I’ve been looking into the current state of Kusama’s bounty system. Some proposals have been sitting untouched for months, while several active bounties have had no recent activity and still hold unused funds.
I’m starting with two referenda:
- Reject proposed bounties #34, #35, #36, #37 and #39: [Proposal 1]
These proposals have been waiting for 13 to 18 months without moving forward. Some have already been superseded by other funding decisions. Rejecting them clears them from the queue. The requested budgets were never allocated; only the proposers’ bonds go to the Treasury, as with any rejection.
- Close inactive bounties #19, #27, #33 and #38: [Proposal 2]
These four bounties hold approximately 8,972.70 KSM in remaining funds. #27 has never had a child bounty opened, while #19, #33 and #38 have no open child bounties and have seen no recent activity (#33’s last pending payment was paid out to its beneficiary rather than taken back). Closing them returns the remaining balances to the Treasury, where the funds can be allocated again; curators’ deposits are returned.
Each referendum includes the exact call, its hash and a dry run against live Kusama, so anyone can check what it does.
Bounty Health: a dashboard I built that reads every bounty from the chain and flags what is stuck, at risk or left to clean up.
This is only the first step. Other issues still need attention, including funds that have arrived but have not yet been recorded for, and some multi-asset bounties. I’ll follow up with the relevant proposers and curators to clarify these cases before considering any further action.
The goal is simple: **get Kusama’s Bounty Health back to green.**
I’ll keep this thread updated as things progress.