Securing 24/7 Finance Without a 10,000-Person Security Team - Seth Hallem of Certora

🎙️ Guest: Seth Hallem, CEO of Certora
 🕒 Duration: ~45 mins

Episode Overview

Crypto runs 24/7.

Capital moves instantly. Logic executes automatically. There’s no closing bell, and no overnight reset.

But most protocol teams don’t have 10,000 people monitoring security like a global bank.

In this episode of Token for Your Thoughts, Lindsey McConaghy sits down with Seth Hallem, CEO of Certora, to talk about what it actually takes to secure always-on financial systems, especially when your team is small, and the stakes are high.

Seth’s background spans decades in software quality, static analysis, cybersecurity, and enterprise security. Before joining Certora, he founded multiple venture-backed companies and built security systems for highly regulated industries where failures aren’t bugs, they’re front-page events.

Today, Certora works with leading protocols like Lido, Aave, Uniswap, and Compound to help validate code, architecture, and operational controls before serious capital is at risk.

They get into:

• Seth’s journey from static analysis to formal verification
• Why audits alone don’t solve systemic risk
• What “continuous, layered” security actually looks like in practice
• The gap between a 20-person protocol team and a 10,000-person bank security department
• Why private key compromise is often the weakest link
• The institutional questions around tokenization, stablecoins, and onchain settlement
• Takeaways from Certora’s 2025 Momentum Report
• What it means to make financial software “institution-ready”

If you’re building financial infrastructure, or planning to scale serious capital, this episode offers a clear look at how security matures as systems grow.

Where to Listen

🔹 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/securing-24-7-finance-without-a-10-000-person/id1799063494?i=1000751782661
🔹 Spotify → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sTPCtHFIq0
🔹 YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sTPCtHFIq0

Connect with Certora & Seth

🌐 Website: https://www.certora.com/

🐦 X: @Certora

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