Home / Archive / OpenBazaar Now Accepts Altcoins with Shapeshift Integration

OpenBazaar Now Accepts Altcoins with Shapeshift Integration

Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:53 PM
Lester Coleman
Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:53 PM
OpenBazaar customers can now buy in the open-source marketplace using Zcash, Ethereum, Ripple and other altcoins in addition to bitcoin, thanks to an integration with ShapeShift.io, via its Shifty Button.
OpenBazaar, an open-source project that launched in April 2016, allows buyers and sellers of goods to directly create shops and sell goods without fees, restrictions or accounts. Before the Shifty Button integration, OpenBazaar was only available to those who had bitcoin to deposit. Sellers can now accept dozens of digital assets.

Customers Sought Feature

 “Enabling users to pay for OpenBazaar purchases with bitcoin and dozens of other cryptocurrencies was always something we wanted to do, and ShapeShift enabled us to do that quickly and easily,” said Brian Hoffman, OpenBazaar CEO and project lead. “Our community has been very eager for this feature and we’re happy to be able to provide it through a great partner.”
The Shifty Button gives websites the option of accepting digital currencies by creating an easy-to-implement snippet of code. The code is free and open source and has been integrated by various bitcoin-friendly merchants to broaden customer payment needs.
Erik Voorhees, founder and CEO of Shapeshift, said both companies foster permissionless exchange among anyone.

OpenBazaar Makes Progress

OpenBazaar won three of five awards during the 2016 Blockchain Awards in New York City in May, including “Best New Startup,” “Bitcoin Champion of the Year” and “Most Promising Consumer Application.”
The company recently announced $3 million in new funding led by BlueYard, a Berlin-based venture capital fund, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square, CCN.com reported.
OpenBazaar previously released a roadmap to its second version following a better-than-expected response to its first version in April. One of its more recent features includes “pinned listings,” hidden listings, and maximum quantity on listings that prevents buyers from purchasing more than the number of items specified in one order, CCN.com reported. Vendors on the platform can now choose certain listings to highlight in their stores. In creating a listing, they can select “pinned” to display it to buyers at the top of their storefront.
Image from Shutterstock.