Escrow Overview
The Verifluence escrow contract is an autonomous program on the blockchain that manages the full lifecycle of campaign funds. It acts as a neutral third party — holding money, enforcing payout rules, and processing refunds — without any human intervention or discretion.
No person, company, or administrator can override the contract's rules or move funds outside of the defined flows.
Fund Lifecycle
Every campaign's funds move through three stages:
Stage 1: Deposit (Fund Locking)
The operator transfers their campaign budget from their own wallet into the escrow contract. The funds are now locked — visible on the public blockchain — and can only move according to the contract's rules. Neither Verifluence nor any third party has access to these funds.
Stage 2: Allocate (Budget Commitment)
The operator assigns a portion of the locked budget to each approved streamer. Each allocation specifies a total amount, a number of streaming slots (e.g. 4 weekly streams), the payout per slot, and a deadline after which unclaimed funds become refundable. Once committed, the allocated funds cannot be redirected to a different purpose without first waiting for the deadline and processing a refund.
Stage 3: Payout or Refund
- Payout: After fulfilling a streaming slot, the streamer submits proof to the contract. The contract verifies the proof and transfers the slot's funds directly to the streamer's wallet. No manual approval or intermediary is involved.
- Refund: If a streamer does not claim all their allocated slots by the agreed deadline, the operator can reclaim the unclaimed portion. Unallocated deposit balance can be withdrawn by the operator at any time.
Custody and Control
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who holds the funds after deposit? | The escrow contract (an autonomous program), not any person or company |
| Can Verifluence access or move the funds? | No. Verifluence has no admin keys, backdoors, or override capabilities |
| Can the operator withdraw at any time? | Unallocated funds: yes, anytime. Allocated funds: only after the deadline, and only the unclaimed portion |
| Can anyone freeze or seize the funds? | No. The contract has no pause, freeze, or admin function |
| How are disputes handled? | There is no dispute mechanism. The contract enforces deterministic rules: valid proof results in payout; expired deadline enables refund |
| Can the contract rules be changed? | No. The contract is immutable once deployed |
On-Chain Transparency
Every action emits a public, permanent record on the blockchain:
| Event | What It Records |
|---|---|
| Deposited | Operator locked funds into escrow |
| Allocated | Budget portion committed to a specific streamer |
| Withdrawn | Streamer claimed a payout |
| AllocationRefunded | Unclaimed allocation returned to operator |
| Refunded | Unallocated balance returned to operator |
These records are independently verifiable by any party — the operator, the streamer, auditors, or regulators — without needing access to Verifluence's systems.
Detailed Flow Documentation
- Fund Locking (Deposit) — how campaign budgets enter escrow
- Budget Allocation — how funds are committed to individual streamers
- Payout Claims (Withdrawal) — how streamers receive payment
- Fund Recovery (Refund) — how operators reclaim unused budgets
- Security Assurance — automated testing and verification coverage