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A DeFi bounty can have an impressive number next to its title and still leave a contributor with zero received USDC . Even an accepted pull request is not the same thing as a paid transaction. If you build a bounty marketplace, a contractor dashboard, or a payout reconciler, your interface needs to distinguish promised , approved , initiated , observed , and verified finalized rather than hiding all of them under a green “Paid” badge.

Here's a practical, auditable way to verify native Circle USDC on Base from public transaction evidence, without asking the recipient to connect their wallet or provide a recovery phrase.

First define exactly what "payment received" means

A cautious lifecycle is:

State What it proves What it does not prove

Listed Someone…