Pledges FAQ

What is a Pledge?

A Pledge is a new way to hold yourself accountable to your goals by combining real-world incentives and onchain primitives. First, users set personal goals in areas like fitness or education and link their data sources. Then, to credibly commit to these goals, they lock some funds in a non-custodial escrow account. When the Pledge deadline arrives, data is fetched from the user's offchain account, and the result of the Pledge is sent onchain. If the user achieved their goal, they get their funds back; if not, it is donated to a charity of their choice.

How does a Pledge work?

Users commit funds to a goal, and if they succeed, they get their money back; if they fail, the funds are donated to a selected charity.

How do I create a Pledge?

Users can create a Pledge through Portex's chatbot assistant, whom we've called Betty. In this chat interface, users connect their outside data source, specify their goal, the amount of funds to escrow, and the charity to donate to if they are not successful. Our goal with the chatbot is to make AI systems interface better with crypto primitives, and assist users in deploying their Pledge smart contract onchain.

What happens if I meet my goal? What happens if I don't meet my goal?

If you meet your goal (e.g. you an at least 10 miles that week), the funds held in escrow are returned to you. If you don't meet your goal, the funds are donated to the charity you selected when creating the Pledge.

Can I cancel or modify a Pledge once it's created?

Pledges cannot be canceled or modified once created, ensuring commitment to the set goals. Once the contract is deployed, it cannot be accessed by anyone until the deadline.

What blockchain are Pledges built on?

Pledges are currently available on the Base Sepolia testnet, but we plan to launch on Base mainnet soon.

How is progress towards my goal tracked?

Progress is tracked using data from your accounts on apps like Strava or Duolingo, which you link to when creating a Pledge.

How is the result of a Pledge relayed onchain?

We've built data adaptors which fetch offchain data and determine if the user has met their goal. This result is then relayed back onchain to trigger conditions in the Pledge smart contract.

How do you prevent cheating?

There is no fail proof way to prevent cheating. However, there is a deterrent to cheating in the social layer that is formed from the transparency of the blockchain. Namely, cheating will be captured onchain, forever. Finally, Pledges are about personal commitments. If you cheat, the only person you are cheating is yourself.

What data is onchain versus offchain?

The only Pledge data that is broadcast onchain is the address you used to create the Pledge, the charity address if you don’t meet your Pledge, the amount pledged, the Pledge deadline, and if that pledge was successful or not. The exact details of the Pledge (e.g. "run 10 miles") are not posted onchain.

How is my data used in a Pledge?

Portex users connect their data sources in order to determine the outcome of Pledges.

As with any Web3 application today, users also expose their transaction graphs via the wallet address they use to deploy a Pledge. But unlike other Web3 apps, users can begin to own and monetize this data by passively making it available to help train Wilbur, our classification model that can detect whether a given wallet belongs to a real human user or not. Because Pledges are tied to real-world data that is difficult and costly to spoof, we can confidently presume that Pledge users' wallet addresses are controlled by real human users.

Pledges also create data labels—representations of the raw data—which are written into that user's Vault.

How are data labels collected and created?

Data sourced from Pledges is a representation or aggregation of the underlying data fetched from the user's data source. It is not the raw data itself. We've implemented heuristics and other means to create the first set of data labels.

What if there is an issue with the data source or incorrect data is used to verify a Pledge?

If there is an issue with verifying your pledge, you (and only you as the contract deployer) can request to withdraw your funds from the escrow account after a pre-specified buffer time has passed after the Pledge deadline.

Is there a minimum or maximum amount I can Pledge?

There is no minimum or maximum amount you can pledge, but we recommend pledging modest amounts that are still meaningful enough to impact the odds you stay committed to your goals, which may vary from person to person.

What are some examples of goals I can set?

We currently have integrations with leading fitness and education apps. Through the Runner pledge, you can commit to running a certain number of miles by the end of each weekly Round. With the Speaker pledge, you can add more accountability around your Duolingo streak.

Are there any fees associated with creating a Pledge?

Users pay the transaction fee to send their pledge onchain (typically less than $1 at typical levels on Base Mainnet).

How does the escrow contract work?

Funds are held securely in a non-custodial escrow contract that the user broadcasts themselves onchain. Funds only move from the contract based on the final determination once the Pledge's deadline has arrived. There are no admin keys—an often overlooked risk of smart contracts—and neither Portex nor the user nor anyone else can access funds locked during a Pledge's duration. Additionally, Portex plans to complete a smart contract audit in the near future to ensure user safety.

How long do Pledges last?

Pledges operate on the basis of weekly Rounds, which always conclude on Sundays at 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time. When making a pledge, you can select any of the next 4 Rounds (i.e., at most one month). Pledges operate on Rounds to build in routine and normalize across all users.

Why should I make a Pledge?

Pledges are a new way to help you stay committed to your goals while taking ownership over your data. They serve as credible commitment devices and use principles from the field of behavioral economics to prevent present bias and procrastination. Plus, it’s an easy way to make an impact and donate to charities. Pledges also produce valuable data that you can control and own via your Vault.

Which charities are available?

We’ve integrated with Endaoment to allow donations to a selection of well-known charities. We plan to expand this list in the near future.

What currency are Pledges made in?

Pledges are currently made in ETH on Base Mainnet, but we are exploring adding support for stablecoins in the near future.