Disputes

What a dispute is

A dispute is a formal challenge to a scored result inside a pool. Two flavors exist: (a) a dispute over a pool entry’s result — “did Vlad really hit 26 active days?”, or (b) a dispute over how a side-bet market was resolved — “was my YES wager settled against the wrong outcome?”. Both flavors share the same 48-hour dispute window that opens after audit completes, and both require a bond to file. Anyone with a financial stake in the pool — an entrant, or a side-bet participant — can open a dispute. Filing pauses settlement immediately: no funds move until a reviewer examines the evidence and publishes a decision.

When to dispute

Not every disagreement with an outcome is a valid dispute. Reviewers look for concrete, specific evidence of a scoring or resolution error — not a general sense that something feels unfair. Use this table to gauge whether your situation qualifies.

If you can point to a specific flagged segment, a miscounted activity type, or a market that resolved before its audit was complete, that is a dispute. If you are frustrated with the outcome but cannot identify a concrete scoring error, filing will cost you the bond with no benefit.

The bond

Every dispute requires a small bond — 5–25 USDC equivalent, scaled to pool size. The bond is not a fee: it returns in full if your dispute is upheld. If a reviewer finds the dispute abusive or frivolous — no evidence, or clearly outside the valid reasons — the bond is forfeited to the dispute fund.

Without a bond requirement, participants who lose would have every incentive to dispute every result, dragging out settlement and creating friction for everyone else. The bond makes legitimate disputes cheap and bad-faith ones genuinely costly.

What happens while a dispute is open

As soon as a dispute is filed, funds freeze — both the main pool and any affected side-bet markets. No payouts run and no refunds issue until the dispute resolves, regardless of who filed or what outcome they expect.

A reviewer is assigned the full audit packet: all flagged, verified, and rejected activities for the entry in question, the proof score, and the reason stated in the dispute filing. For side-bet disputes, the reviewer also sees the market’s resolution criteria and the timestamp at which it settled. Once the reviewer reaches a decision, it is published with a brief reasoning note. Funds then release per the decision — either confirming the original scored result or overriding it.

After the window

If the 48-hour window closes with no dispute filed, results lock automatically and payouts run. No manual action is required — the window closing is the system’s confirmation that all parties accepted or chose not to challenge the outcome.

There are no retroactive disputes. Once the window closes and settlement runs, the matter is closed. Funds have moved and the result is final. If you believe something was wrong, the dispute window is your only avenue.