Shopstr

Decentralized marketplace on Nostr. Buy and sell anything with Bitcoin, anywhere, anonymously.

Overview

Shopstr is a global, permissionless marketplace built on Nostr. It enables peer-to-peer commerce using Bitcoin Lightning and Cashu for payments, with no central authority controlling what can be sold or who can participate.

Key Features

Decentralized Commerce

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Shopstr                               │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                          │
│  Traditional Marketplace:                               │
│  Seller → Platform → Buyer                              │
│           │                                              │
│           ├── Platform takes cut                        │
│           ├── Platform can ban you                      │
│           └── Platform sees everything                  │
│                                                          │
│  Shopstr:                                               │
│  Seller ────────────────► Buyer                         │
│          │                                               │
│          ├── No middleman                               │
│          ├── Your keys, your shop                       │
│          └── Private transactions                       │
│                                                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Privacy-First Payments

Payment Method	Privacy Level
Cashu	High (ecash tokens)
Lightning	Medium

Cashu tokens are delivered via encrypted DMs (NIP-04), so no third party sees your transactions.

NIP-99 Listings

Products are Nostr events:

{
  "kind": 30402,
  "tags": [
    ["d", "unique-product-id"],
    ["title", "Vintage Bitcoin Magazine"],
    ["summary", "First edition, mint condition"],
    ["price", "50000", "sats"],
    ["location", "Berlin, Germany"],
    ["image", "https://..."],
    ["t", "collectible"],
    ["t", "bitcoin"]
  ],
  "content": "Full product description..."
}

Browse and Shop

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  Shopstr Marketplace                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                          │
│  🔍 Search products...                                  │
│                                                          │
│  Categories: [All] [Art] [Tech] [Services] [Merch]     │
│                                                          │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐    │
│  │   🖼️       │  │   👕       │  │   📚       │    │
│  │  Bitcoin   │  │  Nostr     │  │  Bitcoin   │    │
│  │  Artwork   │  │  T-Shirt   │  │  Book      │    │
│  │            │  │            │  │            │    │
│  │  50k sats  │  │  25k sats  │  │  15k sats  │    │
│  │  @artist   │  │  @shop     │  │  @author   │    │
│  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘    │
│                                                          │
│  [Load More]                                            │
│                                                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

For Sellers

Creating a Shop

1. Login with Nostr key
2. Set up your profile
3. Add product listings
4. Configure payment (Cashu/Lightning)
5. Start selling

Listing Products

Field	Description
Title	Product name
Description	Full details
Price	Amount in sats
Images	Product photos
Categories	Tags for discovery
Location	For local pickup
Shipping	Delivery options

Receiving Payments

Buyer purchases item
        │
        ▼
Cashu tokens sent via DM
        │
        ▼
Seller redeems tokens
        │
        ▼
Ships product / delivers service

No platform fees. 100% of payment goes to seller.

For Buyers

Purchasing

1. Browse marketplace
2. Find product
3. Contact seller via DM
4. Agree on terms
5. Send payment (Cashu/Lightning)
6. Receive product

Payment Privacy

With Cashu:

• Tokens are like digital cash
• Sent encrypted via Nostr DMs
• Seller can't see your identity
• No transaction trail

Technical Details

Supported NIPs

NIP	Feature
NIP-04	Encrypted DMs
NIP-07	Browser signing
NIP-09	Event deletion
NIP-99	Classifieds

Stack

Component	Technology
Framework	Next.js
UI	NextUI
Backend	Nostr relays
Payments	Cashu, Lightning

PWA

Install as Progressive Web App:

• Add to home screen
• Works offline
• App-like experience

Privacy Options

Tor Hidden Service

Access Shopstr via Tor for additional privacy:

• .onion address available
• Hide your IP
• Bypass censorship

Achievements

• 2.5M+ sats in transactions facilitated
• Nostrasia Hackathon — Won Marketplaces track
• PlebLab Top Builder — Finalist
• First Cashu marketplace — Pioneer in ecash commerce

Use Cases

Artisans & Creators

• Sell art, crafts, digital goods
• Direct relationship with customers
• No platform censorship

Services

• Consulting
• Development work
• Design services

Physical Goods

• Merchandise
• Collectibles
• Local items with pickup

Digital Products

• eBooks
• Software
• NFTs / Digital art

Comparison

Feature	Shopstr	eBay	Amazon
Fees	0%	~13%	~15%
Privacy	High	Low	Low
Censorship	Resistant	Platform rules	Platform rules
Payments	Bitcoin	Fiat	Fiat
KYC	None	Required	Required
Open source	Yes	No	No

Links

• Website: shopstr.store
• GitHub: shopstr-eng/shopstr
• NIP-99: Classifieds spec

See Also

• Nostr Protocol — The protocol
• Alby — Lightning payments
• Cashu — Ecash protocol
• Amber — Mobile signing