PRESS RELEASE: Blockchain Audit Startup CertiK Bolsters Executive Team with Two Key Hires

Daryl Hok joins as Chief Operating Officer and Yvan Nasr joins as Head of Business Development and Partnerships to drive global expansion

New York, NY — December 20, 2018 — CertiK, the leading formal verification platform for smart contracts and blockchain audits, has formally announced the addition of two new executive hires: Daryl Hok, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and Yvan Nasr, Head of Business Development and Partnerships. The announcement follows the launch of CertiK’s new headquarters in New York City as part of the organization’s global expansion plan.

Commenting on the hires, Professor Zhong Shao, Co-founder of CertiK and Department Chair of Computer Science at Yale University, said: “With a proven history overseeing multi-million-dollar business acquisitions and significant expertise in smart contract auditing, Daryl and Yvan bring a wealth of experience to the CertiK team. In the context of the current market, it is more important than ever to focus on development and to follow a sensible business plan. Daryl and Yvan’s leadership will enable us to continue to scale and raise the standards as a world leader in blockchain security.”

Founded in 2017 by a team of scientists from Yale and Columbia University, alongside engineers from Google and Facebook, CertiK leverages leading formal verification technology which can mathematically ensure the highest level of security in smart contracts and blockchain ecosystems. CertiK was the first to introduce DeepSpec technology (researched in collaboration with MIT, Yale, Princeton, and University of Pennsylvania), and has completed formal verification audits of smart contracts for a variety of top blockchain companies.

Daryl Hok, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at CertiK, said: “Blockchain has seen monumental growth in the last few years, but security and reliability concerns remain at the forefront of adoption discussions. Because most projects are open-sourced with publicly viewable source code, it is vital for security to be proven in a definitive, transparent and objective manner. CertiK solves this challenge by leveraging mathematical proofs not only to identify critical bugs and vulnerabilities but also to demonstrate that it is impossible for them to exist upon correction. This enables CertiK to take a leading role in the global blockchain ecosystem, and I look forward to contributing to the organization as it continues to secure projects in every corner of the world.”

Prior to joining CertiK, Hok spearheaded corporate development at FiscalNote, a global software, data, and machine learning company based in Washington D.C., where he most recently completed the acquisition of CQ Roll Call from The Economist Group for $180 million USD. Nasr joins the executive team following a successful tenure at Hosho, another blockchain security company.

In their new roles, Hok and Nasr will be responsible for exploring strategic partnerships, adding to an impressive lineup of existing partners which include Binance, ICON, and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The executives will also work towards securing additional investment from top industry players, such as its funding from Binance Labs announced in October, to accelerate the impact of the project’s technology on the broader blockchain ecosystem.

About CertiK

CertiK is a blockchain and smart contract verification platform founded by top formal verification professors from Yale and Columbia University and former senior software engineers from Google and Facebook. Expanding upon traditional testing approaches, CertiK utilizes mathematical theorems to objectively prove that source code is hacker-resistant and bug-free. With the mission of raising the standards of cybersecurity, CertiK is backed by prominent investors, including Binance Labs, Lightspeed, Matrix Partners, and DHVC.