Nyx Foundation's AI Bug Detection System "SPECA" Selected for Ethereum Foundation Research Grant, Aiming for Protocol Security Automation
Nyx Foundation's proprietary AI bug detection system, "SPECA," has been selected for a research grant by the Ethereum Foundation's Protocol Security Research team. This project aims to integrate SPECA into Ethereum's official security workflow over the next four months, accelerating the automation of protocol security.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 8, 2026 at 01:56
- 🔍 Collected: May 7, 2026 at 17:32
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 7, 2026 at 17:39 (7 min after Collected)
Nyx Foundation (Location: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, hereinafter "Nyx"), a general incorporated association, is pleased to announce that its independently developed AI bug detection system, "SPECA: Specification-to-Checklist Agentic Auditing," has been selected for a research grant by the Ethereum Foundation's Protocol Security Research team.
This project responds to the Ethereum Foundation's public Request for Proposal, "Integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) into Ethereum Protocol Security Research." Over the next four months, Nyx will promote research and development to integrate SPECA into Ethereum's official security workflow.
Why is "Specification-Driven Security" Important?
In modern blockchain and complex IT systems, one of the biggest security threats is the "discrepancy between specification and implementation."
In a global decentralized network like Ethereum, network robustness is maintained not by a single software, but by multiple different clients (node software) running simultaneously.
However, it is extremely difficult for each development team to accurately interpret complex specifications written in natural language (such as RFCs) and implement them without bugs.
In recent years, approaches where AI verifies compliance with specifications, such as "Claude Code Security" announced by Anthropic, have attracted attention.
"SPECA," developed by Nyx, shares this design philosophy. It is a world-class AI agent that automatically generates verification checklists from natural language specifications and identifies vulnerabilities by comparing them with multiple implementation codes.
SPECA's Achievements and International Recognition
SPECA has already achieved concrete results in improving Ethereum's security.
In the public audit contest for Ethereum's next major upgrade, "Fusaka," held in autumn 2025, SPECA discovered 17 vulnerabilities from 11 different client implementations, securing the world's No. 1 position in the number of reported issues.
Furthermore, it has significantly contributed to protocol security, including the acceptance of two vulnerability reports through bug bounty programs and direct proposals for fixes (PRs) to client implementations.
SPECA's technical achievements have also been compiled into a paper accepted at the "Agents in the wild workshop" at ICLR 2026 (arXiv:2602.07513), a top conference in the AI field, receiving high academic acclaim.
Recently, the open-sourcing of SPECA was announced, generating significant buzz on social media.
Grant Project Overview and Future Developments
With this grant from the Ethereum Foundation, Nyx will work on the following milestones over four months starting in May:
SPECA Workflow Integration and Tool Release: Develop a prototype (CLI/API) that automatically reads Ethereum specifications (Execution/Consensus specs) and detects inconsistencies with client implementations. This will enable the integration of SPECA into GitHub CI/CD pipelines and other development workflows, establishing a system to detect specification violations in the early stages of development.
Advanced Security Assurance through Fusion with Lean Formal Verification: Integrate SPECA with Nyx's world-leading technology for "automating formal verification using the Lean language." A pipeline will be built to automatically convert security requirements generated by SPECA into formal specifications in Lean 4, based on mathematical proofs, thereby achieving more rigorous and scalable security verification for evolving Ethereum specifications.
Continuous Vulnerability Discovery and Academic Contribution: During the grant period, audits of clients will continue, with reports of discovered vulnerabilities and provision of fix patches. A full paper summarizing these achievements will also be submitted to a top conference in the security field.
Nyx Foundation, by combining AI agents and formal verification technology, aims to automate vulnerability discovery in all IT systems, including Ethereum, and contribute to building a foundation for a secure digital society that everyone can use with peace of mind. This tool will be open-sourced and made available for general use.
About Nyx Foundation
https://nyx.foundation
General Incorporated Association Nyx Foundation (Location:
Keywords:
This project responds to the Ethereum Foundation's public Request for Proposal, "Integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) into Ethereum Protocol Security Research." Over the next four months, Nyx will promote research and development to integrate SPECA into Ethereum's official security workflow.
Why is "Specification-Driven Security" Important?
In modern blockchain and complex IT systems, one of the biggest security threats is the "discrepancy between specification and implementation."
In a global decentralized network like Ethereum, network robustness is maintained not by a single software, but by multiple different clients (node software) running simultaneously.
However, it is extremely difficult for each development team to accurately interpret complex specifications written in natural language (such as RFCs) and implement them without bugs.
In recent years, approaches where AI verifies compliance with specifications, such as "Claude Code Security" announced by Anthropic, have attracted attention.
"SPECA," developed by Nyx, shares this design philosophy. It is a world-class AI agent that automatically generates verification checklists from natural language specifications and identifies vulnerabilities by comparing them with multiple implementation codes.
SPECA's Achievements and International Recognition
SPECA has already achieved concrete results in improving Ethereum's security.
In the public audit contest for Ethereum's next major upgrade, "Fusaka," held in autumn 2025, SPECA discovered 17 vulnerabilities from 11 different client implementations, securing the world's No. 1 position in the number of reported issues.
Furthermore, it has significantly contributed to protocol security, including the acceptance of two vulnerability reports through bug bounty programs and direct proposals for fixes (PRs) to client implementations.
SPECA's technical achievements have also been compiled into a paper accepted at the "Agents in the wild workshop" at ICLR 2026 (arXiv:2602.07513), a top conference in the AI field, receiving high academic acclaim.
Recently, the open-sourcing of SPECA was announced, generating significant buzz on social media.
Grant Project Overview and Future Developments
With this grant from the Ethereum Foundation, Nyx will work on the following milestones over four months starting in May:
SPECA Workflow Integration and Tool Release: Develop a prototype (CLI/API) that automatically reads Ethereum specifications (Execution/Consensus specs) and detects inconsistencies with client implementations. This will enable the integration of SPECA into GitHub CI/CD pipelines and other development workflows, establishing a system to detect specification violations in the early stages of development.
Advanced Security Assurance through Fusion with Lean Formal Verification: Integrate SPECA with Nyx's world-leading technology for "automating formal verification using the Lean language." A pipeline will be built to automatically convert security requirements generated by SPECA into formal specifications in Lean 4, based on mathematical proofs, thereby achieving more rigorous and scalable security verification for evolving Ethereum specifications.
Continuous Vulnerability Discovery and Academic Contribution: During the grant period, audits of clients will continue, with reports of discovered vulnerabilities and provision of fix patches. A full paper summarizing these achievements will also be submitted to a top conference in the security field.
Nyx Foundation, by combining AI agents and formal verification technology, aims to automate vulnerability discovery in all IT systems, including Ethereum, and contribute to building a foundation for a secure digital society that everyone can use with peace of mind. This tool will be open-sourced and made available for general use.
About Nyx Foundation
https://nyx.foundation
General Incorporated Association Nyx Foundation (Location:
Keywords: