Hey everyone,
We’ve been testing an experiment called Horse Project — a bot that distributes $HORSE tokens after each official Codeforces round, based on solved problems and standings. The idea is to check if contest results can be tokenized and used as measurable intellectual value.
In the broader vision, this could evolve into an ecosystem where:
- not only programming, but also math and physics contests are included,
- mentors and sponsors can directly support students,
- decisions about the system are made collectively through a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization), so the community shapes its own future.
Right now, it’s only a prototype — small stats, automatic token distribution, and live updates. But before moving further, we’d love to hear what the CF community thinks — could this be meaningful for learners, or is it just an experiment with no real future?
Concept: https://github.com/unlimited-excellence/horse-dao/blob/main/CONCEPT.md.
Auto comment: topic has been updated by Oryshych (previous revision, new revision, compare).
What would the tokens be used for?
Right now $HORSE is just an open beta: after each official CF round, a Telegram bot calculates standings and sends tokens using a cubic merit-based formula. You can hold them or transfer to others — like a digital medal.
The vision goes further: support for mentors & sponsorship, governance of reward parameters via DAO, and expansion to other platforms (AtCoder, Kaggle, Olympiads). The idea is to see if contest results can become measurable digital assets, not just rating points.
isn't that codeforces rating?
Rating shows your skill level inside Codeforces, but it stays only as a number. $HORSE is different: it turns results into a transferable digital asset.
The idea is not to replace rating, but to add another layer — tokens can be shared with mentors, used in sponsorship, and in the future give governance rights in the DAO. Rating = reputation; tokens = utility + economy.
Sounds interesting
I glanced over your CONCEPT doc — it's a very exciting initiative!
Some thoughts:
(disclaimer: I have only surface level understanding of the topic at hand)
Thanks a lot for the detailed comment — really appreciate the points. I agree that the idea could be explained in a clearer and simpler way, and I’ll prepare a follow-up post with more context and layman-friendly wording.
About DAO & self-organization: the plan is that token holders can influence reward coefficients, decide which platforms (AtCoder, Kaggle, Olympiads, etc.) to connect, and vote on funding initiatives. Beyond governance, tokens can also be used for mentorship support, sponsorship, and investment mechanisms — for example, talented participants could be treated like “micro-startups,” issuing shares of their future contest rewards, while mentors or investors back them with $HORSE. This creates incentives for both sides: learners get support, and sponsors share in their success.
On cheating: we are aware of the problem. For now we rely on Codeforces’ official results and use a cubic reward formula that gives disproportionately more tokens to top performers and only negligible amounts to the bottom — making low-rank cheating largely pointless. In the future, we also plan to explore additional anti-cheating measures and introduce community-driven reputation and voting mechanisms to further minimize abuse.
So I think the thing I'm missing is — will you be able to trade HORSE for real money? I'm conflicted because:
If you are able to trade, it then:
a) what's the difference between paying Petr 500 bucks for mentorship and paying him the equivalent in HORSE? Like, why would he be motivated to train someone for HORSE if he wasn't already doing it for cash?
b) wouldn't most people just sell it off, devaluating HORSE to the point of non-viability?
c) Would any outside actually buy $HORSE, knowing how its dilution work?
If you are not able to trade, then what is the funding (
Fund allocation: Funding for marketing, grants for educational initiatives, bug-fix bounties, or new feature development.) that the DAO can manage? I.e., HORSE can't pay for a marketing campaign if it's not cashable. And AFAIU, funding is the only thing mentioned that affects the "real world" outside HORSE ecosystem.Right now $HORSE isn’t tradable — it’s just a digital medal inside the beta. But our roadmap does include a DEX listing, since liquidity could unlock real utility: mentorship, sponsorship, DAO funding. The upside is giving achievements tangible value; the risk is obvious — sell pressure and volatility. We’re moving in that direction, but we’d really like to hear what the community thinks before going further.