Adding Anonymous Rewards to a Bounty

Adding Anonymous Rewards to a Bounty

Lightning Bounties supports anonymous contributions, allowing anyone to add rewards to existing bounties without logging into Lightning Bounties or needing a GitHub account. This feature enables broader community participation and makes it easy for users to support important bounties or fixing issues with sats.

Understanding Anonymous Contributions

Anonymous rewards allow anyone to top-up an existing bounty without requiring a Lightning Bounties platform account. This approach:

• Lowers barriers to participation for occasional contributors

• Preserves privacy for users who prefer not to create accounts

• Enables quick contributions. All you need is a Lightning Wallet that supports Bolt 11 invoices.

• Supports spontaneous funding when users discover important issues

When to Use Anonymous Rewards

Step-by-Step Anonymous Reward Process

Step 1: Navigate to the Bounty

1

Visit app.lightningbounties.com

2

Browse the bounty feed to find the issue you want to support

Verify the bounty is still active (no trophy icon indicates it's unsolved)

3

Click on the bounty card to view full details

Step 2: Create Anonymous Reward

1

Click "Add Reward To This Issue" on the bounty detail page

• Review the issue details to confirm this is the bounty you want to support

2

Enter the amount in sats you want to contribute to the open Bounty

3

Click on Advanced Settings

4

Set lock time for your contribution (optional)

5

Click on Make reward anonymous

6

Click on Add Reward

7

Almost instantly you should see the "Reward added successfully" pop-up

8

See who contributed at the bottom

9

Your anonymous reward is now live!

Anonymous Contribution Scenarios

Scenario 1: Supporting Open Source Projects

Use Case: You discover a critical bug in a project you use daily Process:

1. Find the bounty on Lightning Bounties

2. Add an anonymous reward to increase incentives

3. Share the bounty link with other affected users

Scenario 2: Community-Driven Funding

Use Case: A developer community rallies around an important feature request Process:

1. Multiple anonymous contributors add rewards

2. Total bounty grows to attract skilled developers

3. Community members share progress on forums

Scenario 3: Privacy-Focused Contributions

Use Case: You want to support development but maintain privacy Process:

1. Use anonymous rewards exclusively

2. Verify payments through Branta

3. Track bounty progress without account linkage

Limitations of Anonymous Rewards

No Account Benefits

• Cannot track contributions in a personal dashboard

• No contribution history or statistics

• Cannot reclaim funds if lock time expires

Limited Support Options

• No direct support resolution through platform account

• Cannot modify contributions after payment

• Limited communication with platform support

Converting Anonymous to Account-Based Contributions

If you find yourself regularly contributing anonymously, consider:

1. Creating a Lightning Bounties account for better tracking

2. Using the deposit system for more efficient contributions

Anonymous Reward Best Practices

Contribution Sizing

• Start with smaller amounts to test the process

• Consider multiple smaller contributions rather than one large payment

• Factor in Lightning Network fees for very small amounts

Issue Selection

• Choose well-defined bounties with clear acceptance criteria

• Support active projects with responsive maintainers

• Verify issue relevance before contributing

Community Coordination

• Share bounty links in relevant forums and chat channels

• Encourage others to add anonymous rewards

• Monitor progress through public GitHub activity

Anonymous rewards democratize bounty funding by removing account barriers while maintaining the security and transparency that makes Lightning Bounties effective. This feature enables broader community participation in open-source development funding