A startup asking for blockchain and DeFi engineering help is usually trying to ship a contract that will hold real value, in public, with no quiet patch window. The market is full of firms that will take that work and a smaller set that will also tell you what they will not do. The second group is the one you want.
Here is how to hire them.
Engineering and audit, not a token or a return
The first filter is posture. A serious practice does client-facing engineering, advisory, and investigation only — smart contracts, protocol integrations, audits, consulting across CeFi and DeFi. It does not sell tokens, take custody of client funds, manage anyone's money, or make performance or return claims. If the pitch includes a token, a yield, or a recovery guarantee, walk.
What a real audit actually covers
Threat modeling against a written model, line-by-line review, key-management hardening. Reentrancy, oracle manipulation, MEV exposure, access control, upgrade paths — reasoned through before code ships. Audits here start at $3,999, scoped per contract. A scan PDF is not an audit. A rubber stamp is worse than none, because it sells false confidence.
Ask to see how they write a finding: severity, impact, a reproduction, a fix. Vague language is a tell.
Forensics has refusal lanes, on purpose
If the work touches stolen funds, counsel and law enforcement need a reproducible evidence packet, not a promise. We trace. We do not guarantee recovery, appear in court, take contingency, take custody, or do off-the-books work. Those lanes are written down because the firms that skip them are the ones that get people hurt.
Price the engineering like engineering
Smart contract and on-chain agent builds start at $5,999 (typical $6K–$120K), DeFi protocol integrations at $4,999, advisory retainers at $1,999/month. Forensics starts at $1,999 for individuals; counsel and law-enforcement engagements carry their own rates. Every figure is a starting point scoped in writing.
Ask who writes the contracts after you sign. Same rule as any other custom software: a senior engineer on the work, not a bench that rotates.
RESILIENCE Agentic Solutions takes on-chain engineering, audits, and investigation from a Miami base — no tokens, no managed money, no return claims. The work is at /services/blockchain; counsel starts at /for-attorneys.
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