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Well, it's probably require a fork. Cryptocurrency is already tightly integrated with OpenBazaar. This also removes all of the platform's credibility in my eyes.



Why does it remove all of the platform’s credibility in your eyes?


Because it shows that they're more interested in riding the crypto hype wave than in solving real problems.


OpenBazaar is over four years old now. It didn't emerge out of blockchain hype.

Cryptocurrency means it can be completely peer to peer and not reliant on any payment processing platforms, and with multisig is allows for powerful escrow as well.


Hype has certainly peaked recently but that doens't mean they weren't a part of it. Blockchain has been hype for a long time.

I understand the "benefits" of cryptocurrency. They're all outweighed by people wanting their money to have a stable value so they can realistically budget their real life expenses. In the bubble cryptocurrency nuts live in where they don't have to worry about real world problems like carefully budgeting their paychecks, it might work, but software like OpenBazaar crashes right into reality.


Do you think there’s any chance that within 5 years there will be a somewhat widely accessible cryptotoken whose value is decently stable in the short and medium term, so that platforms like OpenBazaar would become at least viable for early adopter types and their friends?


I can't predict something like that on that kind of timescale. Within the next year, no.


I’m just asking because you seem to insist that OpenBazaar is an inevitable failure and a useless waste of time, while I can imagine it being quite successful within a few years.


they're more interested in riding the crypto hype wave than in solving real problems

On what basis do you make that accusation? And how does supporting cryptocurrency preclude them from solving "real problems", whatever that means?


Because cryptocurrency is clearly the wrong solution to this problem. If they actually wanted to make a decentralized marketplace non-technical people can use they would not have used cryptocurrency.


cryptocurrency is clearly the wrong solution to this problem

Why is it the "wrong" solution to making a decentralized marketplace? What's the "right" solution?


I've spoken about that in other branches of this thread. This tree is getting too deep, just read my other comments.


Can you indicate which comment you're referring to?


The one where he says "Let MasterCard/VISA/US Gov control the digital economy."


Let MasterCard/VISA/US Gov control the digital economy.

And how is this a decentralized marketplace?


what exactly are you trying to buy where any of those parties would care? I personally don’t care for another silk road. Anything else I buy I’m completely fine with any of those companies and my gov knowing


A Wikileaks tshirt...?

Why take the risk, when we can handle it ourselves?


disregarding contraband, lots of people distrust the non-transparent bidding system on centralised platforms


Something that the local people are actually using.


Can you be more specific? Are you referring to cash?


Exactly. Or credit/debit cards.


How do you propose cash transactions be carried out over the internet?

How do credit/debit cards satisfy the proposition of a decentralized marketplace?


"How do credit/debit cards satisfy the proposition of a decentralized marketplace?"

They're something that most people are actually using, allowing the marketplace to actually conduct commerce and exist.


Does a cryptocurrency-based market not conduct commerce and exist right now?

And again, how do credit/debit cards—which are centralized systems—satisfy the proposition of a decentralized market?


Not for most people, no.

"And again, how do credit/debit cards—which are centralized systems—satisfy the proposition of a decentralized market?"

They allow the market to actually exist, by using something that the people are actually using.


They allow the market to actually exist

But a decentralized market does exist with cryptocurrencies.

And credit/debit cards aren’t decentralized.


"And credit/debit cards aren’t decentralized."

Doesn't matter. That's what the majority of people are using; so if you want the marketplace to actually be able to serve people, and get them to actually buy stuff, you need to support them.


What the majority of people are currently using is irrelevant. The whole topic of this thread is creating decentralized markets, and you're saying the fact that these payment processors are centralized doesn't matter. That doesn't make any sense.


It sounds like a good compromise would be to allow people to check out with a credit card/paypal and have an instant conversion to BTC behind the scenes, maybe with a 2% fee or something.


"What the majority of people are currently using is irrelevant. "

Not if you actually want your marketplace to be able to, you know, sell stuff to people.


I see you conveniently ignored the rest of my comment.


Perhaps the idea of a decentralized marketplace is a bad idea? What benefit does this actually give me in my everyday life where I don’t need to buy toilet paper anonymously?


Perhaps the idea of a decentralized marketplace is a bad idea?

Clearly not for the people using it right now.

What benefit does this actually give me in my everyday life where I don’t need to buy toilet paper anonymously?

Are you asking why someone would want to transact anonymously?


For most things, most people don't care.


Craigslist does fine [grasping for a number] 95% of the time.


they just don't


its not difficult to understand that if you make this system with existing currencies it is centralised by default since the payment processors can and will enforce restrictions. then why make it decentralised?


During the height of dot.com mania would you have written off all web projects?

People did. I remember reading those kinds of comments.


Do I have to remind you what happened between peak dot com hype and the modern web?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_2000s_recession


Sure. I expect that in cryptocurrency when the current bubble pops.

It's likely that the most interesting things in cryptocurrency will be introduced during the crypto-recession. Right now there is too much noise.


or maybe you are resistant to change and fail to see the value of decentralised money ?


Or maybe it's nowhere near there yet, and they want to help solve the problem they see now.


We would absolutely welcome attempts to integrate other forms of payment into OpenBazaar. Our escrow system currently relies on multisig but that's the only significant impediment to adoption.




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