Protofire
Engineering firm that builds and runs on-chain infrastructure for protocols, DeFi and institutions since 2016.
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Protofire key facts
| Category | Crypto infrastructure for businesses |
|---|---|
| Platforms | Web |
| Launched | 2016 |
| Company | 85+ engineers across 17+ countries |
| Open source | Solhint linter, MIT License |
| Pricing | Quoted as a range per phase in a written proposal |
What is Protofire?
Protofire is an engineering firm that has designed, built and operated on-chain infrastructure since 2016. It states 250+ projects across 60+ networks and 85+ engineers in 17+ countries, and maintains Solhint, a Solidity linter it says over a million developers rely on. It is an official Safe partner.
How Protofire works
Protofire sells engineering by project.
Its capability list covers smart contracts, security and audits, wallets and apps, DeFi, tokenization and RWA, oracles and interoperability, node infrastructure, Safe accounts, staking, privacy and AI. Past work it cites includes 20+ Chainlink external adapters tested across 7+ networks, 30+ subgraphs and a large indexer on The Graph, a Filecoin API serving 12 million daily requests at 99.58% yearly uptime, and a BaFin-regulated DEX for Swarm Markets.
It also maintains Solhint, an MIT-licensed Solidity linter with rule sets for best practices, style and security, published on npm and GitHub. Protofire says Solhint was downloaded 6 million times over a couple of years, including 3.5 million in 2023.
How to start with Protofire
- You start with the Apply to build form on protofire.io: your name, email, what you are building, an optional link to a demo, repo or site, and a budget band of under $50k, $50k to $250k, $250k+ or not defined.
- An engineer reads your materials before a discovery call with that engineer and a business lead, where chain, custody, compliance and runway are discussed.
- One business day after the call you get a written proposal listing what they verified in your code, a phased plan to production, a price range stated per phase, a timeline and a recommended first step.
- Protofire says it takes on projects where that first reading finds something worth building on.
Protofire fees and limits
- Pricing comes as a range per phase in the written proposal, and the application form's budget bands, starting under $50k, show the scale of work it expects.
No public rate card exists. Solhint itself is free and open source, and Protofire accepts donations and grant suggestions for it.
Risks to know before using Protofire
- Protofire states zero vulnerabilities across its 250+ delivered projects, a claim from its own homepage rather than an independent review.
- Its sample proposal shows why outside review still matters: it flags vault functions callable by any address and spot-price reads from a single pool as issues to fix before a contract holds real funds.
- For anything handling user money, budget for a separate audit and keep your own control over deployer and admin keys.
Protofire alternatives
Other projects people compare with Protofire.
API infrastructure that lets banks, brokerages and fintechs offer crypto, stablecoin and tokenization products.
Federally chartered crypto bank offering custody, trading, staking and stablecoin issuance to institutions.
Regulated digital asset infrastructure that fintechs, brokers and financial institutions use to offer crypto.
Digital asset infrastructure company offering qualified custody, wallets, trading and stablecoin services.
Ukrainian blockchain development company building dApps, DeFi, bridges and audits for clients.
Institutional blockchain infrastructure: staking, MPC wallets, RPC and data APIs.
Where Protofire ranks on DappAtlas
Listed next to Protofire
- Nethermind Crypto infrastructure for businesses
- ChainSafe Crypto infrastructure for businesses
- LimeChain Crypto infrastructure for businesses
- CoinFabrik Crypto infrastructure for businesses
Protofire pros and cons
- 250+ projects since 2016
- Maintains Solhint, a widely used Solidity linter
- Official Safe partner with 130+ Safes deployed
- No published rates
- Focus leans to infrastructure over consumer apps
Protofire FAQ
What is Protofire?
Protofire is an engineering firm that has designed, built and operated on-chain infrastructure since 2016. It states 250+ projects across 60+ networks and 85+ engineers in 17+ countries, and maintains Solhint, a Solidity linter it says over a million developers rely on. It is an official Safe partner.
How much does Protofire cost?
Quoted as a range per phase in a written proposal, according to Protofire’s own page (checked Sep 26, 2026).
Sources
How this page works
Sources: Protofire: official site, Protofire: Homepage, Protofire: Solhint. Data as of Sep 26, 2026.
Not affiliated with any project listed. Educational content, not financial advice.