These Guidelines apply to individuals, teams, or entities seeking to participate in the problem-solving, solution formalization, award claiming, and prize disbursement of the Justin Sun Prize, as well as prize recipients who have completed formal award confirmation. The operational procedure consists of three stages: "Problem-Solving & Formalization → Award Claiming & Public Challenge → Prize Disbursement." Submission, acceptance, and PR merges do not constitute an award confirmation; problem-solving and solution formalization, public notice, recipient confirmation, and official announcements remain distinct and independent steps. Submissions are strictly restricted to full mathematical solutions and complete Lean formal proofs of the original problem. Partial cases, intermediate lemmas, weaker conclusions, conditional arguments relying on unproven extra assumptions, and Lean proofs depending on sorry, admit, or newly added unproven hypotheses to complete missing steps fall outside the scope of acceptance. These Guidelines shall be read in conjunction with the Justin Sun Prize Selection Rules and the latest official participation and claim procedures. In the event of any inconsistency, the applicable version of the Selection Rules and the latest official announcements shall prevail.
Procedure:
Stage 1 — Problem-Solving & Formalization: Select a problem, submit a PR corresponding to the contribution type, complete the mathematical proof and Lean formalization, and establish candidate registration.
Stage 2 — Award Claiming: Upon PR acceptance, the contributor must personally create an [Award claim] issue, provide a follow-up contact email, and complete identity verification via email. The entry then enters a 14-day public notice period, during which formal disputes or challenges may be filed.
Stage 3 — Prize Disbursement: Following the conclusion of the public notice period—provided no unresolved challenges or duplicate pending entries exist—the claimant completes written confirmation, provides payout and shipping details, and enters the official award list for prize disbursement. Where physical commemorative items are involved, their form and delivery method will be specified in the official award notification.
I. Problem-Solving, Formalization & Candidate Registration
Step 1: Select an eligible problem from the official problem repository: https://github.com/TheJustinSunPrize/awards/tree/main/problems. Prior to participation, ensure that the proposed submission constitutes a full mathematical solution or a complete Lean formal proof of the original problem. Incremental or partial progress falls outside the scope of acceptance. Submission, acceptance, and subsequent PR merges do not constitute formal award confirmation.
Submit a PR based on the contribution type. First, fork the official repository, edit the corresponding problems/catalog-XXXX-XXXX.md entry within the fork, and open a PR. Pure mathematical solvers may select "Mathematical solver information" within the PR template and provide publicly verifiable mathematical proofs or links to published literature—including relevant page numbers, theorems, versions, dates, and author attributions—with no need to provide any Lean repository. Lean formalizers—including solvers who formalize their own solutions—must use their own repository containing their Lean proof as the source of formalization; using mirrors, reposts, or submitting on behalf of third parties is strictly prohibited. The PR must include a fixed commit hash, formal statement, reproduction environment, and build check information in accordance with the template. Submitters must verify submission accuracy prior to opening a PR to avoid repository ownership mismatches or committing code that fails to contain the correct Lean proof.
Public evidence for mathematical solutions may be provided by the solver, the formalization submitter, or third parties. The Organizing Committee will cross-reference such evidence to confirm the mathematical solution and register the candidate solver; however, candidate registration does not equate to an active prize claim, which must be initiated personally by the corresponding contributor. The Organizing Committee reviews submissions in a strict two-step sequence: it first confirms the mathematical solution and registers the candidate solver, then evaluates the Lean formalization and registers the candidate formalizer. Successful compilation of a proof does not constitute grounds for bypassing mathematical solution confirmation.
II. Claim Initiation, Identity Verification, Public Notice & Challenge
Once a submitted PR passes review and is merged, the contributor may personally initiate the award claim process. A PR merge merely signifies that the contribution has been recorded; it does not constitute formal award confirmation. Eligible contributions undergo a 14-day public notice period, calculated in UTC starting from the date of inclusion in the public notice table. Solver and Lean formalizer roles are timed independently. The expiration of the public notice period alone does not suffice for prize disbursement.
Step 2: Submit an award claim issue using the claimant's personal GitHub account via the official claim-award form: https://github.com/TheJustinSunPrize/awards/issues/new?template=claim-award.yml. The title automatically prefixes [Award claim] JSP-, and the claimant needs to complete it with the corresponding problem ID. The body of the issue must include links to the problem repository entry and relevant merged PRs, with the contribution type specified ("Solver / Lean Formalizer / Both"). The follow-up contact email provided in the form will serve as the primary channel for subsequent communication and will be displayed publicly in the issue; submitting a separate comment to designate an email address is not required. The claimant's GitHub account serves as their identity handle within the issue—real names, institutional affiliations, or other sensitive personal information should not be posted publicly. Claims must be submitted personally; filing on behalf of third parties and proxy collection are strictly prohibited.
1. Identity & Ownership Verification
Step 3: Send an email from the designated follow-up contact email to the official address (thejustinsunprize@hejustinsun.com) to link the published claim issue with the merged contribution PRs and complete the requisite identity verification. Claims for mathematical solutions—including those from solvers who formalize their own solutions—require identity verification. For pure Lean formalization claims, independent identity verification may be omitted if repository ownership reliably establishes the link between the GitHub account and the author; where such a link cannot be established, supplementary verification remains mandatory.
Acceptable methods of identity verification include responding from an author's email address listed on published papers, responding via an established institutional or personal author website, using existing signing keys associated with the author, or other independently verifiable methods. Each method requires replying to a verification challenge or query initiated separately by the Organizing Committee. Sender display names, forwarded historical emails, screenshots, or newly created keys bearing self-asserted names do not constitute sufficient proof of identity. If the author email listed on a paper differs from the follow-up contact email, the claimant must still initiate contact from the follow-up contact email and specify the listed author email within the message body, allowing the Organizing Committee to verify both channels independently.
ORCID records, paper DOIs, author lists, institutional profile pages, public repository commit histories, signed commits, official announcements from authors or project leads, and other public records may serve as corroborating evidence for establishing contribution ownership. The Organizing Committee will determine whether further verification is required based on the existing chain of evidence.
Publisher or journal records remain acceptable supporting documentation for author identity and contribution ownership. However, account credentials, unpublished manuscript contents, or sensitive materials irrelevant to verification must not be submitted in lieu of formal verification.
For Lean formalizers, verification centers on the designated proof commit in the claimant's personal repository. Submission precedence for formal proofs is determined by commit timestamps in conjunction with independently verifiable public records linking the proof version to the claimed date. Uncorroborated Git commit timestamps—which can be altered locally—do not independently establish completion dates.
Other independently verifiable public records may serve as supplementary evidence. In the event of conflicting timestamps or insufficient proof, the Organizing Committee will withhold any reassignment of precedence pending the resolution of the challenge.
2. Public Notice, Challenge & Written Confirmation
Once a candidate contribution enters the 14-day public notice period, the public may raise challenges regarding the correctness, attribution, priority, identity, and claim eligibility via the Formal Dispute issue form. Merely identifying defects without providing alternative proofs may still constitute a valid dispute. To submit alternative proofs or problem database updates, a separate pull request PR must be opened and cross-linked with the corresponding dispute issue. Standard record corrections bypass the dispute process and must be submitted via the Correction issue form. Confidential identity materials must be provided exclusively via official email and must not be posted in any public issue.
If valid alternatives, correctness disputes, pending entries under the same identity, or other unresolved matters arise during the public notice period, they will be processed according to the latest procedures. The notice and award progression for any affected role may be suspended, replaced, or terminated, while any unaffected role proceeds on its independent timeline. The corresponding roles may advance to the payout stage only after the public notice period concludes, all disputes are fully resolved, and the final end-of-notice review is completed. Regardless of the contribution type, written confirmation from the prize recipient is mandatory prior to any prize disbursement.
III. Payout Details & Cryptocurrency Disbursement
Stage 3: The Organizing Committee verifies identity and secures written confirmation from the prize recipient via official email. Until this confirmation is completed, the entry remains in candidate status and will not be included in the official award list. Following confirmation, if not previously provided, the prize recipient must submit any pending payout details—such as the receiving network, wallet address, and physical shipping address—exclusively via official email. To ensure security, these details must never be posted in a GitHub issue. Prize funds are disbursed exclusively in cryptocurrency. Currently supported options include USDT (TRC-20) and USDC (ERC-20), with precise payout arrangements subject to final confirmation prior to transfer.
In addition to the prize funds, the Organizing Committee may provide physical certificates, medals, or other commemorative items depending on specific award arrangements. Details regarding the form, eligible recipients, quantities, and delivery of any physical commemorations will be specified in the official award notification and may be adjusted based on the operational circumstances. Such arrangements do not affect the evaluation or disbursement of the prize funds.
For physical commemorations specified in the award notification, shipping details such as address, recipient name, and contact info must be submitted solely via the official email. Should standard delivery be unavailable due to regional restrictions, logistics constraints, customs requirements, or other objective limitations, alternative arrangements may be negotiated within the same email thread.
In principle, prize disbursements shall be calculated on a 1 USD to 1 USDT/USDC basis. Should alternative conversion methods be required due to market price fluctuations, payment channel constraints, or other special circumstances, the actual payout amount shall be explicitly communicated to and confirmed with the prize recipient prior to transfer.
Prize recipients must provide an address legally owned or controlled by the confirmed payee that supports receiving USDT (TRC-20) and USDC (ERC-20), and shall verify the network, token, and complete address. If using a cryptocurrency exchange deposit address, the prize recipient must confirm in advance that the exchange supports receiving this specific payment and transaction amount.
Prize recipients shall not submit addresses unsupported by the designated network or unauthorized third-party addresses. The actual payout amount shall be confirmed prior to receipt, and any fees arising from the use of third-party custodial services shall be borne solely by the prize recipient. On-chain transfers are usually irreversible once completed; address or network errors may result in the permanent loss of funds.
IV. Pre-Announcement Review, Prize Disbursement & Information Modification
Prior to inclusion in the official award list, the Organizing Committee will conduct a comprehensive verification of the following items: whether the claim and written confirmation correctly correspond to the accepted contributor and specific role; whether the full 14-day public notice period applicable to that role has concluded; whether any pending entries under the same identity and role remain unresolved; and whether there are any active disputes regarding identity, claim eligibility, or result correctness. Should any of these criteria remain unmet, the entry will retain its candidate status. Successful CI checks, PR merges, or the mere expiration of timelines do not supersede this formal review process.
Prize recipients must confirm the payee's name, wallet address, payout token, and amount prior to disbursement. Once the payment network and submitted details are confirmed, no modifications shall be permitted in principle. Should a modification be genuinely necessary, the prize recipient shall submit a request to the Committee via official email and complete a secondary review prior to payment execution. Once funds have entered the payment execution workflow or the on-chain transfer has been completed, no requests for modification shall, in principle, be accepted.
Upon completion of the written confirmation and pre-announcement review—and provided all award criteria are satisfied—the corresponding entry will be moved to the official award list in the awards repository and publicly announced. Following the announcement, prize disbursement will be arranged, and corresponding physical certificates along with medals (where applicable) will be dispatched pursuant to the formal award notification and confirmed upon delivery. Claim submission, PR merging, conclusion of the public notice period, formal award confirmation, initiation of on-chain transfer, and actual account crediting constitute distinct operational stages. Specific processing statuses are governed by official issues, PRs, and email logs. Any inquiries or follow-ups regarding progress should be directed to the corresponding issue or PR thread.
In the event of non-receipt of funds, discrepancies regarding the actual amount credited, or on-chain transfer anomalies, prize recipients shall contact the Organizing Committee via official email for investigation, providing the awarded contribution name or ID along with relevant payment details. Where a re-disbursement is required, the status of the original transfer shall first be verified to prevent duplicate payments.
V. Taxation
The tax treatment of prize funds depends on applicable laws and the prize recipient's specific tax status. Prize recipients are responsible for understanding and fulfilling all applicable tax reporting and payment obligations. If legally required, the Prize Operator will withhold applicable taxes in accordance with regulations and provide corresponding tax documentation. The Prize Operator does not guarantee general tax exemptions or specific post-tax net payout amounts.
VI. Timelines & Procedural Transitions
Eligible contributions undergo a 14-day public notice period calculated in UTC, commencing on the date of their inclusion in the public notice table. Timelines for the solver and Lean formalizer roles are tracked independently. The opening of a claim issue or the completion of identity verification will neither restart nor delay an ongoing public notice period. Conversely, the conclusion of the notice period does not automatically trigger formal award confirmation. Should a dispute arise during the public notice period, this phase will not conclude until the dispute is fully resolved. If a challenge is deemed invalid, the original timeline will, in principle, neither restart nor be extended. Any supplementary identity documents, payout details, shipping information, or other required materials must be submitted within the original official email thread. Opening duplicate claim issues for such updates is not required unless explicitly requested by the Organizing Committee.
VII. Contact & Security Notice
The complete workflow is coordinated through a combination of contribution PRs, [Award claim] issues, and official email correspondence. During the verification phase, a contribution PR must be submitted first. Upon acceptance of the contribution, the respective contributor must personally open a claim issue using their own GitHub account, ensuring that a public follow-up contact email is provided in the submission form. All sensitive procedures and data—including identity verification, legal names, entity affiliations, payout networks and addresses, shipping details, and other confidential materials—must be processed exclusively via the official email. The sole official contact email address is thejustinsunprize@hejustinsun.com.
Official Justin Sun Prize emails are sent exclusively from addresses ending in @hejustinsun.com. The Organizing Committee will never request account passwords, wallet private keys, or seed phrases, nor will it request fund transfers to any address to activate prizes or unfreeze claim eligibility. Any suspicious communication should be cross-checked directly against the official GitHub repository, the official website, or formal emails sent from thejustinsunprize@hejustinsun.com.