10 ♥ · Incentive · Draft
Bounty
A posted task with a fixed reward that anyone can claim by delivering the result first or best.
How it works
The DAO writes down a task, the proof it wants, and the reward. It locks the reward in a holding contract, called an escrow, or names the budget it comes from. Anyone can pick up the task without asking for permission. A worker submits the result along with the proof. A reviewer named in the posting checks the submission against the written terms. If it passes, the escrow releases the reward; if not, the task stays open for the next person.
Use it when
- You have a clear, one-off task and no one on staff to do it.
- Pay outsiders to find bugs before an attacker does.
- Test new contributors on small work before offering them a role.
Watch out for
- Vague terms lead to disputes over whether the work is done, and the reviewer has to pick a side.
- Several people may do the same work and only one gets paid, which wastes effort.
Example
Immunefi. Immunefi has run bug bounties for DeFi protocols since 2020, paying hackers who report a flaw before it is exploited, including a 10 million dollar bounty in 2022.