Mostro Beta Release marks an important milestone in the development of a censorship-resistant, privacy-first P2P Bitcoin trading platform. With the launch of the mobile app beta, Mostro takes a significant step toward minimizing single points of failure, strengthening user privacy, and preparing the system for a future with multiple competing Mostro nodes. Drawing from years of experience operating @lnp2pbot, the project addresses real-world scam vectors, dispute handling, and trust models while laying the groundwork for a decentralized reputation system that enables even anonymous operators to build credibility without sacrificing privacy.
Read moreMostro introduces an automatic and transparent funding mechanism for its development: each Mostro instance operator automatically allocates a configurable percentage of the fees they earn to a development fund, at no additional cost to users. The entire process is publicly verifiable through events published on Nostr, aligning incentives and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the project.
Read moreIdentity keys are now detached from users, ensuring that order identity keys are encrypted. This means that even in the event of a database leak, there is no direct correlation between users and their orders. By implementing this separation, we enhance user privacy and security, making it significantly more challenging for unauthorized parties to link sensitive information back to individual users. This approach not only protects user identities but also fosters trust in the platform, as users can engage with confidence knowing their data is safeguarded.
Read moreMostro has implemented a new end-to-end encrypted chat for its Bitcoin P2P exchanges, designed to resolve disputes without compromising user privacy. Using advanced cryptography (DHEC), each transaction generates a unique *shared master key* known only to the buyer and seller. In case of a dispute, either party can voluntarily hand over this key to a mediator, allowing them to decrypt and review only that specific conversation, which is unalterable and cannot be deleted by scammers. This innovative feature ensures the availability of verifiable evidence for fair resolution, avoiding the need for centralized message storage and protecting the overall privacy of communications on Mostro.
Read moreKeys management on Mostro is based on a security system as simple as exchanging wrapped gifts and changing safe combinations: each message between the user and the platform uses ephemeral keys that function as *disposable locks* while each buy or sell order is linked to a different key derived from a unique seed, ensuring that the information and transactions are always protected.
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