Client Overview
Solstice Labs offers permissionless institutional yield products powered by its stable-backed stablecoin, USX. Users can lock USX into Solstice’s YieldVault to access a delta-neutral hedge strategy, which has averaged a 19.2% return over the past year. With more than three years of live trading experience behind its strategy, Solstice Labs stands out as the only provider of a stablecoin yield product of its kind operating at scale.
Key Security Challenges
As Solstice Labs prepared for mainnet launch, the team faced the critical task of securing smart contracts that underpin both user deposits and yield mechanisms. These contracts would handle significant on-chain value, and any vulnerability could undermine the trust of institutional partners and users. Solstice needed a security partner with deep technical insight, adaptability under tight timelines, and a strong reputation in the Web3 ecosystem.
Halborn’s Solutions
Solstice Labs partnered with Halborn to perform a full audit of its smart contracts. Halborn’s team conducted a comprehensive review, combining manual code analysis with performance optimization to surface any attack vectors or inefficiencies.
“Halborn brought a level of professionalism and flexibility that made them feel like an extension of our team,” said Luis Marques, CTO of Solstice Labs. “Their hands-on approach gave us confidence going into mainnet launch.”
That flexibility proved critical as Solstice made several last-minute changes to its codebase. Halborn was able to reassess those changes on short notice, ensuring that updates were not only functional but secure. The audit also included performance testing on the USX Program, with Halborn offering actionable recommendations to optimize compute units—improving execution efficiency without sacrificing security.
What Set Halborn Apart
Unlike traditional smart contract auditors that deliver a report and move on, Halborn maintained close, continuous communication with Solstice engineers throughout the process. Their practical, collaborative model gave the Solstice team the ability to ask questions, discuss assumptions, and refine contract design in real time. This dynamic created a faster path to resolution and deeper alignment between security and engineering goals.
Outcomes Beyond the Core Audit
Halborn’s impact extended well beyond basic vulnerability detection:
Their performance guidance helped Solstice improve the on-chain efficiency of key operations.
Ongoing support during high-pressure pre-launch periods allowed the Solstice team to move quickly and safely without compromising quality.
The engagement reinforced Solstice’s internal culture of secure development, aligning audit insights with long-term engineering practices.
Going Above and Beyond
Halborn’s work with Solstice Labs reflects the value of having a security partner who operates more like a collaborator than a vendor. From accommodating late-stage changes to providing nuanced performance feedback, Halborn helped Solstice strengthen both its codebase and its development process. For protocols launching complex financial products, this type of support is critical to ensuring secure, sustainable growth.
By combining responsiveness, depth of expertise, and a proven Web3 track record, Halborn delivered far more than a checklist audit. They helped Solstice Labs bring its institutional-grade yield platform to market with confidence.