Why aren't decentralized dark net markets more popular?

It seems that if there was a DNM that was decentralized:

I heard somewhere that it should be possible like so:

Cons:

Pros:

Why isn't a decentralized DNM the most popular DNM currently?

What do you think of the above notes? It's an interesting thought experiment.


Comments


[3 Points] KnowsAboutShrooms:

Is there a successful decentralized market out there right now? OpenBazaar still hasnt taken off. Tramalfadore seems to have faded along with Ethrow. Which, maybe is a good thing since Ether seems to be slim on the security end.

I would be down with some crowd funding via Monero if someone competent could develop a decetralized, reliable, secure and stable market. But anyone that could competently do that, has a better paying and legit job already.


[3 Points] FUCCTH3DRUGwhore:

If it is in fact decentralized this would imply there is no single reining authority to oversee the transactions occuring through the service

Sounds great until pedos start using it too. Now listed alongside your acid is pictures of your 3 year old daughter, naked being sold for a few hundred dollars

-if the community could downvote these or destroy them they would still be able to reappear

-if somehow only trusted vendors could use the decentralized market then it isnt decentralized

To me decentralization sounds great until you get to the actual implementation. I argue you should want centralized moderated markets so that the Scullys of the world dont get the light of day too

So what if every 2-3 years the current flagship market gets taken down? Another one will spring up


[3 Points] noum3na:

As a vendor, I will never accept anything other than FE ever again. I put my own freedom on the line for this job and I would at least have peace of mind when it comes to my financial security.

Additionally, Hansa has burned me badly and I do not wish to dabble with that again. Multisig is all nice and good, but it is not intuitive, wastes plenty of time for someone who handles many transactions a day and it is not popular at all.

While you may think that it is superior in the sense that it gives people more control, it has far too many downsides.

And in all honesty, there is so much money rolling down the markets into people's pockets, the amount that gets stolen by exit scams is laughable at best and should not result in extensive counter measures that are a burden to everyone. I lost money on Evolution, Abraxas, Alphabay and Hansa. None of these exit scams have burned me badly because I was smart about my money. Do the same and you are fine.

Of course it sucks that you are losing some coins, but if you put all your money on the line it is honestly your own fault if something goes wrong. I can think of no scenario in which you are so totally backed up that you will get supported fully.

And a note on Monero: I used to accept it but I no longer do simply because Bitcoin is the gold standard. It is easy to use, has a large customer base and is widely known. Currencies are only worth as much as people are willing to pay for. I really tried using Monero but the volumes I require are annoying to handle.

What I am looking for as a vendor is a competent and professionally run market that is easy to use and has a good support. If you are willing and able to do that I will immediately jump into your arms and I am sure many other vendors will. You will need a couple of months/years to get your golden shot, but you will get it. Look at Dream Market. It was the 3rd largest market when I started vending on Agora a couple of years ago. Now it is finally at the top and it is not really a good market. I give all new markets a shot and if you impress me I will even start vending there immediately.

Cheers, Noumena


[1 Points] SpiffyWhiff:

It's a very difficult CS problem. OpenBazaar requires the sellers to run their own nodes, and the code is far from finished, certainly not security tested yet.

I think the first real decentralized network will be built on a crypto platform that supports smart contracts and therefore can be built entirely on the chain. I'm thinking of something like ethereum, but with a ring signature scheme like monero, so vendors, buyers and their escrow agent are the only ones able to decrypt and execute the contract.

The main problem I see with developing a decentralized DNM is that it would implicate each user as a conspirator, if the markets intent is only to facilitate drug transactions. To the law it would be like hosting redundancy servers for Alphabay, or they could directly target it with legislation banning users from running the software. They could also overload the network with fake listings much easier if it isn't built on top of an existing blockchain, or charges a fee for listing somehow(but then it isn't decentralized).


[1 Points] _PrinterPam_:

Because there's no monetary incentive to build/run one. On the other hand, there's plenty of incentive to develop a single market. And personally, I'd prefer to have more expert eyeballs on a 'relatively' simpler setup of a single market than a half-assed, pie-in-the-sky, feel-good attempt at something that sounds great but is so complicated in nature that it never gets off the ground.


[1 Points] None:

Because its decentralized. Duh complicated as fuck son.


[1 Points] DextroShade:

Sounds good in theory but there problems that make it doomed to fail. Most importantly, running a node would automatically make you a coconspirator in the eyes of the law so every user could get Ross Ulbricht level time. This gets even worse because pedophiles and arms dealers could use it, hell maybe even terrorists. I don't want to be indicted as a coconspirator of a market that not only sells drugs and carding stuff, but kiddie porn and anthrax! And if you don't think that they won't throw the book at everyone they catch running a node you are fucking retarded.