Recently, OMERS joined several other investors in backing OB1, the company behind the decentralized marketplace, OpenBazaar. Now, OMERS published a post welcoming OB1 into its ventures portfolio, and expanded on its decision to back the company.

The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) boasts over $72 billion CAD in net assets, and announced the launch of an Ethereum-focused public company called Ethereum Capital in January 2018. With its investment in OB1, OMERS is attempting to support the company in its quest to create a truly decentralized marketplace.

OMERS: “we are excited to be investors in OB1”

OMERS is no stranger to backing projects that operate in the digital currency industry, as aside from the launch of Ethereum Capital, the company also supported the “Ethereum liquidity company,’ Citizen Hex.

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The pension fund’s investment in OB1 was announced earlier in March, when it joined Bitmain and several others in supporting OB1’s $5 million Series A funding round. With today’s post, OMERS praised the company’s aim to create a decentralized marketplace.

We believe @OB1Company, the team behind OpenBazaar, is best positioned to unlock the future of decentralized commerce. More on our latest investment here: https://t.co/xYqM8ztMTH #blockchain — OMERS Ventures (@OMERSVentures) March 29, 2018

“Centralized platforms have amassed so much power that they can essentially self-govern, setting their own rules using our data,” OMERS stated. “Decentralization can reverse this reality and we believe OB1, the team behind OpenBazaar, is best positioned to unlock the future of decentralized commerce.”

OpenBazaar provides decentralized online commerce

OpenBazaar is OB1’s decentralized platform which allows anyone to buy and sell goods online. The platform is entirely self-governed, meaning it is up to users to self-regulate the platform as its creators have no control over the listings that are posted.

Currently, OpenBazaar can be freely installed and users can engage with decentralized trading online. The company stated thats its backing will allow it to better its services and further progress its goal of removing intermediaries from the e-commerce equation.

In its announcement, OMERS praised the OB1 team for its work on OpenBazaar, and called CEO Brian Hoffman, COO Sam Patterson, and CRO Washington Sanchez “amongst the most knowledgeable and passionate experts in the blockchain community.”

“OB1 stays in constant communication with their thousands of community members and contributing developers,” added OMERS. “OB1 has a world class team which is core to our investment thesis.”

“We are excited to be investors in OB1. We look forward to working with the team and helping them in the quest to build a fairer and more independent internet.”

Image credit: OMERS logo

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