In the ever-evolving landscape of online trade, persistent challenges such as fragile customer trust and the omnipresent threat of online fraud have spurred the quest for transformative solutions. This paper introduces BarterChain, a blockchain-powered online bartering system designed to revolutionize digital commerce. BarterChain transcends the limitations of traditional barter and e-commerce platforms by establishing a trustless, secure, and globally accessible infrastructure for exchanging goods and services. Fundamentally, BarterChain uses an intelligent matching algorithm powered by blockchain technology to solve the problem of the “double coincidence of wants”, while blockchain ensures transaction security, transparency, and immutability. This eliminates reliance on fiat currency, reducing fraud risks. BarterChain extends beyond a mere revival of traditional trading practices by establishing a secure and transparent digital bartering ecosystem. It incorporates a verifiable reputation system to enhance community trust and facilitate sustainable transactions. This work introduces a paradigm shift in online commerce, positioning BarterChain as a robust platform that mitigates security and trust challenges, redefines modern bartering, and contributes to the evolution of digital trade. We have developed a prototype BarterChain using solidity on the Ethereum platform, with a user interface built in ReactJS. We have done a performance analysis using the Hyperledger Caliper tool to measure the average latency and transaction throughput. Our evaluation varies the send rate (100–600 transactions per second (TPS)) and requests (10–50), achieving a peak throughput of 437 TPS at 600 TPS with 50 requests. Latency increases with load, reaching a maximum of 1.31 s. These results demonstrate the system’s scalability under varying conditions.
