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Trust Roles, Not Payments: How We're Building an Open Source Security Community

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Why Trinity Protocol rewards contributors with belonging, not bounties

At Trinity Protocol, our philosophy is simple: Trust Math, Not Humans.

But here's what we've learned building a mathematically provable multi-chain security system: the best security researchers aren't motivated by one time payments. They want to belong to something meaningful.

So we built a contributor model that's different from typical bug bounties.

The Problem with Traditional Bug Bounties

Most bug bounty programs work like this:

  1. Researcher finds vulnerability
  2. Researcher reports it
  3. Company pays researcher
  4. Researcher disappears

It's transactional. There's no relationship. No community. No shared mission.

And here's the uncomfortable truth: the researchers who could contribute the most often don't participate because they're not interested in hunting for payouts. They're interested in building something that matters.

Our Approach: Roles Over Payments

Trinity Protocol is an open-source, formally verified security system. We don't have venture capital money for massive bounties. What we do have is a mission that attracts security minded builders.

So instead of competing on payment size, we compete on belonging.

When you contribute to Trinity Protocol, you don't get a payment and a "thank you" email. You get a role in our community with real meaning and real benefits.

The Four Contributor Tiers

👁️ Watcher

Entry level for new contributors

How to earn it:

  • Report minor issues or documentation fixes
  • Participate in community discussions
  • Review and test existing features

What you get:

  • Discord Watcher role
  • Name in our Contributors list
  • Access to contributor only channels

🔬 Researcher

For consistent contributors

How to earn it:

  • Find medium-severity bugs
  • Submit code improvements
  • Help review other contributions

What you get:

  • Discord Researcher role
  • Priority feature requests
  • Early access to new features
  • GitHub contributor badge

🛡️ Guardian

For significant security contributions

How to earn it:

  • Discover critical vulnerabilities
  • Submit major security improvements
  • Help with formal verification

What you get:

  • Discord Guardian role
  • Co-author credit on security reports
  • Governance voting rights (when DAO launches)
  • Permanent Hall of Fame listing
  • Direct communication with core team

⚔️ Sentinel

For exceptional ongoing contributors

How to earn it:

  • Multiple critical findings
  • Core protocol improvements
  • Community leadership

What you get:

  • Discord Sentinel role (highest tier)
  • Protocol council membership
  • Future CVT token allocation priority
  • Speaking opportunities at events
  • Reference/recommendation letters

Why This Matters

We're not just building a bug bounty program. We're building the security council for a protocol that will protect billions in assets across Ethereum, Solana, and TON.

The people who join now as Watchers, Researchers, Guardians, and Sentinels—will be the foundational members of our security community.

When we launch our DAO, you'll have governance power.

When we raise funding, you'll be first in line.

When we go to mainnet, your name will be on the protocol.

What We're Protecting

Trinity Protocol uses a 2-of-3 consensus mechanism across three blockchains:

  • Arbitrum — Primary security layer
  • Solana — High-frequency monitoring
  • TON — Emergency recovery + quantum-safe storage

Every operation requires 2 out of 3 validators to agree. No single point of failure. No trusted third party.

We've formally verified this with 184 Lean 4 theorems—zero sorry statements, zero shortcuts. Pure mathematical proof.

-- From our actual codebase
theorem trinity_consensus_safety : 
  ∀ votes, votes < 2 → ¬canExecute votes

theorem honest_majority_guarantees_consensus : 
  ∀ n, n ≥ 2 → n ≤ 3 → canAchieveConsensus n
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

This is what you'd be helping protect.

What We're Looking For

In Scope:

  • Smart Contracts (Solidity, Rust, FunC)
  • Formal Proofs (Lean 4)
  • ZK Circuits (Circom)
  • Cross-chain messaging logic

Severity Examples:

Severity Example Tier Impact
Critical Consensus bypass, fund theft Guardian+
High Validator manipulation, DoS Researcher+
Medium Edge case bugs, logic errors Researcher
Low Documentation, optimizations Watcher+

How to Get Started

  1. Star our repo: github.com/Chronos-Vault/chronos-vault-security

  2. Read the code: Start with contracts/ethereum/TrinityConsensusVerifier.sol or lean4-proofs/CoreProofs.lean

  3. Find something: Could be a bug, could be an improvement, could be a typo

  4. Open an issue: Use the format [SEVERITY] Brief description

  5. Get your role: We respond within 24-48 hours

FAQ

Q: Why roles instead of money?

A: We're building for the long term. Roles give you governance power, early access, and future token priority potentially worth more than one-time payments.

Q: Can I still get paid eventually?

A: Yes. When we raise funding or launch tokens, top contributors will be first in line for monetary rewards.

Q: How do I prove my role?

A: Discord roles, GitHub contributor badge, and permanent Hall of Fame listing in our security repo.

Q: What if I find multiple bugs?

A: Each valid finding accelerates your progression through tiers.

Join Us

We're building the security infrastructure for the next generation of DeFi. Not with promises. Not with hype. With math.

If that resonates with you, we want you on our team.

GitHub: github.com/Chronos-Vault/chronos-vault-security

Security Email: chronosvault@chronosvault.org

Trust Math, Not Humans. 🔐

Series: Trinity Protocol Security

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