[CRITICAL] Bountysource is Insolvent, do not use!

[ghost]

Main Action

Bounty-Issuers

Activate your Paypal Buyer Protection (if payed within last 180 days), see #1586 (comment)

• you get your money back
• paypal will possibly suspend bountysource, thus new bounties cannot be filed.

Bounty-Workers

• Ask the bounty-issuer to get a paypal refund and send you the money directly
  • Example: Building with VS2022 under Windows 11 deepnest-io/Deepnest#21 (comment)

Criminal Liability

• Criminal Liability of Bountysource CEO Xavier Latil? #1593
  • https://twitter.com/abebeos/status/1701925706526085243
  • https://twitter.com/abebeos/status/1702619612704088073

Summary.

one can safely assume that bountysource/Blockchain Group embezzles the escrowed bounty funds (e.g. using the money somewhere else, like investing/loosing-it in crypto etc.).

Action is necessary in order to avoid loss of funds.

Your Possible Actions

• stop posting new bounties
• ask for a paypal-refund if it is still time (see [CRITICAL] Bountysource is Insolvent, do not use! #1586 (comment))
• notify other people about this issue
• contact the authorities (see below)
• Act based on Criminal Liability (bountysource continued to receive payments despite stopping payouts since months)
• make some 'drama' on public media

Important to realize

• A cashout should take 1 minute after a bounty-issuer confirms the request.
• Bountysource delays payments for months has stopped paying out cash-outs (since months)
• Bountysource has stopped replying to support requests (since months)

This is an abuse of the escrow, essentially an embezzlement.

There are thousands of $ in open bounties (e.g. from IBM), this is really becoming strange here.

Bountysource People

CEO

• https://www.theblockchain-group.com/investor/leadership-governance/
  • https://www.linkedin.com/in/xlatil/?originalSubdomain=fr

People

https://github.com/orgs/bountysource/people

@rappo
@Cervator

On the main videos on website:

@FrancescoBorzi

Company

Bountysource Inc.
548 Market Street #40189, San Francisco, CA 94104-5401

Parent Company

• https://www.theblockchain-group.com/investor/leadership-governance/
• https://www.google.com/search?q=ALTBG

Regulators

dfpi, USA

Possibly:

https://dfpi.ca.gov/

Possible Complaint

• https://dfpi.ca.gov/file-a-complaint/
  • Escrow Agents/ Escrow Laws
    • (though bountysource claims that it's not an escrow service, the services provided are of an escrow nature)

French Financial Authorities

(received via email)

I suggest that you contact the French Financial
Authorities through their official "whistle blowing" portal:

https://www.amf-france.org/en/forms-and-declarations/whistleblowing
https://www.amf-france.org/fr/formulaires-et-declarations/lanceur-dalerte-0

and report that The Blockchain Group cannot pay their financial obligations.

That's the regulatory body for The Blockchain Group.

Unpaid

• me, $1000 - 2023-05-11
• $4000, 2023-03
  • https://app.bountysource.com/issues/117480476-onednn-enablement-and-8-bit-gemm-support-for-s390x
• $139, 2023-05-19
  • $139.50 cash out requested on the 19th of May; request not even acknowledged, let alone fulfilled, more than 7 weeks later #1591
• $1100, 2023-03
  • https://app.bountysource.com/issues/116848892-next-659-next-js-13-is-broken-for-custom-server-with-multiple-zones
  • https://app.bountysource.com/issues/117458567-black-stripes-in-denoised-image
• $150, 2023-04-29
  • Funds Abuse by Bountysource, 7th week #1590 (comment)
• $190, 2023-05-31
  • $139.50 cash out requested on the 19th of May; request not even acknowledged, let alone fulfilled, more than 7 weeks later #1591 (comment)

Further Issues

• Payout not received after 2 and a half month #1139
• Cashout request #1146
• 5th payout request, 5th problem (delays) #1531
• What is wrong with your support and cash out process? #1539
• delete bounty #1540
• 'Cash out' request being not processed for months. #1553
• void #1562 (comment)

Special Case:

@FrancescoBorzi is complaining about Bountysource here:

• What is wrong with your support and cash out process? #1539 (comment)

Today, he has a role within bountysource (see videos) :

https://bountysource.com/

But bountysource still abuses/embezzles the escrowed funds.

[davidebeatrici]

#1539

[thesquash]

Please add my case to your list:

#1591

This is a serious problem. I'm not exactly a rich man, and I'm going to have to find another way to help pay to feed myself. I wish the best for all others in my situation!

[parvit]

Hi, please add these bounties to the list, they were collected but not cashedout (even though the request is pending all the way from march):

• https://app.bountysource.com/issues/116848892-next-659-next-js-13-is-broken-for-custom-server-with-multiple-zones
• https://app.bountysource.com/issues/117458567-black-stripes-in-denoised-image

[kibix]

ouch. maybe we should put up a bounty to bring them to justice and finance a law suit

[balupton]

Make sure in your PayPal resolution centre, you view each dispute and escalate to PayPal, otherwise all the seller needs to do is ignore the dispute and the case is closed without resolution.

https://www.paypal.com/disputes/

Here is the message I sent

Seller is insolvent, so unable to respond and unable to stop collecting funds. Hence need for PayPal to intervene, issue refunds, and block the seller.

Summary of the situation here:
https://github.com/bountysource/core/issues/1586

Listing of complaints here:
https://github.com/bountysource/core/issues

[Cwpute]

The Newpipe team released an article earlier this october announcing a loss of around $6000 to Bountysource.
https://newpipe.net/blog/pinned/announcement/we-have-lost-access-to-bountysource/

[theoryshaw]

Just to report another case, Bountysource did not pay out $3,500 on the following project, although it said it did on the website.

IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell#1153
https://app.bountysource.com/issues/95048565-make-construction-drawing-generation-like-really-really-awesome (this link probably doesn't work anymore)

[quickwritereader]

#1595

[alexanmtz]

@Sir-LoLz

I'm a maintainer of Gitpay (https://gitpay.me/), which is entirely Open Source. We don't retain the bounty funds. I've been building and working on the platform for five years already.

[kdumontnu]

@Sir-LoLz

I'm a maintainer of Gitpay (https://gitpay.me/), which is entirely Open Source. We don't retain the bounty funds. I've been building and working on the platform for five years already.

What do you mean you don't retain the bounty funds? Are funds held in escrow until the project is completed?

Basically, why is Gitpay better than (Bountysource)?

[alexanmtz]

Find alternative(s) to Bountysource go-gitea/gitea#29331

@kdumontnu Yeah, the funds are retained for Credit Card payments until the issue is merged, and the author can automatically claim the bounties based on the criteria (issue closed and associated PR merged). We will not possess the funds paid by the sponsors.

We have better payout support, we're fully Open Source, and we provide Bonuses for solving issues from Gitpay itself.

[FrancescoBorzi]

Bountysource People

CEO

• https://www.theblockchain-group.com/investor/leadership-governance/

  • https://www.linkedin.com/in/xlatil/?originalSubdomain=fr

People

https://github.com/orgs/bountysource/people

@rappo @Cervator

On the main videos on website:

@FrancescoBorzi

Special Case:

@FrancescoBorzi is complaining about Bountysource here:

• What is wrong with your support and cash out process? #1539 (comment)

Today, he has a role within bountysource (see videos) :

https://bountysource.com/

But bountysource still abuses/embezzles the escrowed funds.

Please read my clarification about me not having anything to do with Bountysource: #1597

[ghost]

https://web.archive.org/web/20240621223256/https://www.theblockchain-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/facture_9013575748_2021-09-14-1.pdf