Since going live in November OpenBazaar has seen almost 25,000 nodes come online and they continue to trend upward each day! We have had an intense & exciting few weeks working on the network and responding to user feedback and we want to share a few things we will be rolling out in January.

Cryptocurrency integrations

Shortly after launch Bitcoin fees significantly increased, making buying and selling everyday items and services difficult on OpenBazaar. To present more options to users so that they can avoid Bitcoin fees, we are working quickly to integrate the coins Bitcoin Cash, Zcash and Litecoin.

Testing for BCH and Zcash has begun and we’re at the beginning stages of exploring how Litecoin integration would work.

Transactions bug fix

There have been reports of order messages not being received so in the new builds we’ve increased the amount of log data to help the reporting users track down the problem.

Releases 2.0.20 and 2.0.21 fix bugs relating to the exchange rate API implementation that was causing problems in the purchase flow.

Scam mitigation

OpenBazaar is an ecommerce platform that imposes no marketplace fees, no data collection, and no censorship; there is no middleman involved at all who can tell users what they can and can’t do on the network. This means exciting new freedom but but we are also aware that not everyone will always operate in the best interest of their fellow humans. We’ve seen an increase in scammers and we are working hard to add tools to make it easier to identify who is likely to be a trustworthy user on the network, specifically moderators, and we have are doing two things to help minimize the impact of actions like these.

The first is user education, trying to help users fully understand the qualities of a fully decentralized ecommerce network and the risks of using unknown moderators along with other unsafe behaviors.

The second is working on a verified moderators program that will help users select trusted moderators to avoid scams. These changes should be available in January.

Time delays in transactions & refunds posting

We’ve been asked by some users why their transactions and refunds are being delayed. This is likely due to the Bitcoin network fees again and transaction backlog on the Bitcoin network. Transactions and refunds can take up to several days to post in some cases right now and most users do notice them posting after some time has passed. Make sure the fee being paid is less than the transactions amount itself, otherwise the transaction cannot be completed.

Thank You

We want to to thank you for being a part of this community and for your patience with these challenges that have arisen in the 6 weeks since launch. The continued use and exploration of OpenBazaar even despite high fees and transaction difficulties show that so many of you are very, very dedicated to making a free, decentralized marketplace work for you. The great feedback that you have given us is helping us to make informed choices about what is most important to OpenBazaar users and we are working hard to define and develop this whole new paradigm of empowered ecommerce with you.

**Have thoughts to share or just want to learn more?

**Please join us in our discussion communities here!

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