Internet connectivity has reinvented how consumers interact with information. Consumers now rely heavily on online reputation systems for browsing and researching products before making online purchase decisions. Social media platforms like Facebook enable us to share ratings and recommend good finds to our online networks. Meanwhile, many online marketplaces have built-in review and rating systems for both vendors and customers.

However, there are gaping loopholes with online reputation systems of today. A lack of robust verification and social credit mechanisms too easily allow vendors to manipulate and fool consumers’ perception of themselves and competitors. A decentralized reputation system, enabled by blockchain, would be able to verify and create unique digital identities for all users and aggregate reputation data across the web. Trust and transparency will be restored to online markets, allowing customers to trust reviews and marketplaces to thrive. 

Current reputation systems work in silos and are susceptible to manipulation

Typically, each marketplace has a native reputation system that works independently and is abstracted from unique personal identities; bad actors exploit this to behave maliciously behind their screens.