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The NullGraph bounty marketplace allows researchers, BioDAOs, and institutions to request specific null results by offering BIO token rewards. When you create a bounty, your reward is immediately escrowed into a program-controlled vault, ensuring trustless settlement.
Before creating a bounty, make sure you have set up your Phantom wallet with devnet SOL and BIO tokens.

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What You’ll Need

Before creating a bounty:
  • Connected Phantom Wallet: With sufficient SOL for transaction fees
  • BIO Tokens: The exact reward amount you want to offer (on Solana devnet)
  • Clear Description: What null result you’re looking for (up to 256 characters)
  • Deadline: How many days researchers have to submit
Make sure you have enough BIO tokens in your wallet before creating the bounty. The full reward amount is transferred immediately upon creation.

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How Bounty Escrow Works

  1. Creation: You specify a reward amount (e.g., 10 BIO)
  2. Escrow: The full amount is transferred from your wallet to a vault PDA
  3. Vault Control: The vault is controlled by the NullGraph program—only the program can authorize transfers
  4. Settlement: When you approve a submission, the program automatically pays out (reward - fee) to the researcher and the fee to the treasury
  5. Refund: If you close the bounty before approval, the full amount returns to your wallet
You never lose control permanently. You can always reclaim your escrowed BIO by closing the bounty—until you approve a submission.

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Creating a Bounty

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After Creation

Once your transaction confirms:
  1. Your bounty receives a unique identifier (e.g., NB-0003)
  2. It appears on the Market page with status Open
  3. Your BIO tokens are now in the vault (you can verify on Solana Explorer)
  4. Researchers can browse your bounty and submit matching NKAs
  5. You’ll receive notifications when researchers submit to your bounty

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Managing Your Bounty

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Viewing Submissions

  1. Click on your bounty card in the Market page
  2. You’ll see the bounty detail page with:
    • Full description
    • Reward amount
    • Deadline
    • Current status
    • List of submissions (if any)

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Reviewing a Submission

When a researcher submits an NKA to your bounty:
  1. The bounty status changes to Matched
  2. The submission appears on the bounty detail page
  3. You can view the linked NKA by clicking its specimen number
  4. Review the NKA’s hypothesis, methodology, results, and data hash
  5. Decide whether it meets your requirements

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Approving a Submission

If the submission satisfies your bounty:
The protocol fee (default 2.5%) is deducted from the reward and sent to the treasury. The researcher receives the remaining 97.5%.

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Closing a Bounty

If you want to cancel the bounty or the deadline has passed without a suitable submission:
You can close a bounty at any time before approving a submission. There’s no penalty for closing—you get your full reward back.

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Bounty Status Lifecycle

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Understanding Token Transfers

During Creation
During Approval
During Close
All transfers use the SPL Token Interface with transfer_checked, ensuring mint address and decimal precision are validated.

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Common Questions

Can I edit a bounty after creation? No. Bounties are immutable once created. You can only close them or approve submissions. What if I don’t like the submission? You can close the bounty to reclaim your BIO. The researcher’s NKA remains on-chain, but you get your full reward back. Can multiple researchers submit to the same bounty? Currently, only the first submission sets the bounty to Matched status. Future versions may support multiple submissions. What if the deadline passes? The bounty remains open on-chain even after the deadline. You can still close it to reclaim your BIO. The deadline is informational—it doesn’t automatically close the bounty. How much SOL do I need for transaction fees? Typically ~0.00001 SOL per transaction, plus rent for the bounty PDA (~0.01 SOL, recoverable). Can I create multiple bounties? Yes! Each bounty gets a unique number and vault. You can have multiple active bounties simultaneously.

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Best Practices

Write Clear Descriptions
  • Be specific about the hypothesis, methodology, or conditions
  • Include negative terms: “does NOT”, “no effect”, “failed to”
  • Mention key variables or populations
Set Appropriate Rewards
  • Consider the complexity and rarity of the null result
  • Check existing bounties for market rates
  • Remember: 2.5% goes to the protocol as a fee
Set Realistic Deadlines
  • Allow enough time for researchers to find and submit matching NKAs
  • 7-14 days is typical for common null results
  • 30+ days for rare or highly specific requests
Review Submissions Carefully
  • Click through to the full NKA detail page
  • Check methodology aligns with your needs
  • Verify p-values and sample sizes meet your standards
  • Look for data hash if provenance is important

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Next Steps

Browse Market

View all open bounties

Claiming Bounties

Learn how researchers submit to bounties