Another new Dark Net Market … but at least it has multi-signature escrow.

This afternoon, I received a message on The Hub from Eleftheria—apparently a moderator/administrator for a new Dark Net Market that has just been launched. Eleftheria asked me to take a look at the market, which I did. Here are some details, taken from their FAQ page, along with a few screenshots.

The thing is called Alpaca Marketplace and the URL is http://alpaca7bcqv2rnu3.onion/

Huh. Alpaca. Isn’t that like a sheep? Jesus.

 

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What is Alpaca Marketplace?

Alpaca is a community-driven project that aims to create an online marketplace where vendors and buyers from across the globe can come together and carry out transactions in a safe and secure environment.

Using state-of-the-art data encryption, multi-signature escrow and an intelligent reputation system, Alpaca Marketplace aspires to be the safest and most secure platform for unregulated trade on earth.

All transactions on Alpaca Marketplace are processed using award-winning virtual currency technology, bitcoin. Plans to expand support to other virtual currencies, e.g. litecoin or ripple, have been proposed and development will be undertaken as soon as interest rises.

Alpaca is driven and operated entirely through community efforts, and anyone can join.

 

How is Alpaca different from previous deepweb marketplaces?

On Alpaca, there are no wallets. All funds are handled on a per-transaction basis. This hinders events similar to that of the Sheep Marketplace heist of November 2013.

No escrow funds are handled directly on the main server. All transactions are processed by a remote, autonomous escrow server.

Unlike the majority of past marketplaces, Alpaca marketplaces poses no restrictions on who may sell items on the marketplace. Anyone can create listings, and it is up to the community to judge if a vendor can be trusted, through the reputation and feedback system.

 

How is my data stored on Alpaca’s servers?

Alpaca goes to great length to ensure that all data is stored securely on our servers.

ALL user information, that is not made public by the user herself, is fully encrypted using industry-standard RSA encryption schemes. The user, with her unique username/password combination, is the ONLY person in the whole world who is able to read this data. Not even system administrators are able to decipher any data that is uniquely encrypted and addressed to a user.

 

How are funds handled on Alpaca Marketplace?

By default, all transactions are processed using our advanced multi-signature escrow system. This system ensures that your funds are completely safe until you have received the requested item(s) and you release the funds.

In the event, that a purchase is undelivered, or the product does not live up to the standard advertised by the vendor, our accommodating dispute handling system will ensure that no funds are released until you are satisfied with the resolution that you and the vendor will jointly work out.

 

What is multi-signature escrow and how is it used?

On Alpaca Marketplace, all transactions are, by default, processed using our secure, yet straightforward multi-signature escrow process.

Multi-signature escrow ensures that transaction funds cannot be accessed without the signature of both the buyer and the vendor. Even in the (highly unlikely) event that the escrow server is compromised, the intruder will not be able do anything. In such an event, funds would still be accessible provided that both the buyer and vendor is able to generate their wallet signatures.

The escrow process is outlined below:

1. With each new transaction, the buyer submits a verification message. The buyer may use a randomly generated message or he may choose his own.
2. This message is encrypted and sent to the remote escrow server along with an encrypted wallet signature. ¹
   1. Another encrypted wallet signature is sent to the vendor.
3. On the escrow server, a single-signature, bitcoin deposit address is generated using the wallet signature and sent back to the buyer together with a signed version of the original verification message. The buyer can then verify, that this address was generated on the escrow server using his signature before he sends funds to the address.
4. The buyer may cancel their order anytime up until the vendor responds. Doing so will immediately return all funds to his bitcoin address.
5. With every order, the vendor has two options:
   1. Reject the order using the wallet signature from 2a. Funds are returned to the buyer.
   2. Accept the order. A 2-2 multi-signature wallet is generated ² with the buyer and the vendor’s signed public keys and funds are transferred from the deposit address. If the vendor has chosen to allow moderator dispute mediation, a 2-3 multisig is generated and the mediation private key will be encrypted and set aside. An administrator may then use it to release funds in the event that either party becomes unresponsive or dispute resolution reaches a stalemate. If not, the vendor risks that the funds are lost if the buyer is unresponsive or loses his private key, etc.
6. With every accepted order, the buyer has two options:
   1. Release funds. His signature is sent to the escrow server and, once claimed by the vendor by sending his signature, the funds will be sent to the vendor’s BTC address.
   2. Start a dispute. The buyer and the vendor are given access to the transaction dispute page, where they will be able to communicate in a chat-like interface and propose, accept and reject solutions to the dispute. Once both parties have agreed on a solution, an appropriate transaction will be signed using both keys and sent together with wallet signatures to the escrow servers that will process the solution using both keys. ²

¹ By default, encryption and signing is carried out seamlessly on the server using the user’s RSA keys. Advanced users can choose to manually sign and encrypt using PGP for maximum security.

² By default, multi-signature public keys are generated and signed and transactions are signed using the users’ RSA keys. Advanced users can choose to manually generate their multi-signature public keys and manually sign transactions.