The OpenBazaar decentralized marketplace seems poised for a comeback after its shutdown more than two years agoaccording to a series of updates on social media and GitHub.
A GitHub repository on the collaborative software development site shows progress as recent as April 12 in building a new version of the marketplace, which closed in 2020.
Brian Hoffman, the former project manager at OpenBazaar and CEO of OB1 –the for-profit company that developed their software- tweeted on April 9 of the progress being made on a “new” version of the marketplace, saying that it “gets more interesting every day.”
Hitting 1,000 lines of code on the new @openbazaar repo. This is getting more interesting by the day.
— Brian Hoffman (@brianchoffman) April 8, 2023
Reaching 1,000 lines of code in the new @openbazaar repository. Every day is more interesting.
In the answers, Hoffman was asked how the market would be different this time, given that OpenBazaar was forced to close earlier due to financial problems and poor user growth.
Hoffman responded by speaking of “freedom of exploration” and inferred that outside influence had contributed to his initial downfall.
I’m letting it go where it goes. No investor input or outside influences. Freedom of exploration.
— Brian Hoffman (@brianchoffman) April 9, 2023
I let it run its course. No investors or outside influences. Freedom of exploration.
The first hints that OpenBazaar was going to make a comeback came in a tweet from Hoffman on March 28, in which he linked to the OpenBazaar GitHub page showing that he had been working on a new version of the marketplace. using the Rust programming language.
https://t.co/NrJy7OqKJJ
it’s begun… pic.twitter.com/FkOOVNsc8c
— Brian Hoffman (@brianchoffman) March 28, 2023
has started…
Just a few hours later, The official OpenBazaar account also posted a tweet saying that “the time has come to rise again from the ashes” and that “the work has begun.”
work has begun. we will need recruits. we will need your ideas, your thoughts.
—OpenBazaar (@openbazaar) March 28, 2023
the work has begun. we will need recruits. We will need your ideas, your thoughts.
Adding to the evidence that the market seems likely to relaunch is the fact that the OpenBazaar website currently carries the message “openbazaar 3.0: coming soon”.
After the exchange closed in 2020, Hoffman tweeted that a future iteration of OpenBazaar would require more independence from OB1, but did not provide any further information on how that might work.
The future of @openbazaar will be more independent from @OB1Company. More news on that soon.
— Brian Hoffman (@brianchoffman) September 28, 2020
The future of @openbazaar will be more independent from @OB1Company. Soon there will be more news about it.
Hailed as a decentralized alternative to eBay, OpenBazaar was first released in 2014. It allowed users to interact directly with each other to make transactions using bitcoin (BTC).
The marketplace initially had the name “DarkMarket” but changed it to OpenBazaar after community input in an attempt to improve its public image.
Cointelegraph reached out to Hoffman and OpenBazaar for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information presented here should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
Keep reading:
Investments in crypto assets are not regulated. They may not be suitable for retail investors and the entire amount invested may be lost. The services or products offered are not directed or accessible to investors in Spain.