DNM admins asked why 2-of-2 multisig would solve everyones problems,

Simple, because no one wants to make any effort to use real multisig, dont believe me? ask any vendor who offers both.

Why though? Because multisig only benefits the vendor, who have dozens of orders built up over the 1-2 week escrow period. Buyers typically only have a few orders that are filled within 1-2 days.

Site thefts only affect a tiny percentage of buyers who only have a small amount to lose within a very short window

So how can vendors get the benefits of multisig without the downside of hassling unwilling buyers?

2-of-2

This means when an order is placed, the funds are placed into a multisig address where the site holds one key, and the vendor holds the other. This process is invisible to the buyer.

So what happens if the site goes down?

TMP solved this issue with timelocked addresses. Funds will be released automatically to the vendor in case the site disappears.

What happens when the buyers demands a refund?

Wait but then this isnt escrow if the money cannot be returned!

This is missing the point of escrow. Its purpose is not to gaurantee refunds for buyers, its to remove the incentive for vendors to steal.

By blocking the withdraw (ie theft) of customer funds, not only will a vendor be unable to get away with a scam, but he will also sacrifice his reputation and his account.

Most vendors would not be so stupid to get on the wrong side of an admin over one sale.

To hold vendors accountable and prevent theft. This is the purpose of multisig.


Comments


[2 Points] None:

This is missing the point of escrow. Its purpose is not to gaurantee refunds for buyers, its to remove the incentive for vendors to steal.

Actually, it's to ensure that both parties in the transaction are held to the agreement with a third party acting as arbitrary.


[1 Points] fun-gee:

Using the escrow agent option which is already available on TMP looks better to me.

The escrow agent function is fully automatic.
Buyer presses the "use escrow agent" button, immediately receives an address where the funds have to be sent, and that's all to it.


In the background.....
a pub key is generated from the escrow agent's MPK and used as the buyer's key to make the 2/3 escrow address, so this is effortless for the agent too, done automatically in the background.

If everything went fine and the buyer receives the package and releases the funds - with the press of an other button - the vendor and the market will deal with the rest, TMP provides a signed tx, the vendor signs it and broadcasts it to receive his funds.

If there was a problem and a refund is needed, the escrow agent has to step in and sign and broadcast the refund tx that was provided by TMP, or the buyer can ask the vendor to sign and broadcast his refund transaction (again, automatically with a press of a button)


[1 Points] dastampmasta:

I would like if this stuff was implemented. HOnestly, I think the site, or vendor would have to require multisig for it to ever take off. I am tech saavy and IM sure it wouldnt be hard to figure out but i haventreallyconsidered multisig becuase its a little confusing.

If it was simply a part of DNM and eveyone had to learn it it would be a good thing all around. As a buyer, theres no incentive to learn. Maybe if i was making massive purchases.. but when I have a few hundred in escrow im not too worried about the site dissappearing becuase while it is common its not an every day thing.


[1 Points] eleftheria_nxs:

The solution is 3-of-4 seamless multi-sig.

The market (4th key holder) signature is made public for validation, and the private key is encrypted using some timelocked algorithm so you will be able to get it after a while if the marketplace is shut down. Of course, if the site shuts down and a moderator is still able to message the community the marketplace will make the marketplace BIP32 extended private key public immediately. All funds are safe whenever something happens because only you own your private keys. 3-of-4 multi-sig also allows you to choose your own mediator (not necessarily a marketplace moderator/administrator), but usually a trusted member of the community. This ensures that the marketplace owner cannot steal your funds, because the marketplace only owns 1 out of 4 keys.

The marketplace (4th) signature is there to ensure that neither party can trick the other party into signing wrong transactions and also to ensure that commission fees are appropriated correctly.

All transactions are carried out in multi-sig and it does not require you to trust any anonymous person (e.g. escrow agent) to hold and carry out your transaction for you. Instead a fully integrated and encrypted script does this automatically for you; instantly and without delay. This process is called 'seamless' and it is called this because it literally only has 1 step to it.

This allows an experienced vendor who sign messages/transactions manually to engage in multi-sig with a novice user who decides not to sign manually, i.e. someone who uses seamless multi-sig.

This is highly convenient for both party members. The process is as simple as it gets, and best of all it works.