Penzu - The first web3 marketplace on Solana

Penzu is a secure, easy-to-use peer-to-peer marketplace — open to anyone with a Solana wallet, an Instagram account, or a debit card. The idea is simple: Penzu is built for the mainstream.

The long-term goal is to turn Penzu into one of the first decentralized startups on the internet — where $PENZU holders act as a new class of shareholders, earning 80% of the platform's transaction and service fees.

The platform is still in development, so real transactions aren't enabled yet. But you can already create an account, post listings, and explore the site. You may come across some bugs — feel free to report them.

🧱 Full Disclaimer: Who I Am and What I'm Doing Here

I've been working on this project for years (since the shutdown of OpenBazaar) and building its current form for months. This project is my main focus. My goal is to make it a successful, widely-used app.
I've been active in the Monero community since 2017. I didn't stumble into crypto via TikTok. This background shapes how I approach both crypto and web3.
I still work a 9–5. I don't have deep pockets (as you can see from my wallet). Most of my free time and late nights go into Penzu. Once I raise $100k, I'll quit my job and go full-time.
I'm French, based in France. For safety reasons, I'm not ready to doxx myself — I'd prefer to keep all ten fingers.
I've built Penzu 100% solo so far. Coding has been a passion of mine since I was a teenager, but I'm not a professional developer by any means. Before going into full production, I'll need help reviewing and fixing some technical aspects I'm not fully equipped to handle alone.
I'm highly detail-focused when it comes to security, privacy, and design. Penzu won't launch publicly until I'm satisfied on all three fronts. Estimated launch: before the end of July 2025.

🧱 Thesis

My influences include platforms like OpenBazaar, eBay, Vinted, LeBonCoin, Kleinanzeigen, and Xmrbazaar. Penzu takes inspiration from these while introducing web3-native infrastructure. It's a secure, community-first space for trading physical and digital goods — using a debit card or Solana.

In Europe, secondhand platforms are massive, and the market is growing. So if you wonder if there's room for Penzu in this environement, consider the following:

Vinted's revenue multiplied 6x between 2019 and 2023
Global secondhand apparel is projected to hit $340B by 2029
The full secondhand market is expected to reach $1.4T by 2032

I first began conceptualizing Penzu in 2020 when OpenBazaar — the original decentralized p2p marketplace — shut down. That hit me hard. I've always believed crypto should be used as money, not just traded for speculation. The lack of interest back then made it clear the market just wasn't ready.

Meanwhile, the Monero community remained one of the only places where crypto was still being used for actual commerce. Communities like Xmrbazaar taught me a lot, and they continue to be an inspiration. But with Penzu, I want to target a broader audience — explicitly aiming at mainstream users.

Looking back, OpenBazaar's fall makes sense. It was too early, too niche, and too clunky. Doing p2p commerce with Bitcoin or Ethereum was a terrible UX.

Solana changes that. It's fast, low-cost, user-friendly, and widely adopted. In other words: it works.

I considered other projects and names (like Haven City, KiraKira, Silkyway), but the time never felt quite right. Now it does. Web3 has matured. We've crossed into a phase where decentralized apps are ready for real-world use.

The thesis is simple: the time is right to build a p2p marketplace on Solana that can truly go mainstream.

🔧 What I'm Actively Working On

Reinforcing smart contract and platform-level security
Finalizing escrow mechanisms for secure, trustless transactions
Implementing optional KYC via Solana Attestation Service (SAS)
Adding privacy layers for payments (potentially including Monero) and shipping
Enabling login support for X, Instagram, and Google
Adding credit/debit card payment functionality
Fixing bugs and improving reliability in the messaging system
Integrating EU and US shipping carriers
Adding automatic custom fee calculation for international shipments
Rolling out moderation tools and dispute resolution workflows
Launching a community-based deal mediation system
Supporting virtual item listings (including NFTs)
Implementing an AI try-on feature for both buyers and sellers during listing interactions

💸 About the $PENZU Token

Once Penzu is live and active, the utility of $PENZU becomes clear: it's about revenue sharing.

The principle is simple: all revenue generated on the platform should be periodically and proportionally redistributed 80/20 to $PENZU holders (holding at least 100k $PENZU) and to the Penzu Treasury.

Eventually, I plan to open-source the entire platform and transition it toward community governance — ideally through a DAO.

My ultimate goal is to turn Penzu into the first fully decentralized web3 startup — where $PENZU holders are actual shareholders, voting on who should serve as Penzu's CEO, for how long, and how treasury funds should be allocated.

My personal income (or the core team's) would come from $PENZU volume fees. And if/when we go full DAO, that revenue should ultimately flow back to the treasury and token holders.

📬 Contact

Dev: @mattyonchain
Platform: @penzuworld

Telegram group coming soon — when I catch my breath.