How It Works
GrindVault is a peer-to-peer esports wagering platform on Solana. Stakes are held in a non-custodial smart contract escrow — no one can touch your funds except the contract.
Challenges — Step by Step
Connect Your Wallet
Connect a Solana wallet (Phantom, Solflare, Backpack, etc.) and make sure you have USDC on Solana. No account, no email, no KYC — your wallet is your identity.
Create or Accept a Challenge
Set a game, stake amount in USDC, and optionally lock in a specific opponent. Open challenges are visible to everyone. Direct challenges can only be accepted by the wallet you specify.
Stake Goes Into Escrow
When the challenge is created, your USDC is transferred into a smart contract escrow on Solana. When your opponent accepts, their matching stake is locked in too. Neither player can touch the funds until the match resolves.
Play the Match
Play the game on whatever platform you agreed on — PC, console, mobile. The actual game happens off-chain. GrindVault does not monitor or verify gameplay; it only settles the financial outcome.
Submit Your Result
After the match, both players independently submit who they believe won. If both agree, the challenge auto-resolves. No admin needed. Results are submitted on-chain and cannot be altered.
Winner Gets Paid
Once resolved, anyone can trigger settlement. The winner receives the full pot minus a 2% protocol fee. The challenge and escrow accounts are closed and rent is returned to the challenger.
Tournaments
Tournaments support Single Elimination (4, 8, or 16 players) and Round Robin (3–8 players) formats.
Players register and pay an entry fee into escrow. Once the organizer starts the tournament, brackets are generated and match-ups are assigned. Each match follows the same submit-result flow as individual challenges.
Prize pools are distributed as a percentage of the total entry fee pool. Organizers set the split (e.g. 70% / 30%) when creating the tournament. A 2% protocol fee is deducted from each prize claim.
If a tournament is cancelled during registration, all entry fees are fully refunded.
FAQ
What games are supported?
Any game — GrindVault is game-agnostic. You name the game when creating a challenge. We recommend sticking to 1v1 formats where the result is unambiguous.
What if my opponent never accepts?
Open challenges expire after 24 hours. If no one accepts within that window, you can cancel the challenge and recover your full stake.
What happens if we submit different results?
The challenge enters a Disputed state. An admin reviews the evidence (screenshots, match history, VODs shared via Discord) and sets the winner on-chain. The admin decision is final.
What is the protocol fee?
A flat 2% of the total pot is taken at settlement and sent to the protocol treasury. There are no other fees.
What if my opponent goes offline mid-match?
If a match becomes permanently stuck (e.g. opponent ghosted after accepting), contact support. An admin can force-cancel the match and refund both players.
Are the smart contracts audited?
Not by a third-party firm yet — this is alpha software. The contracts have been reviewed internally. Do not stake amounts you cannot afford to lose.
Ready to play?
Create a Challenge