· Pre-ICO Bounty Programs
Like the name implies, these are bounty programs that are carried out before the actual ICO. They are usually done to get the buzz going and to give the cryptocurrency project an improved presence on social media platforms. It is all about creating awareness for the cryptocurrency ICO and to get the word-of-mouth going. The framework is such that informal advertising channels are utilized to increase market penetration. The aim of such bounties is that as participants go about carrying out the various activities, the people in their circle begin to know more about the cryptocurrency. The common Pre-ICO bounty activities include:
- Social Media Campaign Bounties
This involves activities that promote the ICO on the social media accounts of participants. The rewards earned depend on the engagement levels generated by such posts. This can be in the form of retweets, likes, shares, views, and comments. The popular social media platforms used for ICO bounty programs include Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
- Article Writing Bounties
This is for participants who have blogs with a large number of followers and readers. ICO bounty programs can offer rewards to bloggers to write featured articles about the ICO on their blogs. Just like the social media bounty, the rewards will be dependent on the engagement level of the articles and blog posts.
- Bitcointalk Signature Bounties
This is a popular bounty for many ICOs. It is open to participants of the Bitcointalk forum. The ICO releases a signature with a code embedded in it. The ranking of the participants who post this signature determines the number of stakes they get. For most bounty programs, only people on Bitcointalk who are Jr. Members and above can participate.
· Post-ICO Bounty Programs
At this point, the ICO has been completed and funds have been raised. Now, it’s all about making improvements to the cryptocurrency projects based on community suggestions. Post-ICO bounty programs are aimed at improving feedback from the project community. Some of the common types of Post-ICO bounty programs are as follows:
- Translation Campaign Bounties
This involves translating all documents pertaining to the cryptocurrency project as well as moderating different forum groups. It is the perfect bounty program for native speakers of languages like Japanese, French, Spanish, Dutch, and German etc. The common translation activities include cryptocurrency website, white paper and the Bitcointalk ANN thread.
- Bug Reporting Bounties
Apart from being an effective bounty campaign activity, bug reporting also helps the developers. A good bug report clearly and concisely identifies issues with the cryptocurrency software or platform.
It is important to note that there isn’t a hard and fast rule as concerns the activities for Pre-ICO and Post-ICO campaigns. Cryptocurrency ICOs can decide to use any of the aforementioned activities in either Pre or Post-ICO bounty programs.
It is common for a cryptocurrency start-up to set aside a percentage of the total coin supply for the bounty program. Information regarding this amount can usually be found on their website, white paper or Bitcointalk ANN thread.
How to Get Involved in ICO Bounties
ICO bounty programs are a great way to participate in the market and earn tokens. These tokens can even be exchanged for fiat money. Most of the activities aren’t really technical in nature as they rely on common internet activities and interactions. One of the best ways to get involved in bounty programs is via the Bitcointalk and Cryptocointalk forums. Almost all ICO bounties are listed here.
The Future of Bounty Programs
As ICOs rose in popularity in 2017, so did bounty programs. The allure of getting free tokens for promotional activities was something that appealed to a lot of crypto hobbyists. However, bounty programs have come under scrutiny from some financial regulators like the United States SEC. The reason for this is that bounty programs essentially encourage people to participate in a commodity that has a financial risk.