# Buyers and Sellers: There Are Only Two Roles **📖 Unfamiliar terms?** See the [glossary](../glossary.md) for definitions. **Everything collapses into this:** Some people have BCH and want fiat. Some people have fiat and want BCH. The bulletin board connects them. Covenants execute the trades. Nostr coordinates. The app automates passive mode. --- ## The Core Insight | Role | Has | Wants | |------|-----|-------| | **BCH Seller** | BCH | Fiat (EUR, VES, USD) | | **BCH Buyer** | Fiat (cash, bank transfer) | BCH | That's it. Everything else is context. --- ## The Real Distinction: Active vs Passive ### Passive Users (Post Listings, App Automates) - Post a listing once. - The app handles requests 24/7. - Zero cognitive load, fully scalable, passive income. **Examples:** Isabel posts as a BCH Seller (Bizum) → senders select her. Carlos posts as a BCH Buyer (cash at store) → recipients visit him. ### Active Users (Query, Select, Transact) - Open the app when needed. - Query the bulletin board for available counterparties. - Pick the best option and transact. **Examples:** María (sender) selects a seller and pays. Elena (recipient) selects a merchant and gets cash. **The key realization:** The same person can be passive at some times and active at others. This is what enables capital recycling. --- ## Why This Distinction Matters - **Flexibility:** No one is locked into a single role. A merchant can passively accumulate BCH, then actively sell when rent is due. - **Capital efficiency:** Passive mode accumulates; active mode liquidates. The cycle is self‑sustaining. - **No central coordinator:** Passive users provide 24/7 liquidity via built-in automation; active users always find counterparties. The market self‑organizes. - **Scales naturally:** Passive income scales with capital; active demand attracts more passive liquidity. - **Democratizes remittances:** Instead of a few entities having a near-monopoly on cross-border transactions, thousands of passive users can compete to move value between different economic areas. --- ## Examples (Focused on High‑Inflation Economies) ### 1. Carlos the Merchant (Venezuela) — The Central Use Case Carlos runs a grocery store. VES loses 5 % per week. He needs stable value to preserve purchasing power and bolívars for daily operations. **Passive mode (most of the month):** Posts as a BCH Buyer (cash at store, 0.5 % spread). Recipients visit, get cash, and Carlos accumulates BCH automatically—no effort, just foot traffic and grocery sales. **Stability option:** When Carlos cashes out a remittance covenant, his wallet offers: *Keep BCH or stabilice with H€ (Euro), or HAu (Gold)?* We think he's going to pick **H€** (familiar unit, he's used to convert to VES) but we don't know that's why we want to offer a non fiat denominated option. The app mints H€ or HAu tokens backed by pooled AnyHedge contracts. Carlos now holds stable value, immune to BCH's ±20 % monthly swings. **Active mode (end of month, rent due):** Opens the app, sells H€ to another merchant or customer for VES at current EUR/VES rate. Zero volatility exposure—what he earned is what he keeps. **Result:** Carlos earns spreads and sales while passive; he preserves capital via the stability tokens. No BCH volatility, no hyperinflation erosion. Triple win. ### 2. María (Sender) & Elena (Recipient) — Pure Active Users María sends €100 to Elena. She opens the app, enters `Elena#142`, selects the cheapest seller, and pays via Bizum. The app handles the rest. Elena gets a notification, decides to cash out, picks the nearest merchant from the bulletin board, walks over, gets cash, and buys groceries. Both are pure active users—no listings needed. ### 3. Isabel (Passive Seller — Arbitrageur) Isabel posts a single listing as a BCH Seller (Bizum, 0.5 % fee) and enables the bot. She goes to sleep. Overnight, the bot responds to requests, detects payments, and funds covenants. Isabel wakes up to €1.50 in fees without lifting a finger. Her bot even replenishes BCH via Kraken automatically. ### 4. Roberto (Passive Seller — Miner) Roberto mines BCH. He sets up the app to sell his mined coins directly to senders, avoiding exchange fees entirely. Fully passive, zero extra work. --- ## Traditional Labels vs Active/Passive Reality | Traditional Label | Active/Passive | What They Really Do | |------------------|----------------|---------------------| | **Sender** (María) | Always Active | Queries sellers, creates covenant, pays | | **Recipient** (Elena) | Always Active | Queries merchants, creates covenant, receives cash | | **Merchant** (Carlos) | Usually Passive | Posts as buyer, app handles recipients, accumulates BCH | | | Sometimes Active | Queries buyers, sells accumulated BCH for bolívars | | **Seller** (Isabel/Roberto) | Usually Passive | Posts as seller, app handles senders, earns fees | | | Could be Active | If they needed BCH urgently, could query buyers | --- ## Phase 1+ Goals (Spain → Venezuela) > **Note:** Phase 0 (bootstrap) uses trusted participants to validate demand. The founder plays most passive roles initially. If Phase 0 attracts 5 real merchants, that's success. These numbers reflect Phase 1+ goals once organic growth begins. | Role | Mode | Count | Who | |------|------|-------|-----| | **Senders** | Active | 50–100 | Spanish residents sending to family | | **Recipients** | Active | 50–100 | Venezuelans receiving remittances | | **Merchants** | Passive buyer | 20–30 | Venezuelan businesses (cash pickup) | | | Active seller | 20–30 | Same merchants (when needing bolívars) | | **Sellers** | Passive seller | 10–20 | Miners, arbitrageurs | **Success:** At least 5 passive sellers online 24/7; at least 15 passive merchants in major cities. Active users always see 3+ options, and response times are under 1 minute. --- ## How Active & Passive Use the Five Gears **The Five Gears:** 1. **Wallet** - Key management, transaction signing 2. **Bulletin Board** - Discovering counterparties (on-chain NFTs) 3. **Nostr** - Private coordination (payment instructions, notifications) 4. **Covenants** - Trustless settlement (locked BCH, automated execution) 5. **Stability Layer** - H€/HAu tokens (merchants preserve purchasing power) **Active Mode:** Wallet → Bulletin Board (query) → Nostr (coordination) → Covenant (transaction) → Optional: Stability Layer. User experience is like a price comparison site plus a payment app. **Passive Mode:** Wallet → Bulletin Board (post listing) → App monitors Nostr, bank notifications, and blockchain → App auto-responds and funds covenants → Optional: Stability Layer for accumulated BCH. User experience is like a vending machine—stock once, check revenue later. --- ## Key Takeaways 1. **Two roles, two modes.** BCH Seller/Buyer × Active/Passive = the entire protocol. 2. **Merchants in inflationary economies win twice.** Passive accumulation protects against depreciation; active liquidation preserves purchasing power when needed. 3. **Built-in automation makes passive mode possible.** 24/7 liquidity, no human attention required. 4. **Active mode is simple.** Query, select, transact—no listing necessary. 5. **The market self‑organizes.** Passive liquidity + active demand = automatic matching, no central coordinator. When someone asks, *”What is Asgaya?”* — it’s a bulletin board where passive users provide 24/7 liquidity via built-in automation, and active users pick the best offer. Covenants make it safe; Bitcoin Cash makes it cheap and permissionless. --- ## Navigation **[🏠 Home](../index.md)** | **[📖 Glossary](../glossary.md)** **In this section:** - [Remittance](remittance/README.md) - Sender and recipient flows - [Merchant](merchant/README.md) - Cash-out provider - [Trader](trader/README.md) - Professional liquidity - [Customer](customer/README.md) - Direct BCH payments **Related sections:** [The Mechanism](../the-mechanism/README.md) · [Implementation](../implementation/README.md) · [Why This Design?](../why-this-design/README.md)