Got an email from Replit’s ops guy, Santiago Orozco, saying they’re shutting down Bounties on Sept 6, 2025. No blog, no tweet, just a quiet email. Devs need to wrap up open bounties by then, and Cycles can be cashed out or turned into Replit credits (per their ToS). They’re pushing users to Contra, a freelance platform, for future gigs.
This feels off. In 2023, Replit’s CEO Amjad Masad was all over Bounties as the next big thing for software dev (https://www.parttimetech.io/p/amjad-masad-future-of-software...). He talked up reducing transaction costs to zero, integrating Bounties into the IDE, and enabling solo devs to build massive projects. Now it’s just... gone? For a YC-backed company that raised $100M+, this silent shutdown is weird. Did Bounties not work out, or is Replit pivoting away from their “code for all” vibe? Anyone else caught off guard? What’s the play for gig-coding now—Contra or something else?
