[Note to moderators]: If this thread is posted in the wrong section, I kindly ask you to move
it to the appropriate one. This is my first post on this forum, and I mean no disrespect to
the community guidelines. I believe the topic is worth discussing.
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Hello everyone,
I'd like to introduce a project I've been working on and, more importantly, hear your honest
opinions — not so much about the website itself, but about the underlying idea and whether
there is real demand for it.
http://The project:
https://crypto.my-board.org/It is a Web3 classifieds board — a place where people can list and discover goods, services,
and digital products that can be bought and sold for cryptocurrency. Authorization is done
exclusively through a browser Web3 wallet (MetaMask, Trust Wallet, etc.) — no emails, no
passwords, no KYC.
I have several questions for the community, and I would genuinely appreciate your input.
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QUESTION 1: Is there real demand for buying and selling real goods and services for crypto?
I'm not talking about NFT trading, DeFi swaps, or speculation. I mean practical, everyday
commerce: someone sells a script, a design template, freelance work, electronics, or even
a car — and the buyer pays in USDT, ETH, or BTC.
Do you personally feel the need for a dedicated marketplace like this? Or do existing
solutions (OTC chats in Telegram, P2P sections of exchanges, forums like this one) already
cover this need well enough?
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QUESTION 2: What do you think about "Manual Escrow" as a business model?
This is the part I'm most curious about.
The problem with digital goods is well known:
• The buyer is afraid to send crypto first — what if the seller disappears or delivers junk?
• The seller is afraid to send the product first — what if the buyer receives it and refuses
to pay?
• Traditional escrow (holding funds until delivery) doesn't fully solve it either — the buyer
can receive the source code, claim it's "not what was promised," request a refund, and
still keep a copy. Nobody can verify this.
Here is how manual escrow works on CryptoBoard:
1. The buyer and seller agree on a deal through the platform's built-in messaging system.
2. For larger transactions, either party can request deal protection from the platform
administrator.
3. The three parties agree on:
— the administrator's fee for the service,
— what the buyer wants to see demonstrated (e.g., specific functionality of a script),
— what the seller authorizes to be shown (and what must remain confidential).
4. The seller sends the product (e.g., source code) and a testing instruction to the
administrator.
5. The administrator installs and runs the software on their own machine or a cloud server,
performs the agreed test actions, records a screencast, and sends the video to the buyer.
6. The buyer reviews the screencast. Since the test was performed not by an unknown seller
but by a trusted intermediary, the buyer can make an informed decision.
7. If the buyer agrees to proceed, they send the crypto payment directly to the seller.
8. The administrator verifies the transaction on-chain and then delivers the source
code/files to the buyer.
9. The administrator's fee is paid by whichever party was agreed upon beforehand.
10. After the deal is complete, the administrator deletes all copies of the product
(this is specified in the agreement).
Yes, this process is slower than a one-click purchase. But for high-value digital goods
(custom software, website source code, databases, design systems), reliability matters more
than speed.
Important note: if a seller doesn't trust the platform's administration, they are free to
use the board simply as a listing platform to find buyers and arrange their own deal
protection by any other means.
I'm interested in your opinion: does this model make sense? Would you trust it? What are
the weak points you see?
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QUESTION 3: Design and UX decisions — what do you think?
A few things I'd appreciate feedback on:
• No user-uploaded images. Instead, listings use a built-in icon collection. The reasoning:
I didn't want the board to look like a messy flea market with random low-quality photos.
Icons keep the interface clean and consistent. Good decision or bad?
• The site is fully functional right now. If you have a Web3 browser wallet, you can
connect, browse, and create your own listing. Feel free to try it.
• Overall look and feel — does it look trustworthy? Is the navigation intuitive?
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QUESTION 4: How would you promote a service like this?
Web3 is a relatively narrow niche. The target audience is limited to people who already have
browser wallets and are comfortable transacting in crypto. Traditional marketing channels
don't work well here.
If you were in my shoes, how would you go about getting the first users?
Any platforms, communities, or strategies you'd recommend?
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Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and share your thoughts.
Any feedback — positive, negative, or brutally honest — is welcome.
Respectfully,
CryptoBoard
https://crypto.my-board.org/
