Ray + Alton

Main screen
Product page
Add item page
My Purchases page

Inspiration

We wanted a simple, trustworthy way to buy and sell ebooks without relying on platform lock-in or centralized intermediaries. Digital content purchases often come down to trust, and escrow on XRPL felt like the right primitive to make that trust explicit, enforceable, and visible to users.

What it does

rAyMarketplace is an ebook marketplace where payments are held in escrow to protect both buyers and sellers. Buyers know their funds are only released after fulfillment, while sellers know payment is guaranteed once the conditions are met. The result is a fair, predictable transaction flow for digital goods.

How we built it

We built the interface using Next.js and TypeScript, with XRPL tooling to construct and submit escrow transactions. The user flow is intentionally linear and explicit: connect wallet, choose a book, purchase, and monitor escrow status. Each step is designed to reduce uncertainty and guide users through the process.

Challenges we ran into

Designing escrow timing that felt fair to both sides required careful thought. Wallet prompts and blockchain terminology can also be confusing, so we had to be precise with copy and guidance. Handling network fees and destination activation without breaking the flow was another key challenge.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We delivered a complete end-to-end purchase flow, made escrow states understandable to non-crypto users, and kept the experience focused on buying and selling books rather than on blockchain mechanics.

What we learned

Clear UX matters more than complex features in blockchain products. Small decisions like wording, defaults, and step order play a huge role in building user trust.