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Kacet

a freelancer marketplace with crypto-native payments

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Hi HN,I’m a co-founder building kacet, a new freelancing platform that connects freelancers and employers, with crypto as the core payment rail.The problem I’m trying to solve is pretty familiar: existing platforms take high fees, are slow to pay out, and don’t work well for international teams. kacet is an experiment in building a simpler, more neutral marketplace where payments are borderless by default.Some highlights:• Crypto-native payments – fast, borderless payouts without banks, delays, or surprise freezes • Peer-to-peer contracts – clients and freelancers work directly, the platform doesn’t own the relationship Built for teams – multi-user organisations for agencies and startups out of the box • Low, transparent fees – simple pricing with no boosts, ads, or hidden take rates • No dark patterns – a calm UI focused on agreeing work and getting paid, not maximising engagementPayments are handled by Solana smart contracts, with a React frontend (TanStack Start). We’re keeping the feature set small to validate the core workflow: post work → agree terms → get paid.This is still early and very much a work in progress. I’d really appreciate feedback from people who have hired freelancers, worked as one, or built marketplaces before.Site: https://kacet.comHappy to answer any questions or go into more detail on the payment model, trust mechanics, or why I think this approach might (or might not) work.

HN · launched Jan 19, 2026 · 23 upvotes (top 33%) · 0 views

Niche: freelance marketplaces and platforms · 72 launches, 8 in the last 7 days ▲ +14% · Explore this niche →

Category and tags

  • Horizontal
  • Marketplace
  • B2B
  • Not AI
  • Commercial product

Visit website ↗ Source listing ↗

Could you build this?

Partial Standard freelance marketplace CRUD and frontend can be vibe-coded, but implementing non-custodial or automated escrow smart contracts with dispute resolution and compliant crypto payment processing introduces significant financial and smart contract risks.

What it would actually take: The system requires a full-stack web marketplace (Next.js, PostgreSQL) paired with EVM or Solana smart contracts that act as escrow holding funds until milestone approvals. The critical challenge lies in the smart contract development, automated multi-sig or arbiter dispute mechanics, secure oracle/price-feed integration, and navigating regulatory compliance (anti-money laundering, KYC, and MSB registration). Solid smart-contract security audit experience and Web3 wallet integration tooling are required.

Discussion

20 comments analyzed.

Competitors mentioned: Upwork, Fiverr, Ethereum-based freelance platforms, Monero, TalentLayer

Concerns raised: Solana's validator set is highly centralized and shrinking, Solana lacks state receipts, enabling dishonest validator deception, Solana has no mempool, causing transaction loss or duplication during high usage, Solana no longer significantly cheaper than alternatives, Market timing too late; web3 adoption already peaked

Feature requests: Expand to multiple blockchain chains (Ethereum, etc.), Platform should not require cryptocurrency payments; let users arrange separately, Add privacy features similar to Monero, Connect employers and freelancers without built-in payment layer

Competitors

Other products that read as similar to this one : 183 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.

Attention rank: #50 of 184 (itself plus its competitors, highest first, normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).

Launched 75 days after the earliest competitor.

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