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How Claims Work

Claiming is the process of converting your earned Karma into HYFY tokens. It is optional, available monthly, and designed to be fair, transparent, and sustainable.

The Monthly Claim Cycle​

At the end of each month, the protocol calculates how much HYFY is available for distribution based on that month's platform revenue. Verified users can then submit a claim request to convert some or all of their eligible Karma into HYFY.

The process:

  1. Earn Karma throughout the month by engaging authentically on the platform
  2. Submit a claim request during the claim window, choosing how much eligible Karma to convert
  3. The protocol calculates your HYFY allocation proportional to your Karma relative to all claimants that month
  4. Receive HYFY directly to your self-custody wallet — gasless, with network fees covered by the protocol

You never need to hold crypto, pay gas fees, or interact with a blockchain directly. The claim experience is designed to feel like a normal app interaction.

Claim Safeguards​

Several mechanisms ensure that claims remain sustainable and fair for all participants:

  • Monthly per-user cap — Each user has a dynamic monthly cap that adjusts based on overall platform participation. This prevents any single user from capturing a disproportionate share
  • Treasury-relative throttle — When treasury health requires it, total monthly claim distributions are automatically moderated. Excess allocation is redirected to strengthen the treasury for future months
  • Lifetime claims budget — The total HYFY available for community claims over the entire lifetime of the protocol is fixed and enforced at the smart contract level. This cap cannot be changed or overridden
  • KYC requirement — Only verified humans can claim, preventing bot farming and Sybil attacks

These safeguards work together so that the system never promises more than it can deliver, regardless of how many users participate or how quickly the platform grows.

Additional Safeguards​

HYFY also includes additional protections around timing, pacing, and fairness:

  • Claim submission deadline - claim requests close before the monthly cycle is finalized
  • Claim pacing limit - unusually large month-to-month banking can be limited even when a user still has eligible Karma
  • Quiet-month protection - very low-participation months use anti-gaming floors and carry-forward rules so a tiny claimant set cannot capture an outsized share
  • Staged activation - monthly claims go through a review period before they become active
  • Protected balances - if the lifetime claim pool gets low, newly earned Karma can split into claimable and utility-only balances

For a plain-language summary, see Operational Safeguards.

Claim Expiration​

Claim pools remain open for 12 months from creation. If you do not claim your HYFY within that window, the unclaimed allocation expires. Expired tokens are not redistributed — they remain in the treasury, strengthening the protocol's backing ratio.

This mechanism exists to prevent indefinite liabilities from accumulating and to keep the system's accounting clean and auditable.

Gasless Claims​

HYFY uses account abstraction (ERC-4337) to sponsor network fees for claim transactions. When you claim your HYFY, the protocol covers the gas cost on Polygon so you receive tokens without needing to hold POL or any other cryptocurrency.

This makes the claim experience accessible to users who may be new to blockchain — no prior crypto balance or wallet funding is required.

What Affects Your Claim Amount​

Your HYFY for a given month depends on three factors:

  • Your eligible Karma — more genuine engagement means more Karma
  • Total Karma claimed by all users that month — your share is proportional
  • Monthly HYFY pool size — determined by platform revenue and treasury health

In months with fewer claimants, each participant receives a larger share. In months with high participation, rewards are spread more broadly. The system self-balances to reflect actual community activity.