Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Rewards

💡 In simple words: Rewards are real money you can earn on the platform for helping out or doing good work. When you contribute something useful, you can get paid back in cash.

🎯 In 20 seconds (scientific summary): Rewards are conditional claims that are converted into Swiss francs at the pace of the subscriptions taken by users (a subscription, CHF 10 per year, is required to transact on any marketplace). Subscription revenue is redistributed proportionally to Reward holders; whether the whole of each subscription or only a part of it is redistributed is an open question, still to be defined. Rewards can be obtained in two ways: through a donation (the amount is set by the combination of the bonding curve and the need-driven stabilizer) or through an attribution by the Ynternet.org Foundation (open calls, mandates, founder attributions), with three corresponding reward funds. Cash-out speed depends on the number of subscribed users: many users, fast cash-out; few users, slow cash-out; and there is no guarantee that there will be many users.

Wiki Core · Concept

Rewards

Rewards at a Glance

Symbol	💰
Currency	CHF (conditional)
Cash-out	At the pace of user subscriptions (no guarantee)
Tax event	At cash-out only
Priority	P2 (personal)
See also	Rewards Explained
See also	Bonding Curve
See also	Funding Contract

Rewards are converted into Swiss francs at the pace of the subscriptions taken by users. They represent a conditional claim on future subscription revenue, not a debt or financial instrument: there is no guarantee on timing or completion, and their availability depends entirely on the number of subscribed users.

As a reminder, in synthesis: a subscription is required for anyone who wishes to make a transaction using any of the marketplaces, at the very low price of CHF 10 per year. The money that people pay for their subscriptions is intended to cover the Rewards: it is redistributed to Reward holders proportionally. The cash-out is funded by subscriptions, and subscriptions are not invasive: the platform can be used without paying, a subscription is only required to sign a contract in a marketplace, and it is inactive by default. The full mechanism, and the three options envisaged for the percentage attributed to the cash-out, are described on the cashout mechanism page.

Rewards are honest: they are distributed at the rhythm of subscription income. If subscription income is low, rewards can be low. It is a transparent process: each subscription automatically generates a distribution to all Reward holders, pro rata of the Rewards they hold. A dashboard model illustrates this redistribution: dashboard (mockup, latest version).

Concretely: when a person buys a CHF 10 yearly subscription to use WikiDeal and becomes a subscribed user, this person obtains the right to vote, and the CHF 10 feed the redistribution to Reward holders, each one receiving a share in proportion to the Rewards they hold. One point remains open and still has to be defined: whether 100% of each subscription is redistributed to Reward holders, or only a part of it. No financial projection with risk estimates has been made on this question yet. What is already set: for the first tranche of CHF 200,000 donated for Prototype 1, subscription revenue is entirely (100%) attributed to Rewards. If this allocation is modified later, so that only a part of the subscriptions is redistributed, at least 50% of subscription revenue on average (over Prototype 1) would remain attributed to Reward holders, in order to guarantee the donors' trust in the possibility of cashing out their Rewards: this is a contractual commitment (stated in the donation agreement). This question is intended to be explored through a dedicated open call: subscription redistribution to Rewards.

What Are Rewards?

When you fund WikiDeal through the Fund WikiDeal page, your contribution passes through the bonding curve algorithm. Depending on your chosen reward type (Priority 2), you receive Rewards in your personal account.

Rewards accumulate over time. They can be cashed out when the conditions are met: specifically, when sufficient subscription revenue has been generated by active WikiDeal users.

How Rewards Work

1. Funding contribution: You contribute CHF via the funding flow.
2. Bonding curve processing: The algorithm converts your CHF into Credits based on the current reserve level. Early funders receive more Credits per CHF (e.g. ×100 multiplier at very low reserve).
3. Credit allocation: Your Credits are split by the Need-Driven Funding mechanism into Rewards (P2) and community pool contributions.
4. Cash-out: When platform conditions allow (sufficient subscription revenue), you can request conversion to CHF.

Two ways to obtain Rewards, three reward funds

There are two ways to obtain Rewards:

• Through a donation: the amount of Rewards received is defined by the combination of the bonding curve and the need-driven stabilizer: it is the combination of the two that sets the sum.
• Through an attribution by the Ynternet.org Foundation: in the frame of the open calls or of other agreements and mandates.

Three reward funds correspond to these attributions:

1. the Rewards obtained through donations;
2. the Rewards attributed by the steering committee, notably in the frame of the open calls and of mandates;
3. the Rewards attributed by the founder (see credits).

The beneficiaries of the cash-out are therefore all the people who have already made a donation in money, or obtained Rewards for their contributions (as early supporters): two categories of cash-out beneficiaries.

Where the money comes from: subscription revenue

Rewards are funded directly from subscription revenue. At the start, the revenue collected from the CHF 10/year subscriptions is allocated to the holders of Rewards. As these holders are progressively paid out, their number decreases over time.

The system is sized so that Rewards are fully honoured once the platform has reached CHF 100 million in cumulative collections. As an order of magnitude: with roughly 1 million active users (≈ CHF 12/year each), reaching CHF 100 million in collections would take on the order of 10 years. If adoption grows faster (for example reaching 3 million users within 3 years), that horizon shortens accordingly.

Two blocks of Rewards (Prototype 1)

Within the Prototype 1 framework, Rewards are split into two distinct blocks:

• Early supporters: 50 million Rewards
• Funders / donors (funding contributions): 50 million Rewards

That is 100 million Rewards in total, drawn down from subscription revenue as it accrues.

How long to cash out? (estimated, no guarantee)

The time needed to cash out Rewards depends entirely on how much the platform is used. To be deliberately cautious, the cash-out horizon is described as ranging between 1 and 10 years, with an estimated average of 3 to 4 years.

⚠️ This figure is purely theoretical. There is no guarantee whatsoever. It is an estimated projection, not a promise. The actual timing will depend on the platform's attractiveness and adoption. A faster uptake (more users, more subscription revenue) shortens the horizon; slow adoption lengthens it.

Another element shapes the rhythm over time: each subscription franc is redistributed across all the Rewards already activated (already held by people). As more donations arrive, the distribution spreads over more holders and more Rewards held, so the share received per Reward decreases over time. Only activated Rewards take part in the redistribution: if, for example, a call plans a total of 100 million Rewards but only 60 million have been distributed so far, 40% of those Rewards are not yet held by anyone and receive nothing. When funding is complete, there are more beneficiaries, and therefore a smaller percentage of each subscription per Reward held; conversely, if all goes well, there are also more and more subscribed users.

Tax Implications

Rewards are not taxable when earned. Tax implications arise only at the moment of cash-out, when Credits are converted to CHF. This is consistent with Swiss tax law for utility credits and supports FINMA sandbox classification as a utility token, not a security (see the legal studies).

Consult your tax advisor for your specific situation. WikiDeal does not provide tax advice.

Needs Addressed

Rewards address the legitimate financial interests of early funders who take on the highest risk. When WikiDeal has few users, the platform is unproven: early funders deserve recognition for their trust. Rewards provide a conditional path to financial return without creating speculative pressure or securities-law complexity.

No Guarantee: An Honest Design

The absence of guarantee is not a weakness: it is the honest architecture. WikiDeal does not promise what it cannot deliver. Rewards will be distributed when and only when subscription revenue allows. This aligns funder interests with platform growth, not with speculation.

• No financial return is guaranteed. See Terms & Conditions and FAQ for full details. FINMA sandbox rules apply (see the legal studies).

See also: Rewards Explained Miles Credits Bonding Curve Need-Driven Funding Subscription Model Funding Contract FAQ

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