Ink Protocol

Ink Protocol was developed by Listia Inc. as a decentralized reputation and payment system designed for peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplaces. The project was born from the experiences of Listia, an online marketplace for trading used goods founded in 2009 by Gee-Hwan Chuang and James Fong. Chuang, an electrical engineering graduate from Cornell University, and Fong, with a background in computer engineering, launched Listia after Fong's frustrating experience trying to give away a pair of snowboard boots on other platforms. Listia, a Y Combinator graduate, grew to over 10 million users and facilitated the trade of more than 100 million items. The company raised over $11 million in venture funding from notable investors including General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, and SV Angel.

Leveraging their decade of experience running a marketplace, the Listia team created Ink Protocol to generalize the reputation and transaction systems they had built. Launched around 2018, the protocol operates on the Ethereum blockchain, allowing sellers to build a portable reputation that is not locked into a single centralized marketplace. This public and verifiable feedback history, consisting of ratings and comments, enables buyers to assess a seller's trustworthiness before engaging in a transaction. The protocol's native cryptocurrency, XNK, was used to facilitate these transactions. Upon its launch, XNK was integrated into the Listia marketplace, providing it with an immediate user base.

The core of Ink Protocol's offering was to enhance security and trust in P2P transactions where it is often limited. It featured a decentralized escrow system using smart contracts, which would hold a buyer's payment until they confirmed the goods were delivered. The system also included provisions for third-party mediation to resolve disputes. The business model aimed to provide a transaction layer that could be integrated into any P2P marketplace, especially those lacking native payment and reputation systems. For sellers, this meant their hard-earned reputation could be carried across different platforms, while buyers gained a tool to confidently transact with unknown sellers.

Keywords: Ink Protocol, Listia Inc., Gee-Hwan Chuang, James Fong, XNK, decentralized reputation, peer-to-peer marketplace, P2P payments, Ethereum blockchain, portable reputation, decentralized escrow, smart contracts, cryptocurrency, Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, SV Angel, online marketplace, used goods trading, blockchain payment system, crypto transaction, digital feedback, seller rating, buyer security, decentralized dispute resolution