Whatever happened to decentralized marketplaces?
Whatever happened to decentralized marketplaces?
I’ve once heard about decentralized alternatives to eBay and Amazon where you can buy/sell items online without middleman. OpenBazaar and Parcl are among several alternatives aiming to transform e-commerce. While they’ve gathered a lot of attention within their early days, it seems the concept of a “decentralized marketplace” is fading away as the industry shifts into “meme” coins and NFTs. Are tightening regulations one of the reasons why decentralized marketplaces aren’t taking off?
How is a decentralized marketplace possible? I mean I know it’s possible if the product your are buying is in the hands of just another person but I don’t think we can buy directly from a factory or wherever a product is being sold. Some products are manufactured and aren’t really interested in the merchandise aspect making it necessary for third parties to come and handle that side of business.
It’s definitely a factor, but not really. It’s simply the fact that usage has always been really small, and people are simply just using the likes of eBay instead. Truth be told, bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are mostly held as investments today, rather than for payments.