How do you get your first real users for a trust-based product? | Hacker News Reader

How do you get your first real users for a trust-based product?

2 pointskeyshield4 comments

Built a non-custodial USDT escrow service on TRON using 2-of-3 multisig wallets, operated via Telegram bot. Think escrow.com but trustless, no middleman holding funds, low fees. The problem it solves is real — crypto scams are everywhere and people lose money on basic peer-to-peer deals constantly. I got scammed myself, that's why I built this. 2 months in: ~90 registered users, almost zero transaction volume. Friends love it and actually use it. But strangers don't trust it enough to run real money through it. What I've tried:

Guest posts and PR articles Instagram ads Product Hunt, HackerNoon listings Active in crypto communities on Threads Paid Telegram channel placements

Nothing created momentum. I can build. I clearly can't sell. Is this a trust problem? A distribution problem? Or am I just targeting the wrong audience entirely? Would love brutal honest feedback from people who've had to crack cold user acquisition for fintech or crypto products.

Think about this in real life: you're doing a deal with a stranger, and another stranger shows up saying "give me the money, I'll hold it for both of you." That's a hard sell no matter how good the tech is.

I think the trust problem isn't your product — it's the cold start. Nobody wants to be the first one to put real money through an unknown escrow.

Maybe instead of leading with escrow, start with something lighter — like a matchmaking layer that connects people who want to do peer-to-peer crypto swaps. Build the user base around finding counterparties first, keep yourself out of the money flow initially. Once people are already using the platform to find each other, introducing escrow as an optional safety layer becomes a much easier sell.

I think your "trust problem" is that you're using crypto. About the only worse thing you could be doing than pushing a crypto project is posting an AI slop photo of you on Epstein's jet. If you get a reputation as a crypto pusher you might never get a job in this industry again.

Could you please elaborate? Maybe because I can't shake a tree on HN without some "I've vibe coded a doomsday device" post dropping, the crypto escrow post didn't immediately scream "forever unemployable" at me.

As am employer I don't want to be a victim of a crime, I don't want my customers to be a victim of a crime, I don't want my vendors to be a victim of a crime, I don't want my other employees to be the victim of a crime.

There might be a legitimate use of crypto somewhere but there is a lot of crime and enabling of crime. In a job market where people are looking at huge stacks of resumes they will apply System 1 heuristics to eliminate people who might have bad ethics.

(Note I am probably more positive about crypto than 85% of Hacker News users!)

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