If you always wanted to go shopping on the Dark Web but didn’t have the technical know-how, there is a new easy-to-use solution for you. OpenBazaar is a bitcoin decentralized marketplace for goods and services that was launched on April 4 th 2016.
The open-source project promises an alternative to the centralized online shopping experience offering more freedom via cryptocurrencies. Other projects that were linked to bitcoin have tried creating a true free market in the past, but were stopped by the authorities (the most famous case being Silk Road and the FBI ). OpenBazaar is meant to be immune from a government takedown as it is not a company and no individual or organization is running it. This is my review of the network in its infancy. Dark Social Network
The first thing to notice is that instead of vising a website, OpenBazaar is a program that anyone can download and install on their computer. When you run it for the first time you are given a user ID that you will use to trade, which you can decide to link to your name or leave it completely anonymous.
It feels much more like a social network than just a shopping catalog with profile pages and avatar images. You can follow other users whether they are sellers or just shoppers and get their updates on your platform. There is also a built-in chat function for encrypted communication. Becoming a seller is very easy too, all you have to do is to activate the store mode on your page and start listing items.
Offering a degree of protection from scammers, OpenBazaar features moderators – people that you can send bitcoin to for a purchase (as an escrow service), and they release it to the seller when the transaction is finished without dispute. […]
