Academic Papers¶
Academic work is most useful when translated into concrete review questions, test strategies, or protocol assumptions.
Starting Set¶
| Paper or collection | Tier | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| SoK: Decentralized Finance Security and Privacy | Must learn | Broad DeFi risk taxonomy. |
| SoK: Ethereum Smart Contracts | Must learn | Early but useful smart contract vulnerability taxonomy. |
| Flash Boys 2.0 | Situational / advanced | MEV framing for ordering and extraction risk. |
| VerX | Situational / advanced | Safety verification ideas for smart contracts. |
| SmartPulse | Situational / advanced | Automated smart contract monitoring concepts. |
| eTainter | Situational / advanced | Static analysis of Ethereum contracts. |
| Empirical Review of Automated Smart Contract Analyzers | Use in real audits | Shows why tool findings require manual verification. |
| A Survey of Attacks on Ethereum Smart Contracts | Must learn | Classic vulnerability classes and analysis framing. |
How to Apply Papers¶
Do not cite a paper in a report unless it changes your reasoning. Convert it into a checklist item, invariant, fuzz target, monitoring rule, or explicit assumption.