We are excited that Brave chose Origin as the platform to host their store. Brave’s 12 million+ monthly active users can purchase products knowing that they are not being tracked and that their personal information is safe.

Technology

Origin’s open-source, decentralized store is built using the Ethereum blockchain, IPFS, and PGP. IPFS is used to host the application and store product data, media, and PGP-encrypted order data. The Ethereum blockchain is used to process orders, transfer payments, manage the escrow process, and handle dispute management via Origin’s Marketplace smart contract.

Because the Brave browser already has native integrations with Ethereum wallets and IPFS gateways, we are able to offer a seamless and user-friendly shopping experience for Brave’s millions of users. We’re thrilled to partner with Brave in enabling decentralized commerce for the masses.

Decentralized e-commerce platform

Traditional e-commerce platforms have several disadvantages from the merchant’s perspective. Traditional platforms can:

Access your private product and sales data

Track your users/customers without letting them opt-out

Raise fees or change their terms of business at will

Hinder your ability to move to a competitor

In addition, third parties wishing to build tools and applications on top of a traditional e-commerce platform like Shopify must play by their rules, stifling innovation as there is no guarantee that those rules are developer-friendly and won’t change over time.

In contrast, a decentralized platform gives merchants complete control of their data and service providers, meaning they don’t have to rely on the compliance of a centralized entity if they wish to make changes in the future. Third parties have the freedom to build tools and applications with no restrictions, resulting in a rich and diverse software ecosystem.

At Origin, we are excited to put a dent in the world of e-commerce. Shopify is currently valued at $40B USD, and we believe there is an enormous opportunity in offering a decentralized alternative to their service.

The future

Origin Protocol is a blockchain platform for building decentralized marketplaces and e-commerce applications. The Brave Store serves as an early proof point of how we can disrupt traditional e-commerce with open-source software built on the blockchain. We are excited to bring many more e-commerce merchants online over the coming weeks and months, but we aren’t stopping there.

Most peer-to-peer marketplaces function in the same way. Sellers post goods or services for sale, and buyers submit payment and fulfillment information (such as name and address). This process is largely the same whether you are buying physical goods, renting short-term home rentals, or hiring contractors on an hourly basis.

Origin looks forward to bringing more verticals onto the Origin Platform and incentivizing developers to build applications, tools, and services leveraging the protocol.

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