Design a Cross-Chain Bridge Protocol with Honest Threat Model
Overview
What this challenge is about.
Read the Vitalik 'cross-chain interoperability' essay and survey 3 existing bridge designs (lock-and-mint, atomic-swap, optimistic-rollup-native). Design your protocol around a 5-of-9 validator-attested lock-and-mint flow with a 6-block confirmation requirement on L1, fraud-proof window, and emergency-pause governance. Write a 20-page spec including: protocol flow diagrams, validator economics (stake + slashing), threat model with at least 12 named attacks (validator collusion, reorg attacks, replay across chains, MEV-aware front-running), and incident-response playbook. Prototype the lock-and-mint flow in Solidity (Ethereum side) + a Hardhat-simulated L2 receiver. Deliver spec, prototype contracts, threat-model matrix, and a 30-min security-review deck.
The Brief
What you'll do, and what you'll demonstrate.
Design a cross-chain bridge protocol with an explicit threat model covering at least 12 named attacks, plus a working lock-and-mint prototype.
Earning criteria — what you'll demonstrate
- Design a non-trivial cross-chain protocol from first principles
- Reason about validator economics + slashing as a security primitive
- Build an explicit threat model with named attacks + mitigations
- Communicate a security-critical design to an audit team
Program Fit
Where this fits in your program.
Sharpens the same skills your degree expects you to demonstrate.
Skills
Skills you'll demonstrate.
Each one shows up on your verified credential.
Careers
Roles this prepares you for.
Real titles. Real skill bridges. Pick the one closest to your trajectory.
Career mappings coming soon.