How Challenges Work
Understand the complete lifecycle of a challenge from creation to payout.
Challenge Lifecycle
proposed→Challenge submitted, awaiting funding or upvotesfunding→Accepting contributions to reach funding thresholdopen→Active - accepting submissionsactive→Has submissions, being reviewedvoting→Community voting on best solutionsolved→Winner selected and paidCreating a Challenge
Challenges are created as GitHub issues in the The Jam repository.
- Go to Create Challenge
- Write a clear title and description
- Set acceptance criteria
- Choose funding method:
- Self-fund: Deposit USDC immediately
- Crowdfund: Let others contribute
- Free: Upvote-based (needs 20+ upvotes to activate)
Funding Thresholds
| Type | Threshold | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Funded | $10 USDC minimum | Goes live immediately |
| Free | 20 upvotes | Community-validated |
Prize Distribution
- Winner: 95% of prize pool
- Platform fee: 5%
Payouts are processed automatically via our escrow smart contract on Base.
Winner Selection
The challenge creator (or admin) selects the winning solution:
- Review all submitted PRs
- Verify the solution meets acceptance criteria
- Click "Select Winner" on the winning submission
- USDC is automatically transferred to winner's wallet
⚠️ Important
Winners must have a registered wallet to receive payouts. If no wallet is set, the payout is queued until they register one.