Bitcoin-native bounty infrastructure
Software bounties, paid in bitcoin — the moment work is approved.
SatCode connects projects that need software built with the developers who build it, and settles every reward instantly and self-custodially over the Ark protocol. No invoices, no bank rails, no channel to open just to get paid.
Open-source Bitcoin software still runs on volunteer time
Most of the software the Bitcoin ecosystem depends on is maintained by a small pool of contributors, funded inconsistently, and paid through rails that don't fit a global, permissionless contributor base — bank transfers, PayPal, the occasional grant.
Bounties solve the incentive problem. Bitcoin solves the currency problem. Ark solves the part that's made Bitcoin bounties clunky until now — getting paid used to mean managing a Lightning channel or waiting on liquidity. It doesn't anymore.
How it works
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01
Post
A project describes the work and funds the bounty in bitcoin.
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02
Claim & build
A developer claims the bounty and submits their work.
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03
Approve
The project reviews the submission and approves it.
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04
Get paid
Bitcoin settles instantly to the contributor's self-custodial Ark wallet.
Why Ark
Ark is a Bitcoin layer-2 protocol that settles payments through virtual UTXOs (VTXOs) shared with an Ark server, instead of individual payment channels. A developer claiming their first bounty doesn't need inbound liquidity, a funded channel, or any Lightning setup first — they just receive.
Funds stay self-custodial throughout, with a guaranteed path to reclaim them on-chain if the server ever goes offline. Ark also interoperates with Lightning, so a payout can move further into the wider Bitcoin payments ecosystem from there.
- No inbound liquidity required
- Self-custodial throughout
- Guaranteed on-chain exit
- Interoperates with Lightning
Lightning-only bounty tools ask the recipient to show up with inbound liquidity or fall back to a hosted wallet. Ark removes that first-payout friction.
What a bounty looks like
Illustrative examples, not live listings — the real board is on the app.
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Example
Fix reconnection bug in a self-custodial mobile wallet
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Example
Build a VTXO explorer UI for an Ark server
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Example
Add multilingual support to a bounty-tracking CLI
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Example
Write integration tests for a Cashu mint
For funders
SatCode is seeking support from the organizations funding Bitcoin's open-source future. The fit is direct: bounties turn grant capital into shipped, reviewed code one approved unit of work at a time — and every payout settles in bitcoin, without touching fiat rails. The platform is live at app.satcode.xyz.
Funding goes toward the work that makes it durable:
- An independent security audit of the escrow script, FROST threshold signing, and oracle node software
- The dispute layer: a staked, randomly selected juror network for human-judged work, and DLC oracles for machine-verifiable bounties
- Publishing the full protocol as open NIPs, so anyone can run a compatible client, oracle, or juror node
- Documentation and integration guides for projects posting their first bounty
FAQ
Do I need a Lightning node or wallet already set up?
No. Ark's design means a first-time recipient can receive a payout without any channel or liquidity setup.
Is SatCode open source?
Open item Yes, SatCode is open source. You can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or any later version.
Who holds the funds while a bounty is open?
No one — including SatCode. A funded bounty is a Taproot escrow: a virtual UTXO on Ark with fixed spending paths — cooperative release to the contributor, dispute paths that need a threshold arbiter key plus the winning party, and a reclaim path for the poster if the work is never taken. The Ark server co-signs settlement rounds but can't spend from any path on its own, and either side can always exit to on-chain bitcoin.
What happens if a submission is disputed?
Dispute resolution is built into the escrow itself. Subjective work goes to a randomly selected panel of staked jurors; machine-verifiable work is attested by a threshold of independent DLC oracles. Either way the verdict is a threshold signature — no single party, SatCode included, can move escrowed funds alone — and every verdict is published as a signed, publicly auditable Nostr event.