Bounty for ICOs

Does anyone know more about this, how it works - have seen ICOs on Reddit offering tokens if you share about their coins, like X tokens per tweet if you have so many followers, etc.

Has anyone done this? I have seen some huge accounts tracking this stuff around, but, it looks like it's potentially a part time job or even a full time one. And how many of the tokens will finally turn out to be valuable?

Mind you I did see a lot of posts in something like Russian, and maybe it's a way to get tokens which could turn out to be more use for a long term hold, than your local fiat... I mean, they are not the sort of tokens, in every case, that you'd wanna spend U$D on.

Within the cryptocurrency scene, bounties have become a useful part of any ICO campaign. Many start-ups usually incorporate a bounty program as part of their ICO campaign. During the bounty program, the ICOs provide compensation for a number of tasks spread across marketing, bug reporting or even improving aspects of the cryptocurrency framework. The reward is usually in the form of cryptocurrency tokens or fiat currency (this option is however rare). The cryptocurrency space has proved to be a massively conducive environment for bounty programs. This is because it offers great rewards and incentives for both the cryptocurrency start-up and individuals alike.

Bounties are basically a way for projects to get community members involved in spreading the news about their projects. In return for help and activity, these projects can provide tokens, capital, or other rewards, encouraging further assistance.

If the rewards are nice, bounties seem like a pretty good way to build a strong community around an up-and-coming project.

I took part in more than 30 bounty campaigns.
I did it mostly for test reasons and to better understand how it works. Now I'm not active in bounties as anyway they require time.
What can I say in brief - Bounties is good way to have additional income and good way for new people to join cryptocurrency world.
For the latter reason I was very enthusiastic about bounties.
For everyone I would suggest to take part in bounties where you like the project, where you really want to be engaged and hold tokens for a long term.
Because just after ICO price of tokens is usually small, sometimes bounty reward can be only few dollars.
But if you wait and project advances, when market goes up - it can be x10 or even more, so even your bounty reward can become good analogy of salary or investment.
From my experience best bounty campaign type is Signature campaign - on Bitcointalk, but for this you need to have strong account. And now with merit system it's really hard to have strong account.
Other types of bounties which you might take part in - article bounty (if you like writing or have your blog), translation bounty, social media bounty..

I would be happy to share my experience more

@flodner said in Bounty for ICOs:

From my experience best bounty campaign type is Signature campaign - on Bitcointalk, but for this you need to have strong account. And now with merit system it's really hard to have strong account.
Other types of bounties which you might take part in - article bounty (if you like writing or have your blog), translation bounty, social media bounty..

I would be happy to share my experience more

Would be interested in hearing more...

You mention your favorite bounty campaign type (signature campaign), but it would be cool to hear more about what other types of bounties you have participated in (out of the estimated 30 campaigns in total), along with the similarities and differences between different types of campaigns (based on your experience).

@afridylan
I have 10k+ followers on twitter (many of them are into crypto area, but of course not the majority as I was active in that twitter a while ago) so I focused on taking part in Twitter campaigns where bounty managers gave x4 number of stakes to those who have 5k+ or 10k+ followers.

I think that's right, because why those who have let's say 50 or 100 followers will get the same amount of tokens as those who have thousands? So because anyway even with retweets you have limited number of campaigns you can join - I decided to focus on those where I can get maximum.

I think the biggest what I got for Twitter was around $1000 worth of tokens at ICO price (yes, I got 100 000 of tokens).. but... I can't sell them as they are available for sale only on Etherdelta and the project was not successful... But there is still a chance that they can make beta version of their project so there is a chance token price will return at least to ICO price..

In some other cases I got around $200-300 and was able to sell tokens, but usually for Twitter the amount might be around $50-100

Now I stopped taking part in Twitter campaign and one of the reasons was the small amount of tokens..
Usually Twitter is 10-15% of total campaign and the number of participants might be big, so not so many tokens left for everyone..

I.e. in one campaign there was a rule that you have to do 4 retweets a day (with 1 hour time-frame) but it looked interesting so I took part and.. received smaller amount then expected (may be bounty manager took my tokens - this also happens sometimes) .. it was $9 worth of tokens.. so really waste of time, taking to account how many retweets should you do.

In comparison, often for 1 article you can get more tokens than for the weeks of retweets...
So in article bounty I might continue with bounties, but better to focus on the projects you like.

Also some projects have "Creative bounty" - you can suggest something creative and receive tokens for that. Of course here the number of tokens will be bigger than for social media bounty.

Also good idea is to work directly with somebody from ICO team. I. e. if you might be helpful in some way for the project - you can suggest your idea or service and for your help you may receive good amount of tokens.

From many bounties I have tokens which are worth only few bucks (therefor no reason to sell and I will need to pay transaction fees) and some other tokens are not listed on exchanges.

So really bounty is like lottery, where you pay with your time)

Thanks for sharing, @Flodner. Will have to check out some of these different possibilities, especially the article bounties and creative bounties.

Sounds like a great way to get involved with the projects you are most interested in, gain experience, and maybe come away with a significant reward for your efforts.

@afridylan Yes, don't forget that when this forum grows, it can also become place for bounty. (Only the removal of signatures can prevent it)
For example you have many posts and big authority - so for campaign managers your signature would be very interesting.
On other forums I saw that people were just selling advertising in their signatures)

Also there are several platforms that aim to automate bounties and make them easier for everyone (ICOs and bounty hunters)
But there is no optimal solution.
I.e. there is Bounty0x (and they have own token which is already on Coinmarketcap) but it's still alpha version.. I tested 2 campaigns there but they are still "pending"
There are sites like theviralexchange.com which is good to use for twitter, facebook, but it seems devs abandoned the site and I checked today - it doesn't work at all..
I even met both on forums and in real life people who are working on new bounty automation service(platforms), but it's too early to say something about their projects.

In many countries, it is illegal to receive compensation for endorsing a product without disclosing your motivation. For example, the Federal Trade Commission(FTC) in the United States of America states:

If you write about how much you like something you bought on your own and you’re not being rewarded, you don’t have to worry. However, if you’re doing it as part of a sponsored campaign or you’re being compensated – for example, getting a discount on a future purchase or being entered into a sweepstakes for a significant prize – then a disclosure is appropriate.

And disclosing is not enough. You still must be honest. As the FTC states:

The most important principle is that an endorsement has to represent the accurate experience and opinion of the endorser: You can’t talk about your experience with a product if you haven’t tried it. If you were paid to try a product and you thought it was terrible, you can’t say it’s terrific.

Just like saying that you didn't know it was against the law is no defence with anything else, it won't help you here. Nor does the 'But everyone else is doing it.' excuse help you anymore than it does when you're caught for speeding.

"The FTC conducts investigations and brings cases involving endorsements made on behalf of an advertiser under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which generally prohibits deceptive advertising."

And just for good measure, the fines have gone up:
15 U.S.C. 45(m)(1)(A) (unfair or deceptive acts or practices)—Increase from $16,000 to $40,000

So if you do get involved in bounty programs, remember that it is your responsibility to know what laws you're breaking. And to avoid the $40,000 potential fine, make sure your disclosure states clearly that you've made the post in the hope of gaining a reward. And that the disclosure is prominent and likely to be read by someone who starts reading your post, not just those who read the end matter after your post.

@timmarsh said in Bounty for ICOs:

In many countries, it is illegal to receive compensation for endorsing a product without disclosing your motivation. For example, the Federal Trade Commission(FTC) in the United States of America states:

If you write about how much you like something you bought on your own and you’re not being rewarded, you don’t have to worry. However, if you’re doing it as part of a sponsored campaign or you’re being compensated – for example, getting a discount on a future purchase or being entered into a sweepstakes for a significant prize – then a disclosure is appropriate.

And disclosing is not enough. You still must be honest. As the FTC states:

The most important principle is that an endorsement has to represent the accurate experience and opinion of the endorser: You can’t talk about your experience with a product if you haven’t tried it. If you were paid to try a product and you thought it was terrible, you can’t say it’s terrific.

Just like saying that you didn't know it was against the law is no defence with anything else, it won't help you here. Nor does the 'But everyone else is doing it.' excuse help you anymore than it does when you're caught for speeding.

"The FTC conducts investigations and brings cases involving endorsements made on behalf of an advertiser under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which generally prohibits deceptive advertising."

And just for good measure, the fines have gone up:
15 U.S.C. 45(m)(1)(A) (unfair or deceptive acts or practices)—Increase from $16,000 to $40,000

So if you do get involved in bounty programs, remember that it is your responsibility to know what laws you're breaking. And to avoid the $40,000 potential fine, make sure your disclosure states clearly that you've made the post in the hope of gaining a reward. And that the disclosure is prominent and likely to be read by someone who starts reading your post, not just those who read the end matter after your post.

Maybe illegal, but enforcement is a completely different story.... How might paid celebrity endorsements fit into all this?

Thanks @Flodner for sharing the information and @timmarsh for that regulatory detail - but as @AfriDylan said, how can this be enforced? Having said this, I think full disclosure is the professional way to go.

Thank you @timmarsh for bringing the law aspect. I think most of people who are involved in bounty both as organisers and participants are not aware of them.

However I will bring the following points:

1. The majority of people in crypto area do not care about FTC and in general negatively perceive any government regulation. So even if you bring this to attention - they will ignore it.

2. Big part of the bounty is done in a way that participants are not endorsing a product, but rather sharing information. Or is it endorsement too? It's complicated question. May be because of this reason I noticed that some famous people put "RT=/endorsement".
   So if somebody puts signature of some project - is it endorsement? If you do retweet, is it endorsement?
   I think no. What do you think?

3. Many ICOs do not accept US citizens as investors, so what in this case? If US citizen endorses project which doesn't accept US citizens to invest?

In my opinion FTC won't notice this, imagine how many profiles, social media accounts exists..
While there are known and respected people who openly endorse project (well, I'm sure not for free) - but even they didn't have problems with FTC

@AfriDylan @CryptoChica it would be good to hear your thoughts as well!

@Flodner I think just because you probably won't get caught, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't behave in a professional and ethical manner. As this market matures a little, I think the cream will rise to the top, and those that act within accepted boundaries are the ones who will probably succeed in the long-term. Having said that, breaking away from accepted norms is one of the things that is quite refreshing about this sector

@cryptochica More important is not the question if you will be caught, but the question are bounties ethical?
Actually as for me - bounties is a very good way for new people to come into crypto without investment.
Also it's a good way to get understanding of the market.
Some bounties are not conducted in ethical way. Well, that's understandable, if some ICOs are scam -then how can they have non-scam bounty?..

I think the easy solution might be to get the understanding of people, that bounties retweets/posts/shares are not endorsement.
And people should understand that investment in cryptocurrencies is high-risk matter, I always repeat this when somebody asks my opinion.
Although among friends I share my opinion of what projects I like, and which I don't like.

The law is pretty simple. If you're benefiting from the action, it is an endorsement. So if you retweet something that you like, and would have retweeted anyway, but get an option to win a chance at a lottery ticket for a token because of it, then it is an endorsement and failing to declare it is illegal.

As for enforcement, it would not be hard at all. A simple bot that scrapes for affiliate tags at the end of URL links and then checks for an endorsement declaration would pull in thousands. And at up to $40,000 a pop, you'd make your money back on that bot many times over. Just because it isn't enforced today does not mean that you won't get charged for it next year.

Imagine a class action of people who bought into an ICO because it looked really popular, and then everyone found out that all of that popularity was fake and the endorsements weren't declared. Imagine if that class action was against the FTC for failing to charge offenders. That class action would certainly find that if the FTC had been doing its job, people would not have believed the ICO was genuinely popular and would not have lost their money. Then watch how proactive the FTC gets.

There are lots of good questions about what circumstances require disclosure, but the quick answer is "If you get something, or just a chance for something, then you must disclose it." This fact sheet from the FTC goes into plenty of detail.

And while the cryptosphere is full of cowboys, and cowgirls, that love the idea that they are doing something that gives them freedom from a lot of bureaucracy, it does not mean they have legal immunity.

Thanks for all the replies on this, I hadn't even considered the legal aspect of it.

Something I've noticed is that when the ICO has ended the social media numbers on an account involved in a Bounty programme drop dramatically so during the ICo the community and numbers grow nicely but straight after they all jump ship so how productive is this in the end? For those taking part in a Bounty and sharing/retweeting stuff how engaged are your audience in the subject matter and how likely are your social followers to actually invest in the product? @Flodner I'd be interested to hear about this from someone who has taken part.

@timmarsh many bounty campaigns (and I would even say most of them) do not use affiliate links. You just retweet and for example if you retweet 5 tweets a week you stakes are counted. At the end of campaign you receive tokens.. Yes, this is also possible to check with bots.. but not everyone who retweets take part in bounty. As I mentioned I don't consider retweet endorsement. May be the court will think otherwise, but who will go to the court for retweets, taking to account that salary of lawyers is very high?

So I don't think this fine will ever be imposed, especially for bounty participants.
However some people who openly endorse coins, like McAfee might be the targets in future.

But I think that's good that you bring this point to discuss.
I abandoned almost all participation in bounties but not for this reason, for the reason that the payment is relatively low and just because I was tired, I did my research and I hope to write some big material about it, which I will definitely share here on Blockchain Forums.

@costatrader Honestly speaking I think all the audience mostly do not care. Right now there are so many ICOs going on.. so I think really social media influence is not so big.. most of the information is lost.. because these days everyone is overwhelmed with information.
That's why some projects decide not to do bounty at all, as they doubt its effectiveness.
I can understand this. But from another point of few doing bounty is a way of sharing your project to community. 1% of tokens is not big, and anyway bounty helps to some extent at least for brand awareness,

Honestly, this thread has shed some light on bounties especially when it comes to the legal side of it. Am a serious crypto bounty hunter and like mentioned above, it's quite time consuming. One may think that you are getting free tokens, but there's some work that goes into it. I also love airdrops. Anyone who's a fan of these? There's this telegram group that constantly brings you airdrops as they are released. Feel free to join https://t.me/rdropz ; get ready to be overwhelmed with airdrops.