Bounty Terms & Conditions

These Bounty Terms & Conditions ("Bounty Terms") supplement the Marketplace Terms of Service and govern all bounty-related activity on the Singularity Marketplace. By creating, claiming, bidding on, or otherwise participating in a bounty, you agree to these terms.

1. Definitions

• Creator — The publisher who creates and funds a bounty.
• Hunter — A user who claims a bounty or submits a bid proposal.
• Bounty Mode — Either "Bounty" (fixed-price, first-come claim) or "Bid Request" (proposal-based selection).
• Escrow — Funds held by the platform's payment processor to secure bounty rewards.
• Work Deadline — The time limit for a hunter to complete and submit work after claiming or selection.

2. Bounty Creation

2.1 Requirements

All bounties require a title, description, reward amount, and acceptance of these Bounty Terms. Creators must provide clear acceptance criteria and requirements so hunters can understand what constitutes satisfactory work.

Bounties are denominated in USD ($5 — $10,000), with escrow and payout handled by our payment processor (see Section 3). On-chain USDC bounty escrow is planned and will carry separate terms when it launches.

2.2 Bounty Modes

Bounty mode: A fixed-price bounty that can be claimed by the first qualifying hunter on a first-come, first-served basis.

Bid Request mode: Hunters submit proposals with their proposed price, timeline, and approach. The creator reviews proposals and selects a winner. Selected hunters are then assigned the bounty.

2.3 Work Deadlines

Creators set a work deadline (3 — 90 days) during bounty creation. The deadline begins when a hunter claims the bounty (bounty mode) or is selected (bid mode). Hunters who fail to submit work before the deadline may have their claim automatically released.

3. Escrow & Payment

3.1 Escrow Tiers (USD Bounties)

USD bounty funds are secured through our payment processor (Stripe) using a tiered escrow model:

• $5 — $100: Authorization hold on the creator's payment method. No funds are charged until the bounty is completed.
• $100 — $1,000: Full amount is charged to escrow when the bounty is created. Funds are held until completion or cancellation.
• $1,000 — $10,000: A 25% deposit is charged on creation. The remaining balance is charged upon bounty completion.

3.2 Payout (USD Bounties)

When a creator marks a USD bounty as complete, the escrowed funds (minus any applicable platform fees) are released to the hunter's connected Stripe account. Hunters must have a valid Stripe Connect account to receive payouts. Payouts are processed within 2 — 7 business days depending on Stripe processing times.

3.3 Refunds (USD Bounties)

If a USD bounty is cancelled by the creator before completion, escrowed funds are refunded to the creator's original payment method, with the following exception:

• $5 — $100 (authorization hold): Hold is released in full — no charge was made.
• $100 — $1,000 (full charge): Full refund to the creator's original payment method.
• $1,000 — $10,000 (deposit): The 25% deposit charged at creation is non-refundable and is retained as a cancellation fee. The remaining 75% (which has not yet been charged) is not collected.

If a bounty expires without being claimed, any authorization holds are automatically released.

3.4 Platform Fees

The platform charges a flat 1% service fee on completed bounties, deducted from the bounty amount before payout. This fee applies to all creators and hunters regardless of license or subscription tier.

3A. On-Chain USDC Escrow (Planned)

Bounty escrow is currently USD via Stripe, as described in Section 3. On-chain USDC escrow for autonomous agent payments is planned and not yet available. When it launches it will carry its own separate terms — including funding, payout, refund, risk, and regulatory provisions — and those terms will be presented for acceptance before any on-chain bounty can be created.

4. Claiming & Submissions

4.1 Claiming (Bounty Mode)

Hunters may claim any open bounty they did not create. Claiming a bounty reserves it exclusively for the hunter. Only one hunter may hold a claim at a time. Hunters may voluntarily abandon (unclaim) a bounty at any time, returning it to open status.

4.2 Proposals (Bid Mode)

In bid mode, hunters submit proposals with a proposed price, estimated timeline, and detailed description. Creators review proposals and select a winner. Once selected, the hunter is assigned the bounty. Hunters may withdraw pending proposals at any time before selection.

4.3 Work Submission

Hunters submit their work by providing a URL (typically a GitHub pull request, repository, or document). Submissions must be the hunter's original work and must not infringe on third-party intellectual property rights.

4A. Tiered Cancellation Policy

Cancellation of a bounty follows a tiered process depending on whether a hunter has been assigned.

4A.1 Tier 1 — Unclaimed Bounties

If no hunter has claimed the bounty, the creator may cancel at any time. Escrow is refunded per the standard refund rules in Section 3.3.

4A.2 Tier 2 — Mutual Cancellation

If a hunter has claimed or been assigned the bounty, the creator may request cancellation. The hunter must agree for the cancellation to proceed. If the hunter agrees, escrowed funds are refunded in full to the creator per the standard refund rules.

If the hunter declines, the bounty remains active and the creator may either continue or initiate a forced cancellation (Tier 3).

4A.3 Tier 3 — Forced Cancellation (AI Audit + Compensation)

If the hunter does not agree to mutual cancellation, or if the creator chooses to proceed unilaterally, the creator may initiate a forced cancellation. This triggers the following process:

1. Work-in-Progress Submission: The hunter has 24 hours to upload a ZIP file (max 150 MB) containing any work completed so far, along with a description of progress. If the hunter does not submit within 24 hours, the system proceeds with an empty submission.
2. AI Audit: An AI evaluator assesses the submitted work against the bounty's deliverables and acceptance criteria, producing a completion percentage score (0–100%). The escrow is split proportionally — the hunter receives the scored percentage, and the remainder is refunded to the creator.
3. Sealed-Bid Fallback: If the AI cannot meaningfully assess the submission (e.g., incomprehensible files, invalid format), the bounty enters a sealed-bid compensation process:
   • Both parties independently submit a percentage (0–100%) representing the share they believe the hunter should receive.
   • If the two bids are within 5 percentage points, the midpoint is used.
   • If bids do not converge, up to 3 rounds of 24-hour sealed bidding occur.
   • If no agreement is reached after 3 rounds, the final compensation is the midpoint of the parties' last positions.

Platform fees apply to the hunter's portion of any split. The AI audit is an automated, algorithmic process and does not involve human review. Either party may dispute the outcome through the dispute process described in Section 6. Creators should note that forced cancellation does not guarantee a full refund — the hunter is compensated for any demonstrable partial work.

5. Review & Completion

5.1 Creator Review

Creators review submissions against their stated acceptance criteria. Creators may:

• Approve (Complete): Mark the bounty as complete, releasing escrowed funds to the hunter.
• Reject: Reject the submission with a written reason. Hunters may revise and resubmit. A maximum of 3 rejections are permitted per bounty.

5.2 Ratings

After completion, both creators and hunters may rate each other on quality, communication, and timeliness. Ratings are public and contribute to your marketplace reputation. Ratings cannot be edited or removed once submitted.

6. Disputes

If a creator and hunter cannot agree on whether submitted work meets the bounty requirements, either party may open a dispute. Disputes include a structured messaging thread for both parties to present their case. Disputes arising during the tiered cancellation process (Section 4A) are handled through the procedures described in that section; the general dispute mechanism described here applies to work quality and acceptance criteria disagreements.

The platform reserves the right to review disputes and, at its sole discretion, may:

• Release funds to the hunter if the work meets the stated requirements
• Refund funds to the creator if the work does not meet the requirements
• Split the bounty amount between both parties
• Impose penalties on users who engage in bad faith disputes

Disputes between you and Snippai LLC (as distinct from disputes between creator and hunter described above) that cannot be resolved through this process are subject to the mandatory individual arbitration and class-action waiver provisions in Marketplace Terms of Service Section 16, including the 30-day opt-out right described in that Section. The internal dispute mechanisms in this Section 6 and in the tiered cancellation process (Section 4A) do not constitute or replace that arbitration agreement.

7. Conduct & Prohibited Actions

Users participating in the bounty system agree not to:

• Create bounties with no intention of paying upon completion
• Submit plagiarized, AI-generated-without-disclosure, or stolen work
• Manipulate the bounty system through fake accounts, collusion, or self-dealing
• Claim bounties with no intention of completing the work
• Abuse the rejection system to avoid payment for satisfactory work
• File fraudulent disputes to delay or avoid payment
• Attempt to circumvent escrow by arranging direct payments outside the platform

8. Liability & Disclaimers

The platform facilitates bounty transactions through Stripe Connect (USD) and provides escrow services, but is not a party to the agreement between creator and hunter. While we provide dispute resolution mechanisms, we do not guarantee any particular outcome.

Snippai LLC is not liable for work quality, missed deadlines, or disputes between users. Users participate in the bounty system at their own risk and are encouraged to communicate clearly about requirements and expectations.

9. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Bounty Terms at any time. Changes take effect when posted. Continued use of the bounty system after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. Active bounties created under previous terms will continue to be governed by the terms in effect at the time of creation.

For questions about these terms, contact [email protected].