From Smart Contracts to Smarter Chains: How Martin Derka Built Zircuit

Most blockchains react to hacks. Martin Derka wanted one that could prevent them.
At Korea Blockchain Week, Zircuit’s Founder and CEO went out to chat with Supermoon Co-Founder Elena Obukhova to discuss how his background as a smart contract auditor shaped a new kind of Layer-2 architecture designed with security at its core.

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Before launching Zircuit, Martin spent years at Quantstamp, where he audited hundreds of protocols and watched the same vulnerabilities appear again and again. “We kept asking ourselves if blockchains could do more for users,” he said. “What if they could actually stop an exploit before it happens?” That question became the seed for Zircuit, a zero-knowledge rollup built to embed security tooling directly into its infrastructure.

Zircuit was incubated by Quantstamp, but it quickly grew into its own ecosystem. “It wasn’t just my dream,” Martin explained. “Others wanted to build a blockchain more secure than any out there.” The project gathered researchers and engineers aligned on that vision, prioritizing collaboration over competition. “In crypto, partnerships are everything. We even work with competitors because the goal is to bring the next billion users on-chain,” he added.

When the conversation turned to mentorship, Martin’s advice to founders was clear: act decisively, learn continuously, and focus relentlessly. “Nothing happens without action,” he said. “Don’t wait for perfect timing, take the first step.” He also urged builders to find mentors, formal or not, and to listen. “Learning from someone else’s experience is faster and less painful,” he told Elena.

The key takeaway: progress starts with a recurring problem that needs fixing. “Know what the most impactful thing is,” Martin said. “Do it well, push it over the finish line, and only then move on.”

As Zircuit continues expanding its secure L2 ecosystem, his message resonates beyond code. Whether building blockchains or startups, execution and clarity matter most, and as Martin put it, “Always focus on one thing, and do it as best as you can.”

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