From Developer to Web3 White Hat and $500K in Bug Bounties – Top Hacker @merkle_bonsai
Top Web3 hacker Merkle Bonsai shares his journey from frontend developer to earning $500K in bug bounties. Discover how he found critical vulnerabilities, the reality of Web3 security, and why VCs overlook audits. Don't miss this insider conversation on bug bounty hunting, cybersecurity, and the future of blockchain security!
Alex https://x.com/d0rsky
merkle_bonsai https://x.com/merkle_bonsai
00:00 Intro: Meet Merkle Bonsai – Web3’s Elite Bug Hunter
00:54 Fame & Bug Bounty Success – But He’s Still Just a Dev
01:24 How He Earned $500K in Bug Bounties
02:10 First Podcast as a White Hat Hacker
02:54 Bug Bounty Payouts in Crypto – The Wild Ups & Downs
03:32 The Perfect Trading Strategy – Just Do the Opposite
04:02 How Merkle Started in Cybersecurity & Web3
05:36 Early Crypto Projects: Scams & Lessons Learned
07:01 Trapped in an Airport Blizzard – Career Changing Moment
08:22 Finding His First Web3 Bug – $100K Payout
09:51 Why a $15K Bug Bounty Made Him Angry
12:47 Mastering Solidity & Becoming a Top 40 Bug Hunter
14:14 The Smart Contract Exploit No One Else Saw
16:39 Winning the Shardium Bug Bounty Contest
18:59 Why He Quit His Job for Bug Bounties
20:42 Why Most Web3 Projects Aren’t Worth Hacking
22:03 The Key to Finding High-Paying Bugs
23:10 Why Security Researchers Go Back to Building
24:29 The State of Web3 Security & Bug Bounties
27:22 Bug Bounties Are Like Insurance – Here’s Why
28:59 The Truth About VCs – Why They Ignore Security
31:18 Web3 Needs More Security Products – But No One Pays
33:52 Building a No-Code Web3 App Builder
36:17 How VCs Influence Web3 Startups
37:57 Tokenomics & The VC Exit Strategy
41:21 The Craziest Crypto Projects He Loved
43:16 His Favorite DeFi Apps & Wallets
46:46 The Rise of Crypto Debit Cards
49:08 How Crypto Users Cash Out in Thailand
51:03 QR Code Payments & Banking Innovation
53:11 Cyberpunk Banking – No Cards, No Cash, Just Face Scans
55:19 China’s Super App Economy – A Different World
57:07 Held Hostage by a Taxi App – Payment Gone Wrong
59:33 His Advice to His Past Self & Future Hackers
01:02:12 Final Thoughts – Why Web3 is Still Early