Kill Mechanics & Refunds
Kill Rules
- Minimum 40% compute must be burned before a kill is allowed
- Remaining compute refunded to sponsors proportionally
- Pool marked "Exhausted" or "Killed by operator" with reason
- Kill rate tracked on operator reputation — too many kills = sponsors lose trust
On Kill/Expire
- Remaining compute refunded to sponsors proportionally
- Pool marked with termination reason
- Sponsors see: time spent, compute used, scope covered, termination reason
Anti-Abuse: 30-Day Watch
When an operator kills a pool:
- 30-day watch window activated on that operator × target combination
- Any finding on the same target within 30 days triggers an automatic dispute
- This prevents the "kill then submit solo" attack — where an operator finds a bug, kills the pool to avoid sharing the bounty, then submits the finding under a different identity
Detection Layers
| Layer | Mechanism | What It Catches |
|---|---|---|
| Timing correlation | Finding appears on source platform suspiciously close to a pool kill | Operators who kill and quickly submit solo |
| Community reporting | Sponsors can open disputes with evidence | Crowdsourced watchdog for suspicious behavior |
| Reputation nuke | Permanent ban, all pending earnings frozen, public profile shame | Penalty so severe it's never worth attempting |
| Finding hash commitment | Cryptographic proof of prior work | Proves a finding existed at a specific time in the pool |
Penalty
If caught: permanent ban, all pending earnings frozen, public shame on profile. The penalty is designed to be so severe that the attack is never worth attempting, regardless of bounty size.