OpenCover

OpenCover operates a platform for purchasing onchain cover (described in the market as DeFi insurance alternatives) from third-party underwriters. Users can protect a crypto portfolio against risks including smart contract and protocol hacks, stablecoin depegs, and severe economic events such as oracle manipulation and governance attacks, with cover spanning more than 100 protocols and protocol combinations. Cover positions are represented as ERC-721 proof-of-cover tokens, and the site advertises premiums starting at $2 per week for $5,000 of coverage.

The product line spans retail portfolio cover, "covered vaults" positioned as DeFi yield products with embedded protection, and institutional services for organisations needing bespoke protection. OpenCover also publishes an industry data service that aggregates DeFi cover metrics — total value locked, active cover amount, covers sold, claims and payouts — across cover providers, compiled from onchain events, smart contract state and transaction traces, and states it tracks 96.7% of DeFi cover activity by public TVL across seven chains (Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, BNB Smart Chain, Astar and Avalanche). A learning hub hosts guides, a glossary and a recurring report on the state of DeFi insurance alternatives, alongside profiles of cover providers such as Nexus Mutual, Unslashed Finance, InsurAce, Chainproof, Sherlock, Ease, InsureDAO and UnoRe.

In September 2023 the company announced an Ethereum Layer 2 cover aggregator, initially channeling more than $200m of Nexus Mutual underwriting capital to Layer 2 networks to reduce the transaction cost of buying cover, launching with 12 supported protocols including Curve, Aave and Safe and stated plans to reach over 40. A B2B version of the product was reported to be in development at that time.

Founding story

The company was founded by Y Combinator alumni Jeremiah Smith (Founder & CEO), an entrepreneur and former scientist with an Imperial College PhD awarded in 2015 and prior roles at DX.network, Gelt and CarbonChain (YC S20), and Yury Oparin (Founder & CTO), who has over 15 years of experience across Sprint, UBS and Telstra. The team states it has worked in blockchain since 2017, including building an early real-time data exchange on Ethereum and regulated DLT infrastructure for bond and equity trading.

Business model

OpenCover does not underwrite risk itself; it acts as an aggregator and distribution layer, partnering with vetted onchain underwriters (initially including Nexus Mutual) to sell cover to retail and institutional buyers, and additionally publishes industry data on the DeFi cover market. Specific pricing or take-rate terms beyond advertised consumer premiums are not disclosed in the sources.

Not stated in the sources; the consumer-facing offering is priced as recurring cover premiums (advertised from $2 per week for $5,000 of coverage) purchased and renewed through the OpenCover platform.

Traction

Website counters attribute to its underwriting partners cumulative payouts since 2019, an active cover amount, underwriting capital and over $5bn of all-time value covered. At the September 2023 Layer 2 aggregator launch the company made over $200m of Nexus Mutual underwriting capital available on Layer 2 and supported 12 protocols, targeting more than 40 by year-end.

Latest developments

The site promotes "covered vaults" as a newer offering alongside portfolio cover, institutional services and the industry data dashboard; the leadership team includes Csongor Bokay as VP of Blockchain Engineering, leading blockchain infrastructure development.