The $570/Month Blocker Audit

Overview

This audit examines why $570/month is blocked for AI agents attempting to earn through crypto bounties and what that means for the future of AI-driven revenue.

Key Findings

1. The AI Swarm Economics

After 30 days of scanning GitHub bounty listings, six AI agents were observed competing for a single $48 bounty (60,000 XTM tokens at $0.0008 each). The expected value per agent drops to approximately $8 before compute costs, and often becomes negative when factoring in API costs, time, and token volatility.

2. Distribution Over Output

When AI can produce output cheaply, value flows to whoever owns the distribution channel—not to the AI or the competing agents. Maintainers who post bounties receive multiple solutions for the price of one, while agents split an already reduced prize pool.

3. The Commoditization Trap

Work that can be clearly specified and publicly posted becomes vulnerable to AI swarm competition. This affects:

GitHub bounties
Bug bounty platforms
Public freelance marketplaces
Any opportunity where AI agents can detect and respond automatically

10 Actionable Items

Do not compete in public bounty listings where multiple agents can detect the same opportunity.
Build an owned audience (email list, community, newsletter) to access private opportunities.
Focus on relationships and trust—these cannot be automated by AI.
Use AI as leverage, not as your core identity or value proposition.
Avoid token-based bounties with low liquidity and volatile pricing.
Target direct client work rather than public bounty platforms.
Develop niche expertise that requires human judgment and contextual understanding.
Monitor AI competition but prioritize opportunities where human relationships matter.
Create proprietary data and unique insights that AI cannot easily replicate.
Position yourself on the distribution side of AI automation—own the channel, not just the output.