Filter ยท language and region
Canada and French
The shortest filter on this site after Ethereum. One market out of nine is regional, and it is also the oldest entry in the catalogue.
| Market | Since | Coins | Addresses | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WeTheNorth | 2021 | BTC, XMR | 3 | Canada, English and French |
What a regional market changes
- Shorter internal distances. A market whose participants are mostly in one country means less of the delivery risk that comes with crossing a border.
- A smaller and more consistent set of participants, which makes a reputation mean slightly more than it does in a large anonymous crowd.
- Language. Reading terms and a dispute thread in a language you actually read is not a small thing when something goes wrong.
What it does not change
Everything else on this site. Address checking, signature checking, escrow behaviour and the way a dispute is decided are all identical to any other market here. Being regional narrows one specific exposure and leaves every other question exactly where it was, in the same way a coin choice does.
The usual overreach
A regional market is not safer in any general sense. It is a market with a narrower audience, and the narrower audience is the whole of the difference. Reading it as a broader safety property is the same mistake as reading a Monero only policy that way.
If you are outside the region
Nothing on this site says you cannot use it, and the practical questions are the ones you would expect: whether anything you want is listed by somebody willing to send it where you are, and whether crossing a border is a step you want in the middle of an order.
For most readers outside Canada the sensible reading is that this entry is aimed at somebody else, and that its age, which is genuinely the best in this catalogue, is not a reason to override that.
French specifically
It is the only entry here presented in French at all. Every other market in this catalogue is English only, so if French is a requirement rather than a preference, this filter has already given you your answer and the rest of the site is background reading.
Why there is only one
Because a regional market is a smaller business by construction. It gives up most of the possible audience in exchange for shorter internal distances and a language other than English, and that is a trade most operations do not make. The one that did has been running longer than anything else here, which is interesting and is not evidence that the trade causes longevity.
What to check if you are on the edge of the region
- Whether what you want is listed by somebody willing to send it where you are. That is the whole question and it is answered inside the market, not here.
- Whether a border is a step you want mid order. It is the specific risk a regional market exists to reduce.
- Whether the language matters to you when something goes wrong, which is when it matters most and when people notice it for the first time.