OpenBazaar receives $3 million in funding to create a free and open trading market

OpenBazaar, an open-source Bitcoin-based marketplace protocol, has raised $3 million in a new round of funding.

This round of financing was led by Berlin-based venture capital firm BlueYard, which focuses on the early development of startups and has clearly stated its strong support for decentralized markets. Silicon Valley's top venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures also participated in this round of financing.

OpenBazaar is a decentralized eBay that creates a marketplace through an app and establishes direct connections between buyers and sellers. Unlike traditional markets, OpenBazaar does not support PayPal or credit card payments, but chooses Bitcoin as the only medium of value exchange.

The project originated from DarkMarket, which won the hackathon at the Bitcoin Expo in Toronto in 2014.

OpenBazaar 2.0

OpenBazaar (OB1) raised $1 million in seed funding last year from Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures and angel investor William Mougayar, who currently sits on OpenBazaar's board of directors.

OB1 has had a busy year since it raised its seed round. After months of testing, it officially launched its service in April. OB1's early products included caramel muffins, Taiwan accommodation, and cannabis seeds.

OB1 CEO Brian Hoffman said next year will only be busier.

Regarding this round of financing, he said:

We are excited to see OpenBazaar continue to grow in usage since its launch, and with this round of funding, we are even more confident that we can bring a truly free and open marketplace to the world.

Hoffman believes that the new round of financing will help expand OpenBazaar's business, calling it "seed round 2.0."

OpenBazaar 2.0 has several highlights: providing value-added services (the emergence of tokens); integrating the anonymous communication network Tor.