Its predecessor, BitWasp — free, open-source Bitcoin marketplace software from 2013 — ran on about $30,000 in donations and proved people will fund market infrastructure nobody owns. Polyculture Markets is built on the same bet: free software, no fees skimmed from trades (the server never touches the money, so it couldn't skim if it wanted to), funded by the people who want it to exist.
There's a well-known video about how movements start: a lone dancer, until one first follower joins him — and that follower is what turns a lone nut into a movement. This project is at the lone-dancer stage. Donations fund development time, security audit bounties, demo hosting, and the GPG usability work still ahead. The software is free whether you donate or not.
Donation addresses will be published on this page before the public launch. Until they appear here, do not send cryptocurrency to any address claiming to represent Polyculture Markets — that warning is the anti-scam measure, and it's deliberate.
Want to help in the meantime? Auditors and testers are worth more than money right now: see Contribute.