# Smart Contract Security: a Practitioners' Perspective

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2102.10963 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.10963/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 22 Feb 2021.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Beyond the Protocol: Unveiling Attack Vectors in the Model Context Protocol (MCP) Ecosystem](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.02040/) (2025)
- [Blockchain-empowered Federated Learning: Benefits, Challenges, and Solutions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.00873/) (2024)
- [Web3 x AI Agents: Landscape, Integrations, and Foundational Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.02773/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Smart contracts have been plagued by security incidents, which resulted in substantial financial losses. Given numerous research efforts in addressing the security issues of smart contracts, we wondered how software practitioners build security into smart contracts in practice. We performed a mixture of qualitative and quantitative studies with 13 interviewees and 156 survey respondents from 35 countries across six continents to understand practitioners' perceptions and practices on smart contract security. Our study uncovers practitioners' motivations and deterrents of smart contract security, as well as how security efforts and strategies fit into the development lifecycle. We also find that blockchain platforms have a statistically significant impact on practitioners' security perceptions and practices of smart contract development. Based on our findings, we highlight future research directions and provide recommendations for practitioners.