Will decentralized marketplaces be Bitcoin’s “killer app”?

What exactly is Bitcoin's killer app? Could it be a decentralized marketplace? No one is absolutely sure. There are two concepts in the Bitcoin world that could change the way we transact on the Internet and in our daily lives: decentralized marketplaces and decentralized remittances. In this article, I'll start with the first concept - decentralized marketplaces.

Timothy May said: "Just as printing changed the guilds and social power structures of the Middle Ages, cryptographic methods will fundamentally change the nature of institutional and government intervention in economic transactions." (Quoted from CRYPTOANARCHIST MANIFESTO)

Since the rise of the cypherpunks, the idea of ​​creating a decentralized online market (DM) has become a dream for many people. A decentralized market is made up of people in a network who trade in this market without the need for a centralized institution or third party to arbitrate. There are already various technologies and software that allow users to trade autonomously and sometimes anonymously in a P2P environment. Therefore, the characteristic of this market is that it does not require a third party, but relies entirely on the distributed network maintained by users. The funds on the platform are protected by specific protocols, such as multi-signature, escrow system or Ricardian contract, as well as zero-knowledge technology.

Speaking of decentralized markets, the most anticipated project must be OpenBazaar (OB1). The original inspiration of OpenBazaar was to build a Silk Road that no one could destroy. Inspired by Amir Taaki's dream, it was originally called "Darknet Market". Brian Hoffman, CEO of OpenBazaar, forked the darknet market project and started to create a decentralized market similar to eBay. Now, OpenBazaar has gathered a group of developers and volunteers to jointly build the internal architecture of this market. In addition, venture capitalists such as Andreessen Horowitz have invested $1 million in the OpenBazaar project, and the project is currently developing steadily. Brian Hoffman does not want OpenBazaar to become the next "Silk Road".

In order to promote a purely decentralized P2P market, OpenBazaar will adopt some relatively unique operating methods. The system uses a third-party escrow system, such as the Ricardian contract solution mentioned above. This concept was first discussed in the article jointly researched by Ian Grigg and Gary Howland on the Ricardo payment system. The network uses this escrow system to ensure that users' funds are not subject to third parties at any time. The software also uses two multi-signature technologies to complete transactions and ensure that funds are safely kept in the protocol.

In addition to this, there are other attempts to create a decentralized market with reliable security and escrow systems. For example, Syscoin, BitBay, NXT, etc. have also developed their own decentralized markets and used their own tokens (Altcoins). For a while, there will always be developers who want to get involved in this gray area of ​​decentralized trading. Now, some underground network markets (DNMs) are still not decentralized, they are still very centralized, and some have failed, like Agora and Silk Road. There is no decentralized market that can do this. Most trading platforms, online markets, and wallet services are still completely centralized, with the only thing that imitates escrow currency.

NXT FreeMarket is a decentralized market that runs on the NXT blockchain. The platform operates similarly to eBay, but more freely, as the website says: "We have the power to trade freely." NXT FreeMarket claims to be better than eBay in terms of user privacy. There is no registration required, and no third-party involvement, as the system is not maintained by a centralized server. According to the developers, NXT Market is solid because operations are all conducted through the blockchain. Users need to spend a little bit of Futures Coin when using the NXT Free Market service. Payments through NXT are built into the distributed ledger, and the information between buyers and sellers is encrypted.

We are getting closer and closer to a future of reliable decentralized markets, a compliant market with decentralized features. The legacy of the cypherpunks is not only about writing code, but also inspiring people to take action to realize their dreams. Eric Hughes once said: "We need to use encryption technology, anonymous email systems, digital signature technology and electronic currency to protect our privacy. The cypherpunks are doing this."

Original article: https://news.bitcoin.com/decentralized-marketplace-bitcoins-next-killer-app/
Author: jamieredman
Translator: printemps
Editor: printemps
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/killer-app)