Public beta on the Base Sepolia test network. Payments use test USDC with no real value: do not send real funds. The escrow contract has not had its external security audit yet, and the terms are drafts pending legal review. What the beta means
01 · How it works
From the moment you order to the moment money moves, your USDC sits in a smart contract, not in our account. It only leaves when two of the three keys (buyer, seller, platform) sign the same payout.
02 · The lifecycle of an order
Scroll through an order from start to finish. The vault shows which part of the escrow each step touches.
Chapter 01
Pick a listing and place an order. The platform signs its payment details (seller, token, amount and fee) so nobody can alter them on the way to the contract.
Illustration · not a real order
Chapter 02
You approve and send the USDC to the VPTEscrow contract. It is locked there under the order's ID, and no single party, including us, can move it.
Illustration · not a real order
Chapter 03
The seller delivers through the order page within the listing's delivery period (3 days unless the listing says otherwise).
Illustration · not a real order
Chapter 04
You check the delivery during the inspection period: 3 days by default, or whatever the listing sets.
Illustration · not a real order
Chapter 05
Money moves only when two of the three parties sign the same payout. The platform relays the transaction, but it can never release, refund or keep funds on its own.
Illustration · not a real order
Illustration · not a real order
03 · Who signs
Every payout needs two signatures. The platform signs system-triggered outcomes automatically; the second key always comes from someone else.
Buyer confirms the delivery
Inspection period ends with no dispute
Seller misses the delivery deadline
An arbitrator rules on a dispute
A dispute's {negotiationHours}-hour negotiation ends and one side never responded
Payment lands after the order was cancelled
The platform tries to act alone
After a ruling, the platform signs the decided split and either the buyer or the seller adds the second signature, usually the party receiving the money. After an automatic dispute outcome, the party it favours signs. When the inspection period ends, the automatic release waits until the seller's payout wallet has been linked for 24 hours; a buyer's confirmation is not affected.
04 · Honest limits
No system is finished. These are the gaps we know about today.
OpenVPT runs on the Base Sepolia test network for now: orders are paid with test USDC that has no real value, so no real money is at stake. Moving to Base mainnet waits for the escrow contract's external security audit and the legal review of the terms.
An arbitrator's ruling is final on the platform for now. An appeal process is planned.
Funds stay locked in the contract until two of the three parties sign a payout. Nobody can take them alone, but without the site there is no easy way to collect those signatures. A simpler exit path is planned.
A payout signature does not expire. To keep that safe, the platform signs at most one payout per order. A future contract version will add deadlines.
The SHA-256 record proves which file was delivered, not that it works as described. That is what the inspection period is for.
Legal questions?Contact us
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