WeTheNorth opened in the second half of 2021 with a Canadian-focused pitch and a small initial vendor pool. This reading covers what the launch looked like and what was distinctive about it.
The launch pitch
A market for Canadian vendors and Canadian buyers. Domestic shipping, no customs crossings for most orders, a focused vendor pool, and standard 2 of 3 multisig from day one.
The pitch was to a specific national audience that had been using international markets and finding the vendor pool did not fit their needs. Canadian domestic shipping reduces friction significantly compared to international, and the FINTRAC scrutiny on Canadian exchanges made non-KYC coin flows increasingly important.
Operator PGP key
The launch announcement carried an operator PGP public key. The key has signed every subsequent rotation and has not been rotated. This is the trust anchor readers use to verify every mirror update.
Initial vendor pool
Small. Roughly two dozen active vendors at launch, most of whom migrated from other markets where their Canadian-domestic focus was underserved. Categories concentrated in what was in demand domestically.
Growth pattern
Slow and organic. WeTheNorth did not court attention aggressively. The vendor pool grew as domestic vendors found the market and buyers found the vendor pool. This slow growth correlates with longer market survival, which is what happened here.
Present state
Active. Roughly a hundred vendors depending on the month. Established buyer base. Multisig has held. Operator key has held. This is what a boring successful Tor market looks like.