Overview
Zellic is a security consultancy that focuses on securing emerging technologies, with deep roots in offensive security research and competitive capture-the-flag (CTF) experience. The firm positions itself as a partner for developers, founders, and investors who need rigorous, high-signal security assessments rather than checkbox audits. Zellic serves blockchain projects, cryptographic systems, web applications, and other high-risk software where correctness and resilience matter.
Core Capabilities
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Comprehensive manual audits: Zellic emphasizes expert-led manual code review over reliance on automated scans, aiming to uncover logic errors, subtle protocol flaws, and complex exploit chains.
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Cryptography and zero-knowledge expertise: The team evaluates applied cryptography and zero-knowledge circuits, checking for underconstrained proofs, insecure primitives, and integration faults that could undermine privacy or correctness.
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Layered testing techniques: The firm employs a range of technical methods including fuzzing, formal verification, static analysis, and targeted exploit development to validate findings and demonstrate real-world impact.
- Manual code review and vulnerability discovery: Deep, hands-on inspection of smart contracts, circuit code, and web/backend logic to find critical design and implementation errors.
- Formal verification and fuzzing: Use of formal tools and fuzzers to prove invariants or expose edge-case failures that surface only under complex inputs.
- Applied cryptography audits: Analysis of cryptographic protocols, key management, and ZK circuit constraints to ensure correctness and resistance to attack.
- Cross-chain and L1/L2 review: Assessments targeted at roll-ups, interoperability systems, and cross-chain primitives to mitigate systemic risks.
- Incident-oriented offensive research: Red-team style exploit development and PoC generation to validate severity and aid remediation.
How Zellic Works
Zellic’s process is collaborative and iterative. They begin with a scope and threat modeling phase, aligning on objectives and constraints with the client. During testing, they maintain open communication, triaging findings and requesting clarifications when necessary. Results are delivered as structured reports that prioritize critical issues, include reproducible proofs-of-concept where appropriate, and provide actionable remediation guidance. Post-report support and follow-up engagement help teams validate fixes and close findings.
Why Choose Zellic
Zellic combines several attributes that make it a strong choice for teams building high-stakes systems:
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Proven offensive pedigree: The founders and engineers bring CTF and research backgrounds, enabling them to think like attackers and find non-obvious vulnerabilities.
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Domain specialization: Deep experience across EVM, Move (Aptos and Sui), Solana, Cosmos, ZK circuits, and applied cryptography means audits are informed by platform-specific threats.
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Actionable deliverables: Reports aim to be developer-friendly, explaining the vulnerability, the root cause, exploit scenarios, and step-by-step remediations.
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Research and transparency: Zellic publishes research, blog posts, and tools—showing commitment to open knowledge and reproducibility.
Clients and Track Record
Zellic lists many prominent clients and testimonials reflecting real-world impact: they report preventing numerous critical vulnerabilities and delivering insights to protocol teams and DeFi projects. Their public reports and case studies illustrate both the depth of findings and their approach to remediation.
Recommended Use Cases
- Security audits for smart contracts, DeFi primitives, and cross-chain bridges
- ZK circuit reviews and cryptographic protocol validation
- Formal verification and fuzzing engagements for safety-critical components
- Red-team style engagements to provide exploit-based validation of severity
Conclusion
Zellic positions itself as more than a standard audit provider: it is a research-driven security partner that emphasizes practical, attacker-focused assessments. Teams that require rigorous, platform-aware, and developer-centric security reviews—especially in the blockchain and cryptography domains—will find Zellic’s combination of skills, processes, and published research valuable for reducing risk and shipping with confidence.
