Running Community Contests Fairly

Contests bring energy to crypto communities. Meme contests, art challenges, writing competitions, quizzes and translation drives give members a reason to create, learn and interact. They can also cause resentment if rules are unclear, judging looks biased or prizes arrive late. A fair contest leaves participants happy even when they do not win.

Choose the right contest type

Contest type	Good for	Watch out for
Meme contest	Fun, reach, community culture	Offensive content, copied memes
Art contest	Creativity, brand assets	Plagiarism and AI copies of others' work
Writing or guide contest	Education, documentation	Low-effort or copied text
Quiz	Learning about the product	Answers shared publicly
Translation drive	Localisation	Machine translations without review
Bug hunt	Product quality	Security issues shared publicly instead of privately

Pick a type that matches what the community needs right now.

Write clear rules

Publish rules before the contest opens:

1. Start and end dates with times in UTC
2. Who can enter, including any restrictions
3. How to submit and in what format
4. How many entries each person can submit
5. Judging criteria and who judges
6. Prizes, including amounts and payment method
7. When winners will be announced and paid
8. What leads to disqualification

Clear rules prevent most disputes.

Make judging transparent

Judging is where fairness is won or lost:

• Publish the criteria, such as creativity, accuracy or usefulness
• Use a small panel with a mix of team and community judges
• Ask judges to declare conflicts of interest
• Score entries independently before discussing
• Share short comments on winning entries

If community voting is involved, be aware that popularity contests reward large friend groups and can be gamed. Many contests combine judge scores with community votes.

Prevent cheating

Common cheating methods include multiple accounts, copied work and bought votes. Reduce them by:

• Limiting entries per person
• Checking submissions against existing work for plagiarism
• Requiring accounts to meet a minimum age or activity level
• Reviewing unusual voting patterns
• Reserving the right to disqualify entries that break rules

Explain disqualifications privately and politely.

Deliver prizes reliably

Late prizes damage trust more than no contest at all:

• Announce winners on the promised date
• Pay prizes promptly in the stated asset
• Confirm winner addresses through the channel used to enter
• Share payment confirmations publicly if winners agree

Stablecoin prizes are clear and easy to value. Roles, merchandise or feature spots add recognition beyond money.

Protect participants from scams

Contests attract impersonators who contact entrants claiming they won and asking for fees or wallet connections. Announce winners only in official channels, and remind participants that the team will never ask them to pay or connect wallets to receive a prize.

Celebrate everyone

Share great entries beyond the winners. Feature honourable mentions, create a gallery of submissions and thank all participants. People who feel appreciated enter again.

Use contest results

Contests often produce valuable assets: memes for social media, guides for documentation, translations for new markets and art for campaigns. Ask permission before reusing entries and credit creators.

Give winners lasting recognition

A contest win feels better when it leaves a mark. Some communities feature winners in a special gallery, and some dedicate a pin on the Proud Globe to the season's winners, with a tagline naming the contest, so the achievement stays visible long after the prize is spent.