Ethereum Foundation Teams Up with SEAL to Fight Back! Theft Drops to $84 Million, New Low

The Ethereum Foundation sponsors SEAL to combat theft, launching a security initiative exceeding $1 trillion. Funds are allocated to full-time engineers working with SEAL. A security dashboard has been created to track six dimensions: user experience, smart contracts, infrastructure, consensus, monitoring, governance. The total amount stolen by scams has reached $1 billion, decreasing to $84 million by 2025, setting a new low.

Six Dimensions of the $1 Trillion Security Initiative

On Monday, SEAL announced that after reaching out to the EF at the end of last year to discuss funding security engineers for closer monitoring of theft tools and preventing large-scale attacks, they jointly launched the “Trillion Dollar Security” plan to support these efforts. The name of this plan derives from the total value of the Ethereum ecosystem, including ETH market cap, DeFi locked value, NFT market, and assets across various applications, estimated to exceed $1 trillion.

SEAL stated that EF is currently funding a security engineer whose “sole mission” is to collaborate with SEAL’s intelligence team to combat theft targeting Ethereum users. This dedicated staffing demonstrates a new level of prioritization for security issues by the Ethereum Foundation. Previously, security work was often handled by part-time staff or external consultants; now, a full-time specialist signifies a fundamental increase in resource allocation and priority.

SEAL’s broader mission is to protect crypto market participants by providing collaborative tools for threat intelligence sharing and incident response, while also offering legal protections for white-hat hackers—security researchers who responsibly disclose vulnerabilities rather than exploit them. Legal protection for white-hat hackers is crucial, as in some jurisdictions, even well-intentioned security research can be misunderstood as illegal intrusion.

“The Security Alliance has done a lot of important work in combating attacks, and the entire ecosystem has benefited greatly,” the Ethereum Foundation posted on X in response to SEAL’s statement. This public endorsement indicates that EF’s collaboration with SEAL is not only financial but also a strategic, in-depth partnership.

SEAL and EF have created a trillion-dollar security dashboard to monitor Ethereum’s security across six dimensions: user experience, smart contracts, infrastructure and cloud, consensus protocols, monitoring and incident response, social layer and governance. Each dimension includes 8 to 29 risk control measures that require close monitoring, along with identified “priority tasks” that must be addressed.

Six Dimensions of the Trillion-Dollar Security Dashboard

User Experience: Wallet security, transaction confirmation, phishing protection

Smart Contracts: Code audits, bug bounties, formal verification

Infrastructure and Cloud: Node security, RPC providers, hosting services

Consensus Protocols: Validator security, reorganization attack prevention, MEV protection

Monitoring and Incident Response: Real-time threat detection, rapid response mechanisms

Social Layer and Governance: Community education, governance security, social engineering prevention

This systematic security framework is rare in the crypto industry. Most projects’ security efforts are reactive—addressing issues only after they occur. The partnership between EF and SEAL represents a proactive, preventative security strategy aimed at identifying and eliminating threats before attacks happen.

From $1 Billion to $84 Million in Anti-Theft Results

Cybercriminals and scam artists frequently create fake websites or phishing emails impersonating legitimate crypto protocols to trick users into approving seemingly harmless wallet transactions, leading to funds theft. Over the years, their tactics have become increasingly sophisticated, necessitating improved detection and prevention mechanisms.

Typical theft methods include: phishing sites mimicking well-known DeFi protocols like Uniswap and Aave with only minor domain differences; phishing emails claiming to be from wallet providers asking users to “verify accounts” and input seed phrases; spreading fake airdrop links on Twitter and Discord, where connecting a wallet grants automatic authorization to transfer assets; and exploiting smart contract authorization mechanisms to trick users into signing “infinite permissions,” allowing thieves to transfer all tokens from a wallet at any time.

The crypto intelligence platform ScamSniffer estimates that these scammers have stolen nearly $1 billion over the years. This figure is cumulative, covering all known thefts from 2020 to 2024. However, thanks to efforts by SEAL and other crypto investigators, the stolen amount has dropped to $84 million by 2025, hitting a record low.

This reduction from nearly $1 billion to $84 million annually is remarkable. Assuming an average annual loss of about $200 million from 2020 to 2024, the 2025 figure represents roughly a 58% decrease. This decline reflects advances in security technology, increased user awareness, and proactive efforts by organizations like SEAL. While $84 million remains a significant loss, it is a substantial improvement compared to previous years.

SEAL’s Model Opens to Other Blockchains

SEAL stated that its collaboration with EF is the first among many forward-looking ecosystem partnerships, welcoming other crypto ecosystems to engage. SEAL said, “If your foundation or crypto ecosystem is interested in similar sponsorship opportunities, we are happy to discuss how this model can be scaled to protect users broadly.”

This open attitude indicates that SEAL aims not only to serve Ethereum but to become a security infrastructure provider for the entire crypto industry. If other blockchains adopt similar models, it could enable cross-chain threat intelligence sharing networks—crucial for combating cross-chain scams. Many scam groups are active on multiple chains; when one chain’s security organization takes action, attackers often shift to another. Sharing threat intelligence and attacker profiles across chains would significantly enhance overall protection.

For Ethereum users, the partnership between EF and SEAL offers additional security assurance. While it cannot eliminate theft risks entirely, systematic protections and rapid incident response can greatly reduce losses. Users still need to stay vigilant—avoiding suspicious links, not revealing seed phrases, regularly reviewing wallet permissions—but knowing a professional team is behind the scenes provides peace of mind.