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Comment by zethraeus | Hacker News Reader

Why don't you take fees to support further development?

Disclaimer: not associated with OpenBazaar, just a devil's advocate.

If Alice and Bob were to trade drugs on my website, and I take fees for that commerce, you can bet that law enforcement is knocking on my door very soon.

I'm thinking law enforcement will come knocking whether you take fees or not. Especially with the recent legislation.

Craigslist took down their personals and they don't make any money off of it.

Now we need to make a distributed version of Craigslist.

Note that OpenBazar is not a website. It's open source software you download to your machine and it connects you directly to the network. There is no company or organization running a server that is hosting stores; it's completely distributed.

Most development is sponsored by OB1 (where I work). We have raised money from investors like A16Z, BlueYard, and USV. The project also supports donations. We don't need to skim fees to survive.

Edit: Additionally, the aim is to be an open protocol for trade and not just a product. Fees for using an open protocol don't make much sense.

Does OB1 have a source of income?

Not currently. Now that the base protocol is becoming stable we're going to start focusing on growing and starting for-profit products and services.

What kind of other things are you going to build on the protocol? (If you are able to say so in public yet.)

Public things are that we're working on crypto trading and a mobile app right now. We're also building out some basic reputation services starting with our Verified Moderator program. I'm not a business guy so I can't give you details on possible monetization routes.

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