EigenLayer / Base / Lido.
Tier-1 Ecosystem Security Deals
How we closed multimillion-dollar security contracts with three of crypto's most important ecosystems — EigenLayer, Base (Coinbase L2), and Lido — through Hexens' ecosystem security model.
$M+
Combined contract value
3
Tier-1 ecosystems
6 mo
Avg. sales cycle
100%
Renewal intent
The Challenge
EigenLayer, Base, and Lido represent three of the most critical pieces of crypto infrastructure — restaking, Coinbase's L2, and liquid staking. Each has hundreds of millions (or billions) in TVL, making security existentially important. But each also had a different security challenge:
EigenLayer was pioneering restaking — a novel mechanism with entirely new attack vectors that traditional audit firms hadn't encountered. They needed a security partner who could think in first principles about risks that had no historical precedent.
Base (Coinbase's L2) needed enterprise-grade security that met Coinbase's compliance and procurement standards — a dramatically higher bar than most crypto projects require. They also needed an ecosystem security program to ensure projects building on Base were secure enough to protect users.
Lido had massive TVL concentration risk. A vulnerability in Lido's staking contracts could cascade across the entire Ethereum ecosystem. They needed continuous security, not one-time audits.
Each deal was a complex, multi-month enterprise sales cycle with different stakeholders, different requirements, and different procurement processes.
The Approach
Tailored the pitch to the risk, not the service. For EigenLayer, we led with original research on restaking attack vectors — demonstrating that Hexens had already thought deeply about risks their team was just starting to consider. For Base, we led with Coinbase-grade compliance frameworks and SOC 2 alignment. For Lido, we led with continuous monitoring and real-time vulnerability detection.
Navigated enterprise procurement. These weren't "sign and ship" deals. Each required security reviews, legal negotiations, multi-stakeholder alignment (engineering, security, BD, legal, finance), and in some cases governance approvals. We project-managed every deal through a structured pipeline with clear milestones and decision-maker maps.
Designed the ecosystem security model. For Base specifically, we created a scalable model where Hexens provided subsidized security audits to projects building on Base — funded by the Base ecosystem fund. This was a win-win-win: Base got a more secure ecosystem, projects got affordable audits, and Hexens got volume and the ecosystem relationship.
Built relationships, not just contracts. Every engagement started with value delivery before the contract was signed — free preliminary assessments, security research shared proactively, and introductions to other projects in their ecosystem. By the time the deal was ready to close, we weren't selling — we were formalizing an existing relationship.
The Results
All three deals closed as multimillion-dollar contracts — making them among the largest security engagements in Web3 at the time.
EigenLayer: Comprehensive security engagement covering the restaking protocol, AVS (Actively Validated Services) security frameworks, and ongoing advisory. Hexens became the security partner of record for one of crypto's most important new primitives.
Base: Enterprise-grade security program meeting Coinbase compliance standards, plus an ecosystem security initiative that provided subsidized audits to Base builders. This model was referenced by other L2s building similar programs.
Lido: Continuous security monitoring and advisory for the largest liquid staking protocol by TVL. The engagement went beyond traditional auditing into real-time threat detection and response planning.
Each deal validated the ecosystem security model and created reference cases that accelerated subsequent sales cycles. When we approached other ecosystems, we could point to Coinbase, EigenLayer, and Lido as proof points — which shortened sales cycles from months to weeks for similar deals.
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