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Novo Origo Prize Official Rules

Updated 2026-03-30

tl;dr Be an honest actor and we can have nice things. Agora stands ready to clean up dishonest actors. Plus, you can use your real name or hide it. If you win, you have to tell Agora who you are. Qualified submitters vote on the winner.

Qualification

All qualified submissions get 1 VP in order to judge the results.

Submissions:

  1. MUST be original. All submissions must be original work. A submission may be disqualified if Agora determines, in its sole discretion, that it materially copies another submission or third-party work in structure, language, or substantive design without adequate original contribution.
  2. MUST not harm. Submitted content must not intentionally cause undue stress to the contest or its participants.
  3. MUST be submitted by an individual. No teams or organizations.
  4. MUST be released under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

Submitters:

  1. MUST provide an Ethereum address.
  2. MUST complete KYC to Agora's satisfaction to collect the prize.
  3. MUST not submit more than once.
  4. MUST not attempt to collude or coordinate voting behavior with other participants. This means, but is not limited to, exchanging votes, creating incentives or consideration of any kind, or entering into agreements that influence voting outcomes.
  5. MUST be arm's length from other participants. That means no shared control, ownership, or financial interest. No pre-existing agreement to coordinate submissions or voting. No direct or indirect incentives tied to contest outcomes.
  6. MUST follow the spirit and intent as communicated in the launch blog post.
  7. MUST be complete and substantive. Submission must be original analysis, reasoning, or design beyond superficial commentary.
  8. MUST submit through the online submission tool.
  9. MUST not offer, solicit, or accept any form of compensation, reward, or incentive in exchange for votes.
  10. MUST reside in a jurisdiction where this contest is legal and not sanctioned by OFAC.
  11. MUST privately verify an email address

Any evidence of infractions to the rules can be reported to novo_origo@voteagora.com.

Identity Submission & Terms

Agora reserves the right to confirm basic proof-of-sybil checks via social media account control with sufficient reputation. We do not want to do this as it kills good vibes and it's a pain. However, the internet is a harsh place and we're trying to do a good thing. In both cases, if a name is provided, it must match post-contest KYC process in order to claim.

Without Attribution

  1. Submitting your legal name during contest entry is optional, but mandatory post-victory in order to claim any prize.
  2. Agora will not use your name for any reason.
  3. Attribution will be made to the ETH address used to submit.

With Attribution

Public real names are encouraged. Agora will use your name in the contest application and attribute credit.

Agora Employee Participation

Agora Employees:

  1. Cannot participate.
  2. Cannot vote.
  3. Can only submit examples which grants entry to be a critic.

Updates

Contact

Timing

1. Submission Opening

Submission opening will begin at Noon ET on April 8th 2026.

2. Maximum Submission Limit

The contest will close 48 hours upon receiving the 25th qualified submission or instantly upon receiving the 30th.

3. Closing Condition

The contest will close upon the first occurrence of either:

  • Reaching the maximum submission limit criteria, or
  • the submission window ending at Noon ET on April 29th 2026.

Agora reserves the right to modify timing based on malicious activity or unforeseen circumstances. Any changes will be published in realtime on

Voting

Voting will start no sooner than 7 days after the closing, and will stay open for 14 days.

Before voting opens, Agora will publish the voting methodology, including any normalization, weighting, or fraud-detection adjustments that may affect tabulation. Agora reserves the right to disqualify votes or participants in cases of suspected manipulation, fraud, or rule violations.

Results

The winning submission is non-binding; that is, there is no guarantee of its use for launch of any system.

The prize payout will be onchain using USDT or USDC on Ethereum or Optimism, payable only directly to the address provided at the time of submission.

The payout will be made 30 days after the vote has ended.

Data Retention

You can request at any time to have your personal identifiers deleted by sending an email to novo_origo@voteagora.com. All submissions are published per the CC BY-SA 4.0 license and therefore cannot be deleted.