Sentinel

SENTINEL is essentially a smart bodyguard for your crypto wallet that never sleeps. Imagine having an AI-powered security system that watches over your digital assets 24/7, automatically detecting and blocking threats before they can steal your money. The team built this for ETHGlobal NYC 2025 because they recognized a huge problem in the crypto world - people are constantly getting their wallets drained by sophisticated attacks like flash loan exploits, sandwich attacks, and malicious smart contracts that trick users into authorizing transactions that empty their accounts.

What makes SENTINEL special is that it doesn't just sit there waiting for something bad to happen like traditional security tools. Instead, it uses artificial intelligence agents powered by Fetch.ai that actively analyze every transaction, smart contract interaction, and network behavior pattern in real-time. These AI agents are smart enough to make split-second decisions to block suspicious activities without bothering the user, kind of like how your bank might automatically decline a suspicious credit card transaction. The platform connects seamlessly to wallets through MetaMask and WalletConnect using Dynamic's SDK, giving users a smooth experience while maintaining top-tier security.

The really clever part is the emergency recovery system they built. If your wallet ever gets compromised, SENTINEL has a guardian system where trusted people in your network can help you rotate your wallet's signing keys and recover your funds. They've also integrated with Walrus Protocol to store attack patterns and evidence in a decentralized way, so the system gets smarter over time by learning from attacks across the entire network. The whole thing runs on Zircuit's testnet and features a beautiful, modern interface with glassmorphism design that makes complex security features actually enjoyable to use.

To demonstrate how it works, they created a demo system where you can simulate real attacks - like drainer attempts, flash loan exploits, and sandwich attacks - and watch in real-time as SENTINEL's AI agents detect and neutralize these threats. The platform shows live alerts, service status updates, and lets you test the recovery features, proving that this isn't just a concept but a fully functional security solution. What's really impressive is that they've managed to create something that feels like having a team of expert security analysts watching your wallet around the clock, except it's all automated and works instantly. In a world where billions of dollars are lost to crypto attacks every year, SENTINEL represents a major step forward in making DeFi accessible and safe for everyday users who don't have the technical expertise to spot sophisticated threats themselves.

How Sentinel Came to Life - Behind the Scenes at ETHGlobal NYC 2025 Building Sentinel was like assembling a high-tech security team where each member has a specific superpower, but getting them all to work together was the real challenge. The team knew they wanted to create something that could actually protect people's crypto wallets in real-time, not just another demo that looks pretty but doesn't do anything useful. The Foundation - Choosing the Right Tools For the frontend, they went with Next.js 14 because it handles both the pretty user interface and the complex server-side rendering that makes everything load fast. TypeScript was a no-brainer since it catches bugs before they become embarrassing demo failures, and Tailwind CSS let them create that sleek glassmorphism design that makes the app look like it's from the future. The backend runs on FastAPI with Python because it's incredibly fast and perfect for handling the real-time threat detection that Sentinel needs to do. Making Friends with the Sponsors - The Integration Story Getting all four sponsor technologies to play nicely together was like organizing a group project where everyone speaks a different language. Dynamic SDK became their wallet connection wizard - instead of writing hundreds of lines of code to handle different wallet types, they could just use Dynamic's clean interface that works with MetaMask, WalletConnect, and pretty much every wallet out there. It was honestly a lifesaver because wallet connections are usually a nightmare to implement. Fetch.ai brought the real magic with their AI agents. These aren't just chatbots - they're autonomous programs that can actually analyze threat patterns and make decisions about whether something looks suspicious. The team built a system where these AI agents continuously evaluate wallet activities and assign risk scores, basically giving every user their own personal cybersecurity expert that never takes a coffee break. Walrus Protocol solved a tricky problem they didn't even know they had initially. When you're dealing with security incidents and attack evidence, you need somewhere safe to store that information where bad actors can't tamper with it. Walrus gives them decentralized storage that's essentially tamper-proof, so when Sentinel detects an attack, the evidence is permanently and securely recorded. Zircuit provided the blockchain infrastructure where they could deploy smart contracts quickly and cheaply. They built a clever guardian recovery system on Zircuit that lets trusted friends or family members help recover a compromised wallet - think of it as a crypto version of having spare house keys with your neighbors. The Real Problems They Had to Solve Like any good hackathon story, nothing worked perfectly the first time. React hydration was their first major headache - the server and browser were showing different content, which made the app look broken. Their solution was elegantly simple: just show a loading state until everything's properly loaded on the browser side. Sometimes the best solutions are the most straightforward ones. The demo attack generator was particularly clever. They needed to show how Sentinel responds to real threats without actually putting anyone's wallet at risk. So they created a system that generates fake but realistic attack patterns - multiple suspicious contract approvals, rapid transactions that look like flash loan exploits, and MEV bot activities that mimic sandwich attacks. It's like a flight simulator for crypto security. CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) nearly killed them during development. The browser kept blocking their API calls because of security restrictions. Their final solution was wonderfully pragmatic for a hackathon - just allow everything. It's not production-ready, but it works perfectly for demonstrating the platform to judges. The Design Philosophy The glassmorphism interface wasn't just about looking cool (though it definitely does). They wanted Sentinel to feel approachable and modern rather than intimidating like traditional security software. The transparent, blurred glass effect with subtle animations makes complex security features feel friendly and accessible. They also built real-time status indicators so users can always see that their security services are active and protecting them. Hackathon Hacks and Real Solutions Every hackathon project has those moments where you have to get creative. Dynamic SDK version compatibility was one of those moments - the authentication property they needed didn't exist in the version they were using, so they built their own authentication detection system. It actually ended up being more reliable than relying on a single property that might change between versions. What's impressive about Sentinel is that while it was built in a hackathon environment, it's architected like a real product. The code is clean, properly typed, handles errors gracefully, and actually solves a genuine problem that affects millions of crypto users. It's not just a proof of concept - it's a working security platform that demonstrates the future of AI-powered DeFi protection.