Client Overview
Normal is an on-chain index fund protocol building the largest catalog of synthetic crypto and real-world assets. It enables users to diversify across markets through a single token, simplifying exposure to a wide range of asset classes.
What makes Normal stand out is its commitment to safety, transparency, and security at every level. Each asset on the platform is fully collateralized, fully on-chain, and backed by a rigorous framework designed to make decentralized investing “simple, safe, and normal.”
Key Security Challenges
After spending months designing and coding the protocol, the Normal team sought complete assurance that their system was airtight and fully aligned with the architecture of their chosen blockchain, Stellar. Two areas were identified as high priority for external validation:
Cross-contract security and reentrancy protection
Normal’s smart contracts involved several cross-contract interactions. Although Stellar’s design minimizes reentrancy risk, the team wanted to ensure that their own contract logic was secure from any edge-case vulnerabilities.Mathematical integrity of index fund calculations
The Normal protocol relies heavily on mathematical formulas to maintain accurate pricing, collateralization, and net asset value across its synthetic tokens. The team requested a detailed review of these calculations to ensure precision and reliability.
Halborn’s Solutions
Halborn delivered a comprehensive security audit that went beyond the original scope.
Halborn’s team devoted additional time to researching Stellar’s native handling of reentrancy and worked closely with both Normal and representatives from Stellar to document the findings. Based on this, Halborn recommended additional safeguards, including tracking entry and exit for every user-facing contract call, so that even in complex flows, user interactions would remain controlled and observable.
Although the initial scope did not include a full mathematical review, the team manually tested and verified each formula at Normal’s request. Halborn submitted a detailed pull request with test cases and explanations several days after the project had officially closed, further improving the reliability of Normal’s pricing and collateralization logic.
Throughout the engagement, Halborn maintained a very tight feedback loop with the Normal team. Updates were shared every two to three days, and questions were often answered within minutes. This responsiveness enabled Normal’s developers to start addressing issues while the audit was still in progress, shortening the overall time to harden the protocol.
Normal’s CEO and Co-founder, Joshua Blew, summarized the experience: “Halborn's bespoke communication and eagerness to go above and beyond till the job's done right made our audit process smooth and productive. We are even more confident in the integrity of our platform working with a security firm like no other.”
Outcomes Beyond the Core Audit
Halborn’s work delivered benefits that reached far beyond the immediate technical findings.
The audit gave the Normal team renewed confidence in both the structural soundness and mathematical correctness of their protocol. Having a fresh set of expert eyes review their work reduced internal anxiety about edge cases and reinforced their design choices.
The collaboration also acted as a catalyst for Normal’s growth. Successfully completing a Halborn audit opened doors to deeper conversations with Stellar, prospective investors, and other DeFi projects that might not have been possible, or would have been more limited, without an independent security review in place.
Because Halborn was transparent and structured in how progress was communicated, Normal could continue shipping improvements while the audit was ongoing. The use of Halborn’s internal tooling, such as the SSC platform, gave Normal real-time visibility into the status of the review and allowed the team to begin implementing fixes before the audit was even halfway complete. This helped Normal recover time on the extended project and kept momentum with its community and stakeholders.
Going Above and Beyond
What distinguished this engagement was Halborn’s commitment to communication, flexibility, and ownership of outcomes. Even before the contract was signed, Normal observed a “let’s get stuff done” mindset. Throughout the audit, Halborn remained open to adjusting the scope where it provided meaningful value, such as performing the additional formula review and refining the final report beyond what was initially agreed.
The team at Halborn invested additional time to improve the clarity and integrity of the final deliverables, ensuring that Normal walked away with a report and set of recommendations that would stand up to external scrutiny from partners, regulators, and sophisticated users.
Through this collaboration, Halborn not only helped Normal secure its Stellar-based index fund protocol, but also strengthened the project’s credibility and readiness to scale. The result is a platform that feels more secure, more transparent, and more “normal” for investors stepping into the world of on-chain index products.
