Quite a few aspects of online life can be decentralized with a bit of effort. One of the newer projects focusing on decentralization is Bounty0x, which aims to decentralize bounty management. It’s a surprising take on things, although it makes a lot of sense as well. Bounties are often far too centralized for their own good, which can create a lot of friction along the way.
Bounty0x Tries to do Things Differently
Decentralizing the concept of bounty management will not be an easy task by any means. A lot of people rely on bounties as a way to make some money on the side, either in the form of crypto or fiat currencies. The concept of bounties is quite expansive, to say the least, as we are not talking just about signature campaigns on forums. Bounties encompass security issues, for example.
The challenge being tackled by the Bounty0x team is threefold. First of all, they aim to allow any company or project in the world to host and manage bounty campaigns in a decentralized manner. That in itself will be pretty challenging, as virtually all of these efforts are conducted through centralized platforms and other means these days. Changing that situation will not happen overnight by any means.
Moreover, the people participating in these bounty campaigns also must see the added value in this new decentralized platform. Finding bounties through centralized means has been relatively easy, and there are even “job boards” specializing in this type of service these days. With a decentralized model, things will look very different, to say the least. At the same time, one could argue a decentralized approach may actually make more people “virtual bounty hunters” again.
Perhaps the most important aspect of any venture like this one is how the bounty task submission review process will be performed. Traditionally, there is usually one entity who oversees this activity and determines whether or not said “contributor” should be paid out in the first place. In a decentralized world, one needs to find some sort of consensus across different parties before a payout can be considered. It seems Bounty0x will use a form of third-party review known as bounty sheriffs.
Judging from the limited information we now know about Bounty0x, it appears a fully decentralized model will be incredibly difficult to achieve. There will always be a need for third parties, although it remains to be seen how these “sheriffs” will be appointed exactly. The logical option would be to introduce some sort of voting or governance system without any shred of centralization, although that is much easier said than done. It will be interesting to see how the team decides to handle this particular aspect, as the project will stand or fall based on the technology under the hood.
In the end, it is good to see more projects focusing on the decentralization of various aspects of online life. Bounty management is not something a lot of startups or projects are exploring right now, even though there is a growing need for them. Particularly in the security sector, it seems more and more companies are focusing on bounty programs right now. Decentralization will remove central points of failure associated with this business practice, which can only be considered a good thing.
