How Rewards Work
Grainlify runs on two entirely separate reward systems, and mixing them up is the single most common source of confusion — so before anything else, here's the one rule to remember:
Your rank is earned by contributing (issues and pull requests) and is purely reputational — a badge, nothing more. Your points balance is earned by growing the community (referrals and social follows) and is the only thing you can redeem for real USDC. Merging a pull request raises your rank. It does not add a single point to your redeemable balance.
This page ties both systems together in one place. For the step-by-step mechanics of any one piece, follow the links into the dedicated guides.
System 1: Rank — earned by contributing
Every issue and pull request you complete on a project listed on Grainlify counts toward your leaderboard position, which places you into a tier:
| Tier | Leaderboard position |
|---|---|
| 🏆 Conqueror | 1–5 |
| ⚔️ Ace | 6–10 |
| 👑 Crown | 11–20 |
| 💎 Diamond | 21–50 |
| 🥇 Gold | 51–100 |
| 🥈 Silver | 101–500 |
| 🥉 Bronze | 500+ |
Your tier badge shows on your public profile and the leaderboard. It's a trust signal — maintainers weigh it when deciding who to assign an issue to, and other contributors see it as a track record. It is not convertible to USDC and doesn't unlock a cash payout on its own.
System 2: Points — earned by growing the community
Points are earned exactly two ways, and both are opt-in extras on top of contributing — you don't need to write a single line of code to earn them.
| Way to earn | Points | How |
|---|---|---|
| Refer a friend | 100 per completed referral | Share your link; points land once they sign in with GitHub and complete identity verification — not just at signup |
| Follow us on social | 500, once | Follow GitHub, Telegram, and LinkedIn, upload proof of each; points land once all three are approved |
There's no cap on referrals — refer 50 people, earn 5,000 points. The social-follow bonus is a one-time 500-point unlock.
The 100-per-referral and 500-for-social-follow figures (and the redemption rate below) are read live from Grainlify's backend, not hardcoded into the app — so this page always reflects what you'll actually see in your account.
Turning points into USDC
Once you have a points balance, redeem it for USDC from the Redeem page — built like a currency swap, points on one side, USDC on the other.
- Conversion rate: 100 points = $1 USDC.
- Minimum redemption: 100 points (i.e. $1).
- Payouts go to a Stellar wallet address you provide — USDC on Stellar, not any other chain.
- Every redemption is reviewed by the Grainlify team before payout — it's not instant. Your points are set aside the moment you submit the request, so your balance always reflects reality even mid-review.
- A request resolves to either Paid (USDC sent, you're notified) or Rejected (points refunded automatically, with a reason so you can fix it and resubmit).
Redemptions are expected to have a completed KYC identity check on file before payout — it's what lets Grainlify confirm a real person is receiving the USDC. Verify early so it's not the thing holding up your first redemption.
Putting it together: a typical path
- You contribute — apply to issues, get assigned, get pull requests merged. Your rank climbs, but your points balance doesn't move.
- Separately, you refer a couple of friends and follow Grainlify's socials. Your points balance grows — this is money, sitting in USDC waiting to be claimed.
- You verify your identity once.
- You redeem points for USDC whenever you want, in $1 increments, straight to your Stellar wallet.
Both tracks run at the same time and don't depend on each other — a brand-new account can earn its first $5 from social-follow alone, before ever opening a pull request.
FAQ
Does merging a pull request pay me directly? No — not today. It raises your rank (reputational) but doesn't add to your redeemable points balance. Points come only from referrals and social follows.
Can my rank tier go down? Yes — it's a live leaderboard position, so if other contributors pass you, your tier can change. Points, once earned, don't expire or decrease on their own.
Is there a limit to how much I can earn? No cap on referrals or on how much you redeem over time — the only limits are the one-time 500-point social-follow bonus and the 100-point minimum per redemption.