vGrant

Project Description: vGrant redefines open-source funding by automating crypto payouts based on real code contributions. Today, developers often face delayed payments, manual approval processes, or even idea theft when contributing to bounties. Meanwhile, funders lack trust that their money will actually result in merged, usable code.

vGrant introduces a “Fund-on-Merge” mechanism: funders lock crypto into a smart contract tied to a GitHub issue. Developers work on the issue and submit pull requests. When a PR is merged, our bot automatically generates a proof and sends it to the smart contract, which verifies the contribution and transfers the funds to the verified contributor. No approvals, no delays, no middlemen.

For example, imagine Alice needs a feature in an open-source Blender plugin. She funds a GitHub issue with 1,000 USDC. Bob finds the bounty, implements the fix, and submits a PR. Once it’s merged by the project maintainer, the funds are automatically released to Bob. The maintainer is also rewarded with a small percentage (e.g., 10%) for their role in reviewing and merging the code.

To ensure the payout goes to the actual contributor, vGrant uses zero-knowledge proofs (via VLayer) to verify GitHub account ownership—protecting against PR theft or impersonation.

Project Overview: vGrant is a decentralized bounty platform for open-source code that uses on-chain logic to handle automated payouts when pull requests are merged. It connects GitHub, smart contracts, and identity proofs to streamline developer compensation.

Users can:

• Fund GitHub issues directly with crypto (e.g., USDC, DAI) using our frontend (or on-chain by themselves)
• Earn funds instantly upon issue resolution, verified by zero-knowledge proofs (via VLayer)
• Refund unclaimed bounties after the deadline

Core Features:

• Fund-on-Merge Smart Contract: Funds are only released when a PR is merged, ensuring true value delivery.
• Zero-Knowledge GitHub Identity: Uses VLayer to verify that the contributor is the real author of the merged pull request and link it to a wallet.
• Maintainer Rewards: Optional commission (e.g., 10%) to incentivize quality reviews and offer maintainers a new way to monetize their efforts.

Why This Project Matters vGrant eliminates friction in open-source bounties by automating trust, attribution, and payouts. It aligns incentives between funders, developers, and maintainers—accelerating real-world open-source contributions and making high-quality code a globally accessible income stream. With verifiable identity and transparent on-chain logic, vGrant makes open-source work more reliable and rewarding for everyone.

Automated On-Chain Funding Logic vGrant smart contracts are designed to trustlessly manage deposits, deadlines, and payouts. Once deployed, they handle grant creation, developer claims, deadline expiration, and conditional refund logic without the need for admin intervention or multisig governance.

Contribution Verification with VLayer ZK Proofs To verify that a specific developer authored the merged pull request, vGrant leverages VLayer to generate zero-knowledge web proofs from GitHub data. These proofs are submitted on-chain and validated by the contract before releasing funds.

Off-Chain Merge Detection and Proof Submission The moment a pull request is merged, the developer (or an external automation service) submits a VLayer proof with relevant metadata, including the GitHub issue. This proof acts as a trigger for the smart contract to execute the payment.

Role-Based Incentive Splits Each grant allows the funder to define payout percentages for developers and maintainers. This mechanism encourages project maintainers to actively review contributions, creating a sustainable incentive layer for code quality assurance.

Frontend + GitHub API Integration The front-end, connects to GitHub’s API to surface issues, and grant statuses. Developers can browse bounties, track their pull requests, and get notified when their merge is validated and paid out.

Our Github Bot add more transparency and logs of the grant status.

GitHub Repositories All source code (contracts, frontend, tooling) is available here: https://github.com/EthGlobalPrague/vGrant (frontend, backend, bot) https://github.com/EthGlobalPrague/vGrant-contract (contracts, scripts)