Topic: Bitcoin Business Bureau - Transaction Verification & Rating System (Read 1226 times)

A user PM'd me for further explanation as he didn't quite get everything, so here's some use cases:


First of all, thanks for your interest and taking the time to message me your inquiry!

Essentially the service I described overlays a web of "interesting data" on top of the existing blockchain / proof-of-work that exists in the Bitcoin  network. This interesting data is details about transactions and wallets that can be used to identify trustworthy traders (both consumers and merchants) and can be used as a tool to bolster and promote ones reputation. If we limited this "interesting data" layer's input to merchants only, we would be really similar to the Better Business Bureau, which demonstrates the ramifications of this rating system being one-sided.

Please, let me know if you have any further questions, I would be happy to try to answer them, or get someone on my team who can answer them better than I!

Thanks,
Nuri Hodges


It solves a couple of problems. First, it establishes a web of trust in the Bitcoin network (a). Second, it allows businesses to protect themselves and their customers against phishers/scammers (b).

a) Imagine you want to buy a semi-expensive item with Bitcoin, but the item is only available through merchants who you've never dealt with before, either in person or online. However, if such a place existed where you could search the Bitcoin wallet the merchant has requested you send funds to and see if there have been any previously cataloged transactions with this user, you would be able to make an educated decision. If the wallet has had multiple positive reactions, you can assume this merchant is most likely trustworthy and you do not have to be dubious of the sale. It's a similar idea to the eBay rating system, but it works on the currency directly, since the entire record of transactions is available to anyone.

b) A business can register for a "profile" on the Bitcoin Business Bureau and verify ownership of the wallets they use to accept payments via Bitcoin. In the event that a scammer/phisher is trying to trick a potential client into sending Bitcoins to a false address, there is now the ability for the person sending Bitcoins to go to a website and verify that the wallet address they are sending to indeed belongs to the person or entity they think it does.

I hope that explained the concepts behind our service a little better, let me know if I'm still leaving you in the dark!

Thanks,
Nuri Hodges

We definitely plan on allowing -anyone- to verify transactions, I was very adamant in the outlining of the project to make sure that anyone would be able to use this service, freely. You may even stay "anonymous" by verifying only a wallet ID, but not associating it with a "profile" on BTCBB. Essentially you will verify your ownership of a wallet hash, and hence any transactions, and you would be allowed to leave a comment/rating as that wallet hash during your current browser session. Or you can choose to have your profile name be your wallet address.

Normal user registration to allow them to leave comments/feedback about other businesses.

Bitcoin Business Bureau was created in hopes to add a layer of trust on top of the "anonymous transaction network" that is Bitcoin. We hope to accomplish these ends by providing a service where users can verify ownership of wallets and participation in transactions. In this attempt, it should make it viable for established businesses and new consumers to gather reliable data about a possible "transaction partner" in the Bitcoin community.

Right now, we are currently testing the internals of verifying wallets and transactions, so we only have superficial screenshots to outline our workflow, since we can't let everyone in to play just yet!







We do have plans to open source the engines that power the BTCBB services. Currently, this includes the "PUBLIC BITCOIN TRANSACTION VERIFICATION AND RATING SYSTEM" which I have described above. However, I would like to gather the community's input on how we can better our service's ideologies and implementation (as well as make the source code repository public) before we open it up for public use.