Crypto payments promise irreversible, borderless transactions—yet this very strength becomes a liability the moment any disagreement arises over goods, services, or payments.

Unlike with traditional payment rails, neither merchants nor consumers have access to established chargeback or arbitration processes, creating a tension between transactional security and consumer protection.

For crypto to reach mainstream adoption, the community faces a stark contradiction: it must maintain the advantages of decentralization without sacrificing the safety net users expect.

The root challenge is the technical limitation of blockchain's immutability and the absence of trusted, decentralized mediation layers.

Existing legal and contractual frameworks are slow, fragmented, and often unenforceable across jurisdictions, while on-chain solutions are either too primitive or have low adoption.

Escrow services and basic arbitration DAO models exist but are fragmented, lack interoperability, are not widely trusted, or introduce additional complexity and fees.

Most rely on trusted third parties, which negates decentralization.