When a challenge creator funds a cash prize, the money moves into escrow via Stripe immediately — it isn't sitting in the creator's personal account where it could be spent elsewhere before winners are announced. This is what makes a posted prize amount a real commitment rather than just a number on a page.
Funds release from escrow automatically when winners are announced and the appeal window closes, going straight to each winner's connected payout account. If a challenge is cancelled before completion, escrowed funds are returned to the creator rather than distributed.
