Reader objective
Translate technical assurance into an advisor decision record.
Define the exact code path
Record the deployed contract addresses, network, implementation version, proxy structure, market or vault, and every contract called in the normal deposit and withdrawal path. Protocol brands often contain several products with different code and administrators.
Read audits as scoped evidence
For each audit, record firm, date, commit hash, scope, exclusions, findings, remediation, and whether deployed code matches reviewed code. Count is less important than relevance. Formal verification can prove specified properties; it cannot prove that the specification captured every economic failure.
Map change authority
- Upgradeable proxy administrator
- Pause or emergency powers
- Governance proposal and execution thresholds
- Timelocks and security councils
- Oracle and collateral parameter setters
- Front-end or API dependencies
An immutable protocol trades repairability for predictability. An upgradeable protocol trades adaptability for administrative risk. Neither label decides suitability by itself.
History and live monitoring
Review exploits, bad debt, near misses, governance failures, oracle incidents, bridge failures, and response quality. Then define live triggers: code upgrade, new admin, shortened timelock, oracle change, unexpected pause, unaudited market, or loss event. Smart-contract diligence expires whenever the code or authority changes.