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?
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.