Lessons Learned from DeFi Risks: Experts Share Practical Strategies

DeFi investors have learned hard lessons from hacks, exploits, and protocol failures that cost billions in lost funds. To mitigate risks, experts have shared practical strategies for reducing exposure before the next crisis.

Crypto engineer Runbo Li, Co-founder & CEO at Magic Hour, recounted a six-figure loss due to governance changes. He noted that people often focus on audit reports, but an audit is only a snapshot of code at one moment in time and doesn't account for governance changes or composability risks.

Li now favors protocols with smaller attack surfaces by design, simpler mechanisms, fewer external dependencies, and less composability risk. He also moved toward protocols where the attack surface is smaller by design, advocating for 'surface-level security theater' awareness.

Cem Oner, Founder / Finance & Public Data Publisher at hesapcebimde.com, emphasized double-checking every address before confirming a transaction. He recounted losing $1,000 to a token's contract address instead of his own receiving address and the subsequent scammers trying to recover it.