Here comes Not Silk Road 3.0

quote:

---

Two of tech's biggest venture capital funds, Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures, are investing $1 million into OpenBazaar, a wildly ambitious bitcoin startup that aims to create a decentralised, police-proof online marketplace where users can sell literally anything using bitcoin.

However, the company is at pains to make clear that it isn't trying to create a "Silk Road 3.0." Lead developer Brian Hoffman spoke emphatically against "misuse" of the platform when I talked to him, instead arguing it has the potential to revolutionise online commerce — a next-generation Etsy with no transaction fees whatsoever. Early press focused on its potential criminal implications, but Hoffman says he is determined to "change the conversation," and hopes the high-profile investment will help to "legitimise development of the protocol."

But with an uncensorable structure, Hoffman concedes, comes the risk that it could also be used to distribute illegal contraband and immoral products with little risk to the seller. It is, in the words of the company, "a decentralized network for peer to peer commerce online — using Bitcoin — that has no fees and cannot be censored. Put simply, it’s the baby of eBay and BitTorrent."

---