We are a team of scientists and engineers researching and implementing blockchain protocols.

We work using rigorous cryptographic techniques to design simple, provably secure protocols from first principles and guide their implementation. Our consulting and auditing pertain to theoretical cryptographic protocol analyses as well as the pragmatic auditing of implementations in both core consensus technologies and application layer smart contracts.

Team

Our team consists of both academics and industry professionals. On the scientific side, we focus on consensus foundations, with specialists in the areas of proof-of-stake, proof-of-work, auctions, Layer-2s, sharding, channels, bootstrapping, light clients, wallets, smart contracts, interoperability, zero-knowledge, and multiparty computation. On the engineering side, our team comprises experts in smart contract development, testing, and auditing, full-stack software engineering, devops, and operational security. Our team is located across the globe, with members in Athens, Barcelona, Belgrade, Budapest, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, London, Munich, San Francisco, Thessaloniki, and Vienna.

Clients

We currently work with companies ranging from Layer-1 blockchains to smart contract protocols. Our services span from theoretical cryptographic design to hands-on engineering, with our expertise lying in the junction between both worlds.

At the theory level, we analyze protocol design, define the desiderata, rigorously document constructions, and pinpoint errors in the protocols before helping our clients resolve them. In collaboration with our client teams, we show that their protocols are secure from a mathematical point of view, by stating and proving safety and liveness results in the form of an academic paper.

On the implementation side, we ensure the implementation matches the theory of the cryptography papers. Our teams work on auditing, testing, ensuring code quality, and even on developing smart contracts and other kinds of software for our clients. At the highest level, we perform due diligence and deliver technical reports, helping our clients choose the most appropriate and technically sound partners for their business. Lastly, we aid our clients in securing their infrastructure by ensuring that their operational security practices and devops follow the latest industry best practices.

Grants

Common Prefix has received grants from the organizations listed below.