Bitcoin allows one to transact without middlemen.

The good: you can transact with anyone, including people without access to fiat rails, etc.

The bad: you can transact with anyone, including scammers etc.

Middlemen did check your counterparties and would cut many of the bad actors. Without middlemen, we're on our own.

Enter Nostr.

Nostr allows identities to accumulate trust signals from other identities, and then allows everyone to evaluate their counterparties. Don't trust middlemen (KYC), verify yourself (WoT).

If Nostr and Bitcoin succeed, the threshold for 'safely transacting online' drops to zero.

What kinds of marketplaces and online transactions could flourish if accepting payments and paying safely became free and frictionless?

Just thinking.