Here’s an idea for making dispensers safer; “trusted operator”.
- No protocol update needed*.
- Possibility for the the trusted operator to earn a profit.
- Unknown / not trusted seller can put up a trusted dispenser.
- Buyer can be confident they’ll get their BTC back if dispense fails.
The operator provides a long list of unused addresses. A seller can put up a dispenser on any of these addresses.
Xchain / buyer can verify that dispenser is controlled by the trusted operator (even if the actual seller is unknown).
When BTC is sent to dispense address:
- if successful dispense → operator waits a few blocks, forwards BTC to seller)
- if dispense fails → operator reimburses buyer
Operator may charge a fee. Realistically a few percent.
Operator may even be a “DAO” (I hate this term LOL) by using bitcoin’s multisig which is supported by Counterparty. E.g. 10 trusted community member each hold a key. 6 need a to sign** a transaction. Each should independently run a node plus a script that automates payments.
The protocol supports all this. The only dev work would be the automation of payments. I.e. an operator business can be launched very quickly!
As a funny side note; this would be going full circle. In the early days of Counterparty, before the dispenser contract was introduced, so-called vending machines were operated by Tokenly and Vennd.
. * When addresses X sets up a dispenser on address Y, it would be nice to let X cancel the dispenser. This would require a protocol change.
. ** Expect, over time, that some DAO members lose keys or disappear. Say, if 2 remain inactive for 1 week, then all dispensers need to be closed and a new multisig set up. 6-of-10 signing safeguards against too many keys suddenly getting lost – in which case the dispensers would get “burned”.