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Bitcoin Market OpenBazaar Sweeps 2016 Blockchain Awards

OpenBazaar was the big winner at the 2016 Blockchain Awards, besting the competition in three of the five award categories.

Updated Sep 11, 2021, 12:15 p.m. Published May 3, 2016, 2:37 a.m.
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Online bitcoin-enabled marketplace OpenBazaar was the big winner at the 2016 Blockchain Awards, sponsored by Blockchain and presented at the Coin Center Annual Dinner.

Combined, OpenBaazar and OB1, the development firm that supports the platform, won three of the five awards offered on Monday night, including 'Best New Startup', 'Bitcoin Champion of the Year' and 'Most Promising Consumer Application'.

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The announcement, propelled by CoinDesk reader voting, caps off what has been a few months of significant momentum for the OpenBazaar platform. Launching in April, the platform, long compared to defunct dark market Silk Road, has quickly gained traction from buyers and merchants.

Elsewhere, ForbesLaura Shin captured the title of ‘Most Insightful Journalist’, while the Ethereum platform was named the ‘Most Significant Technical Achievement’.

Last held at the Bitcoin 2014 Conference in Amsterdam, the Blockchain Awards were presented as part of Consensus 2016, CoinDesk’s three-day industry conference, and sponsored by Coin Center and Blockchain.

The gala also featured speeches from Representative Mick Mulvaney, a US Congressman from Arizona, and veteran investor Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures.

Gold star image via Shutterstock

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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

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Stacked gold bars (Scottsdale Mint/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk)

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What to know:

  • Gold’s surge above $5,000 an ounce is increasingly seen as a durable regime shift, with investors treating the metal as a persistent hedge against geopolitical risk, central bank demand and a weaker dollar.
  • Bitcoin is stuck near $87,000 in a low-conviction market, as on-chain data show older holders selling into rallies, newer buyers absorbing losses and a heavy supply overhang capping moves toward $100,000.
  • Derivatives and prediction markets point to continued consolidation in bitcoin and sustained strength in gold, with thin futures volumes, subdued leverage and weak demand for higher-beta crypto assets like ether reinforcing the cautious tone.