A Complete Guide to Using the CannaHome Market

CannaHome is a relatively new darknet market that specializes in the sale of cannabis and marijuana-related products. It opened its doors on September 15^th, 2019, and has seen an influx of buyers and vendors from recently closed markets also specializing in cannabis-related products. Unlike many other darknet markets, CannaHome is limited to participation by residents of the United States only. The likely reasoning behind this is to remove the chance of international law enforcement agencies taking part in the monitoring and potential prosecution of users of the market.

Unlike most other darknet markets, CannaHome users do not have central wallets controlled by the exchange, but instead use either multisignature escrow wallets or send coins to escrow-less “Direct Pay” addresses representing their purchase. This provides some degree of protection from downtimes or a market exit scam, as the buyer and seller form 2/3 of a multisignature address and can decide whether a payment should be made in the event the market is unreachable.

As far as dependability is concerned, CannaHome Market seems to have a lot of uptime as compared to some of its competitors, as well as an abundance of mirror URLs through which it can be accessed. With less than 1,800 listings (as of February 2020), it’s on the smaller side of markets and perhaps hasn’t attracted a whole lot of attention to itself yet. This in itself is proving to be a good thing as too much exposure has proven to be deadly for the life cycle of any darknet market. The market hardly has any customer complaints on review sites and is considered to be good at what it does — pretty much as dependable as such an operation can be, for now.

Quick Facts about CannaHome Market

• CannaHome Link: uuwqgse6rabmw3ngfsihzeqzshq5w3ug3su4yujlnzl4ipsfgkak4uid.onion
• Founded: September 2018
• Number of listings: 1749 (as of February 2020)
• Listing categories: 6
• Coins accepted: Bitcoin (BTC)
• Multisignature escrow: Yes
• Finalize Early: Yes (referred to as “Direct Pay”)
• Vendor bond: $250

Before Getting Started

There are a few basic concepts which you need to be familiar with before attempting to get started using CannaHome Market or any other darknet market. First, you will need to download and install the Tor browser which will allow you to connect to websites on the darknet (of which CannaHome URL Market is one). While it is true that the Tor browser masks your connection to sites that you are visiting when using it, your IP provider can still be aware that you are accessing the Tor network, so if you value true anonymity when connecting to the darknet it is suggested that you purchase a VPN (virtual private network) service in order to remove the connection between your IP and Tor.

You will also obviously need to have some experience with buying and sending cryptocurrency. Learn the basics of sending Bitcoin from one address to another, how to identify and input Bitcoin addresses, how to assign transaction fees, and what a blockchain confirmation is as well. Sending BTC or any cryptocurrency to the wrong address can be a costly, irreparable error for which there is no recourse, so it’s good to have a handle on how to move it before attempting to do so for the first time.

How to Create an Account

The account registration process is fairly simple and just like that of many other darknet markets. After arriving at the login screen by visiting an official CannaHome URL link found here or here, you will be asked to enter in some very simple login criteria. Note that it is important to find a CannaHome URL from only these two sources and no others, and darknet markets are frequently the target of phishing The account registration criteria simply consists of creating a user name, password, and solving an easy captcha.

Be sure to save this information in a secure area where you will remember where it is. If you should lose access to your login credentials, you will be permanently locked out of your account, as there is no account recovery process.

After entering in a user name, password and filling the captcha, press the red “Register” button.

After pressing the “Register” button, you will notice that you are still on the same screen, but the tab has now switched to Register a new account, and there will be an additional field to enter an Invite Code above the User Name field. If you have such a code, enter it. Then, press the “Register” button. You will be asked to re-enter your password. After doing that, press “Register” again. You will then be logged into the market and shown the home screen, which looks like this:

And that’s it! Your account has now been created, and you are ready to start browsing.

Finding a Product Listing

The site is divided into several sections. The top menu bar contains the following options: My Account, Messages, Orders, View Active Vendors and Browse All Products. Above this you can find a green Forum button: the forum is a great place to ask questions about intricacies of the market function that aren’t covered in this guide. To right of this are two more information options, FAQ and Wiki, for basic “how-to” questions, and then to the right of this is the Log out button.

Below the menu bar, you will notice that CannaHome has divided up its products into 6 different categories:

• Flowers: marijuana buds, plant material
• Concentrates: wax, shatter
• Carts: vaporizer cartridges
• Edibles: consumable products
• Distillate: high-THC concentrate liquid material
• Shrooms: psychedelic mushrooms (mostly amanita cubensis)

Click on the category of the product you are looking for to browse by that category. Beneath this is a list of active vendors, and below that are 3 columns of product listings: Top Sellers, New Arrivals and Vendor Updates.

While there are several different ways to locate products, the search function can be found by pressing the Browse All Products button that is on the right hand side of the menu bar. By hovering over it, you can immediately filter your search by clicking on one of the 6 product categories that appear underneath, or else simply click the button itself to search all categories.

The search functionality is pretty basic and limited to text search only. While there is indeed a filter for shipping by country, we recommend you not try to make a purchase if you live outside of the U.S., as it will probably not be honored by the vendor, and may cause sent funds to be locked up until they can be refunded to you by CannaHome. After you have entered the term for which you are searching, simply press enter to view the search results.

Before Making a Purchase

Although you have already registered an account, there is a bit more setup involved that requires some basic bitcoin knowledge in order to properly ready your account to make purchases. In order to be able to make use of the Multisig Escrow payment option, you must first provide CannaHome with your bitcoin public key. You will also need to copy and paste your PGP public key in order to receive encrypted communications from vendors. To do this, hover over the My Account button in the upper left hand part of the menu options and click “Settings”.

First, copy your PGP public key and paste it into the PGP Public Key text box. If you check the Enable PGP Authentication box to the right of this text box, it will provide a 2-Factor Authentication (2-FA) method for securing your account, meaning not only will you need your password to log in but you will also need to provide your PGP public key. This will make it harder for hackers or random people to gain access to your account, but is not completely necessary. Next, copy and paste your bitcoin master public key into the text box below, under the words Multisig configuration. The easiest way to do this is to download the Electrum bitcoin wallet and create a Standard wallet (if you are using Windows, you will want to download and install the Windows Standalone Executable wallet).

After creating a Standard wallet, saving your password and mnemonic phrase, go to the Wallet menu tab, scroll down and click “Information”. You will be presented with the public key belonging to that wallet; it should belong with the letters “xpub”, “ypub”, or “zpub”.

After you have successfully copied and pasted both your PGP public key and bitcoin master public key into their respective boxes, press the green “Save Changes” button below.

Next, you will be asked to verify your PGP public key by decrypting a message. Copy the entire contents of the message, decrypt them using the PGP public key you provided, and paste the Authentication Code in the box below. Then press the green “Verify” button.

Your account PGP has now been verified, your bitcoin public key has been added, and you are ready to begin placing orders.

Making a Purchase

After finding a product you are interested in purchasing, click on it to bring up the product details. From here, we recommend clicking on the vendor name to bring up pertinent details about the vendor, like their refund policy and user ratings. Like most darknet markets, CannaHome operates using an eBay-like rating system for its vendors of 1 to 5 stars. Of course, vendors with a high rating score (>4.5) and several ratings (>20) are more likely to be competent and trustworthy than those with a low score and no or few ratings. You can also see ratings for each individual product on the product listing page as well. After you are satisfied with the vendor details, click the green “Order Product” button to continue.

Next, select your order quantity, and then use the vendor’s public PGP key to encrypt your shipping information (name and address). This is a manual process which must be performed using your own PGP client, and we absolutely recommend that you do this as sending your shipping information unencrypted can be highly risky. Only the vendor will be able to decrypt your message, meaning it will never be known by CannaHome or any entity besides the vendor. After pasting your encrypted shipping info, select the shipping option you wish to use, and press the “Continue” button. Next, you will be given a chance to review your order before placing it.

Make sure all the details and amounts are correct, review the vendor’s Refund and Escrow policy, and press “Continue”. You will then be presented with 1 or 2 possible payment options, Multisig Escrow and Direct Pay:

We recommend using Multisig Escrow unless you are buying from a vendor that you absolutely trust, and while we describe both methods of payment in detail below, we will be using the Multisig Escrow option for the purposes of producing this guide. Click on the Multi-sig Escrow tab and copy/paste your bitcoin master public key into the text box and press “Continue”.

Next, you will be asked to provide a bitcoin refund address so CannaHome can refund your BTC if for some reason the transaction is not completed. You can use any address under your control (it is of course not recommended to send bitcoin to or from an exchange address) as a refund address, including one of your Electrum addresses (so long as you have saved your Electrum password and mnemonic and will always have access to them). Paste your refund BTC address and press “Continue”.

You will then be brought to another small screen that displays the amount of BTC that needs to be paid to complete your purchase. Make sure you have this amount of bitcoin ready to send (note that it does not have to be from the Electrum address with the public key you have provided) before proceeding. When you are sure you are ready, press “Continue to Payment”.

This next screen is the Pay screen which shows you a bitcoin address (and corresponding QR code) to which you will send an exact amount of BTC to complete your purchase. You have 90 minutes for your transaction to be detected by the Bitcoin Network, and it is recommended that you use a decent-sized fee for your transaction, as the transaction will assuredly not be accepted by CannaHome if it is never confirmed by the network. Copy/paste the receiving address displayed in the box (or scan its QR code if paying from a mobile wallet), and be sure to send the exact amount of bitcoin displayed above the address (in the case of the screenshot example, that would be 0.04128665 BTC).

After completing your bitcoin transaction, press the “Reload Payment Status” button below the View Technical Details field to make sure your transaction has been detected by the network. If successful, the screen will reflect that payment has been detected, and your Current Balance amount will reflect the sent amount. The vendor will then be notified of your pending purchase. As soon as the payment is confirmed by the Bitcoin Network, your order will be submitted to the vendor for shipping.

After you have received your order, don’t forget to release the funds held in escrow by finalizing it. This can be done from the Orders section of the menu bar. If you forget to do this, you will delay the vendor’s reception of your funds, which is considered to be bad etiquette. If you have a problem with the quality of your order, or if it is not received by the late end of the expected date of arrival, you will have the option to dispute the order, which is also done through the Orders section.

For those who would like some further clarification on the difference between CannaHome’s two methods of payment:

What does Multisig Escrow mean?

Multisig Escrow is the default purchase option used by CannaHome. For each purchase made on the market, a new multisignature address is generated representing that particular transaction. Unlike most other bitcoin addresses, this type of address requires the signature of 2 out of 3 parties assigned control of the address. This means that a combination of the vendor and exchange can initiate the transaction to move the funds to the vendor, or if the exchange is offline for some reason, the buyer and vendor can still perform the transaction without the involvement of the exchange.

The reason why the Multisig Escrow is default and recommended by CannaHome is because it means your funds can only be released to the vendor after you have received your product and are satisfied with it. If a dispute arises, and the market decides in your favor, your coins will be refunded back to the refund address you provided. If the market decides in the favor of the vendor, they will co-sign a transaction to release the funds to the vendor. Either way, this means that the funds are never held directly by CannaHome, meaning they cannot be stolen from them or by them in the event of a sudden closure.

What does Direct Pay mean?

Vendors who are somewhat established can earn and enable Direct Pay privileges, which means they are allowed to bypass the escrow holding period if the customer chooses to make a purchase using this method. Direct Pay is CannaHome’s version of Finalize Early (FE) payment, and only granted to vendors who are highly trusted and have completed at least 200 orders with a total rating of 90%+ positive feedback. Funds for Direct Pay listings are non-refundable by the market but can be refunded by the vendor at any time.

Be sure to read the most recent user feedback of a vendor before deciding to purchase a product from such a vendor who has their listings set to Direct Pay. CannaHome’s support will likely be unable to help you if you should have a problem with a Direct Pay purchase, and your only recourse will be leaving the vendor a negative rating.

How do I know if I am buying a Multi-Sig Escrow or Direct Pay listing?

Each listing for a product will say “Multisig Escrow” and/or “Direct Pay” in the Order Product menu. Keep in mind that just because a vendor is allowed Direct Pay privileges, it does not mean that all of their listings will be set with that option; some may be escrow-only. Also remember that just because a vendor is Direct Pay enabled, it does not guarantee that your transaction will go smoothly. Buyers always have the option of purchase through Multisig Escrow, but only some vendors will have the additional option of Direct Pay.

Conclusion

You are now ready to get started using the CannaHome Market. By practicing good security and privacy measures, as well as some basic common sense, you are likely to have a positive experience here so long as you implement the suggestions provided for you in this guide.

If you should have any questions about using CannHome Market that aren’t covered in this guide, check the FAQ and Wiki sections of the market for more detailed explanations. You can also visit the CannaHome official forum (known as Tree House) find out what other users have to say and what their experiences were. Also be sure to always remember that understanding what you are doing is essential before you get started doing it, especially when it comes to something as sensitive as cryptocurrency and darknet markets.