Martin Marchev (@MartinMarchev) / X

Martin Marchev

4,247 posts

Martin Marchev

@MartinMarchev

I cut contracts open @Certora

Joined April 2011

Pinned
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
Oct 15, 2025
First Rust contest. First L1 contest. First place. I am really happy about this one! Tough competition, deep codebase and a lot learned along the way. Big thanks to @citrea_xyz and @cantinaxyz for the opportunity 🔥 And huge shoutout to @tqkve and @AifosSi for the solid
Cantina 🪐
@cantinasecurity
Oct 15, 2025
The @citrea_xyz competition results are in. 🪐 Researchers reviewed the first ZK rollup on Bitcoin L1. Your top-ranked researchers: 🥇 @MartinMarchev: $21,071.01 🥈 @franfraneth: $9,780.99 🥉 @coachPetrus: $6,086.17 Thanks to everyone that contributed. Full leaderboard below.
25K
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
Feb 19, 2025
A year ago, I was a complete noob in Web3 security. Today, I work at one of the top security firms, alongside some of the brightest minds, auditing S-tier protocols. It’s crazy what you can achieve when you show up every day and put in the work.
15K
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
Jan 11, 2025
Yesterday’s tweet blew up 🔥 So many of you DM’d me asking for guidance, resources and a roadmap to break into web3 security. Here’s the exact roadmap I share with my mentees. Let’s get you started 👇🧵
37K
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
Jan 10, 2025
I’ve tried onboarding many smart people to Web3 security recently. Most gave up. It’s not a lack of talent or skills that stops so many newcomers - it’s a lack of grit! Do you have the determination to push through? Are you putting in the hours, anon?
17K
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
Feb 23, 2025
People ask me why I quit my high-paid job as a senior engineering manager to become a security researcher. The answer is simple: web3 security is one of the few spaces where merit truly reigns. Forget who you are, where you’re from or which connections you have. Here you’re
11K
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
Feb 20, 2025
7 mistakes that beginner Web3 security researchers make (and how to fix them) 🧵👇
18K
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
Jan 13, 2025
Becoming a security researcher wasn’t about sacrifice - it was about choosing what matters most: ❌ No PlayStation (never owned one) ❌ No Netflix ❌ No alcohol or drugs ❌ No Friday nights out ❌ Barely touch social media (except Twitter) ❌ Haven’t watched a movie in 3 years
15K
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
May 22, 2025
A lot of people sleep on this. In web3 security, you can go far alone. You can grind solo - remotely, silently, completely under the radar. But if you never take the time to build relationships, you’ll miss more opportunities than you think. Private audits. Referrals.
7.8K
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
Apr 29, 2025
You start a quick PoC at 12am. 15 minutes later it’s 3am. Classic.
6.4K
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
May 14, 2025
If you’re new to audit contests, there’s something important you should know early on. You might do a great job, find most of the important bugs… and still rank surprisingly low. That can be confusing - even frustrating. But it’s not a mistake. It’s just how the game works.
7K
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
Feb 25, 2025
Solidity is getting a bit crowded and while it’s not impossible to make a name as an SR - it’s definitely harder. Right now, there’s an increased demand for audits for: - Solana (Rust) - Move (Sui & Aptos) - CosmWasm (Rust) - Cosmos SDK (App chains) Yeah, there’s a risk these
7K
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
Apr 20, 2025
You can audit smart contracts all day but if you don’t understand the math behind them - chances are you’ll miss some really interesting bugs. Great algebra refresher by Dr. Linda Green via @freeCodeCamp: youtu.be/LwCRRUa8yTU Don’t sleep on it!
11K
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
Jul 5, 2025
Not sure about you but the toxicity in the space lately feels a bit sad. One of the reasons I joined web3 was the culture. Open, collaborative and low on ego. No gatekeeping & no politics. Lately, it feels like there’s more drama than building. Companies and SRs taking public
9.2K
Martin Marchev
@MartinMarchev
Feb 26, 2025
You wouldn’t expect to learn a foreign language in 3-4 months - so why expect Web3 security to be any different? Mistakes, frustration and countless hours of practice are the price of becoming a good security researcher. Stay persistent. Stay disciplined. Stay hard.
4.7K