo. The agreement provides legal protection to whitehat hackers who assist in recovering assets during active protocol exploits.
Each protocol that adopts the SEAL Whitehat Safe Harbor Agreement strengthens the security fabric of DeFi as a whole. Uniswap Governance’s adoption represents a particularly significant milestone as one of the ecosystem's most widely-used protocols. Its implementation demonstrates how mature protocols can integrate additional security layers while maintaining operational efficiency.
The SEAL Whitehat Safe Harbor Agreement allows protocols to give whitehats clear guidelines for intervention and asset recovery during active exploits. The agreement acts as a preemptive security measure to improve a protocol's overall security. By adopting the agreement before potential security incidents occur, protocols provide whitehat hackers with information about the assets under scope, asset recovery address, and eligibility for any bounties offered.
"We proposed adopting the Safe Harbor Agreement because we want the Uniswap Protocol to be as secure as possible,” explained Erin Koen, Head of Governance at Uniswap Foundation, when discussing their motivation for adopting the agreement. “It provides another protection vector to the security of the Protocol.”
Uniswap Foundation is balancing firm protection for the protocol with clear responsibilities and obligations for whitehats. The agreement establishes specific parameters for whitehat participation, including:
✅ Defining which protocol assets are covered under the agreement
✅ Setting clear reward structures for successful asset recovery
✅ Specifying where recovered funds should be returned
✅ Establishing notification procedures
The Uniswap Foundation worked closely with the SEAL team throughout the proposal and implementation process. "The SEAL team is extremely professional and answered all of our questions,” said Koen. “We received vital support from SEAL experts in executing the proposal, and their responsiveness was excellent.”
The Uniswap Foundation's experience highlights the comprehensive support available to protocols considering adopting the agreement. In general, the implementation process for most protocols includes several key steps:
"SEAL’s Safe Harbor Agreement creates good incentive alignment while maintaining clear obligations on the parties involved," noted Uniswap Foundation General Counsel Brian Nistler regarding the agreement's structure. “This clarity helps ensure that whitehat hackers can act quickly and confidently during critical moments while staying within defined legal boundaries.”
The agreement includes crucial provisions to prevent misuse and ensure responsible intervention. Specifically, whitehats must understand that:
The Uniswap Foundation sees its adoption of the agreement as part of a broader movement toward enhanced DeFi security standards and protecting user assets. This perspective aligns with the growing roster of prominent protocols that already adopted the framework.
"The SEAL team did an excellent job and exemplified professionalism regarding this type of implementation. Security should always be top of mind for any DeFi project," the Uniswap Foundation team emphasized, encouraging other protocols to consider adoption.
Uniswap Governance's adoption of the SEAL Whitehat Safe Harbor Agreement represents another significant step forward in DeFi security practices. By providing clear legal frameworks for whitehat intervention during security incidents, the agreement helps protocols better protect user assets while fostering a more secure and resilient DeFi ecosystem. For protocols interested in learning more about the SEAL Whitehat Safe Harbor Agreement, detailed information about the framework and adoption process is available on GitHub here.
The Uniswap Governance's successful implementation is a model for other protocols considering adoption. It demonstrates the practical benefits and the comprehensive support available through the adoption process.
