I think it would be nice to be able to place 'open bounty' missions. It could be a research-unlockable ability which shows up on the black market. It would work similar to the current mission creation, but anyone who fulfills the mission is automatically rewarded, i.e. it would not be a mission for a specific faction to accomplish.

There should be also an 'open bounty' option, so that I can set the target to an infinite number of ships or structures, and the value placed would be paid per item destroyed, and the reputation reward would be small. It would not have a time limit (could be on forever), but the empire which placed the open bounty should be able to cancel it at will. A debt with interest will keep growing, as the pirates are paying in advance for the players bounty. The player can at any time go to the black market and pay his debt whooly or in parts (as  he is buying metal/crystal). If a pirate raid countdown expires and the player has debt, a second pirate raid launches against the player to 'pay off the debt'. The winning bounty of the pirate raid is deduced from the debt. If it is zeroed, the debt is then paid. If there some debt left, the player keeps owing and the debt growing.