When Anyone is a Broker

tl;dr: Fiat on-ramps are a key driver of crypto adoption. Dether seeks to simplify the process of obtaining tokens.

In the earliest days of Bitcoin, one of the primary ways in which the asset was bought and sold was through Local Bitcoins.

Think Craigslist for Crypto.

In many parts of the world, it is still one of the most important ways of obtaining crypto. South America is big, for example.

Like Craigslist, of course, there are risks from a security perspective and you are paying a premium for going outside of the exchanges. This has its benefits as well.

Now, a new project, Dether, aims to reproduce the success of Local Bitcoins but do it for any ERC-20 token.

Essentially, the are creating (if I understand it correctly), a decentralized network of OTC traders.

That means that anyone with a smart phone can help anyone else get into the crypto asset of their choice, be it a stablecoin such as DAI or some other token without having to 1) set up an exchange account and then 2) get ETH.

In other words…you can go from dollars, yen, euros, or bolivars directly into ZRX, REP, or MKR.

That’s a huge amount of friction reduced and it’s an opportunity for smaller traders to find and serve niche, underserved markets globally.

The Dether team’s write-up offers a hypothetical from Venezuela.

Unfortunately, Dether isn’t accessible to US residents*, so I didn’t get to test it out and I can’t vouch for the product or the team.

That doesn’t matter so much, in my opinion.

What matters is that Dether is an important proof-of-concept. It shows a future where anyone with a smartphone and a sense of market opportunity can set up a token exchange operation.

*It’s no surprise that it’s not available in the US, given the regulatory environment.

I’m also leaving out the issues of money laundering and financial system bypassing. I’m just pointing out the reality that this service exists and more will follow.