Patent Publication Number: US-2018040060-A1

Title: Descending counter value matching for divisible goods

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Auctions can be useful in pairing items with bidders willing to pay a market price for such items. For example, sellers may provide various items for auction, and bidders may enter one or more “bids” for each of the items. In some auctions, the sellers may also enter a “reserve price” associated with each item, and bids below the reserve price may not be accepted. Conventional auctions are typically organized such that all matches between bidders and items/sellers occur simultaneously, or occur such that relatively low-value matches are demanded prior to relatively high-value transactions (often called ascending price auctions). Such ascending price auctions are typically open to the public in order to attract a wide range of bidders. Other conventional allocation procedures, such as book building, are brokered by investment banks or other auctioneering entities that privately negotiate the sale of goods between a seller and one or more targeted bidders. 
     Although some investors may have the resources to discern an appropriate price for goods being offered in an open ascending price auction, such investors often have little incentive to participate in such auctions since any bid that such investors may enter will likely be followed by a higher bid from another bidder. As a result, any potential return for such investors may be lost. Additionally, while such investors may turn to private book building procedures to avoid the problem of being outbid in public ascending price auctions, the auctioneering entity brokering such book building procedures will typically charge a relatively high brokerage fee for facilitating the auction, thus making book building procedures a less than optimal alternative. 
     SUMMARY 
     This disclosure describes systems and methods associated with auctions, such as descending price auctions, in which high-value purchases of substantially indistinguishable items occur prior to relatively low-value purchases of such items. 
     In an example auction scenario, a bid for a particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items is received from a bidder participating in the auction. The bid may be received during the auction, and the auction may be governed by a counter or other like mechanism presenting a “counter value” (e.g., a monetary or non-monetary indication of value) that descends over time. At any given time during the auction, the counter value may represent the price at which a transaction can be made. In some examples, the substantially indistinguishable items available in the auction may include a quantity of shares in a company, a quantity of a certain commodity, a debt offering, or other such items, and a receiver providing the items for auction may also set a reserve price on a per item basis such that the items offered for auction may not be purchased once the counter value has decreased below the reserve price. 
     During such an auction scenario any bid entered by a bidder may be given a value equal to a particular counter value of the series of counter values that is active at the time the bid is received. For example, a bidder may wait until the counter value decreases to a per-item value that he or she is willing to pay for a particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items. When the counter value has decreased to a desirable value, the bidder may then enter a bid for the desired quantity of the items, and the bid will be given a per-item value equal to the counter value that is currently active. The bidder may then be matched with the particular quantity of the items at the current counter value, and the particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items may be removed from the auction. However, the bidder may remain an active participant in the auction until the counter value has decreased to a value less than or equal to the reserve price or until there are no more items remaining. 
     Such an example method may further include providing information to the respective computing devices of the bidders participating in the auction. For example, such information may be provided, via a communications network, using a dashboard and/or other such user interface that includes a variety of tools enabling the user to enter bids, specify a particular quantity of items that the bidder wishes to purchase, etc. Such dashboards may also indicate the current counter value, the number of items remaining in the auction, and a transaction history that is specific to the particular bidder. Such a transaction history may include, for example, a chart or other graphical illustration indicating the number of items already purchased by the particular bidder, the counter value(s) associated with such purchases, and one or more indicators identifying other purchases made by additional bidders participating in the current auction. In some examples, the transaction history and/or other parts of the dashboard may not identify the additional bidders with particularity. 
     As will be described in greater detail below, the example systems and techniques described herein reduce the number of user interactions needed to conduct an auction as compared to traditional public ascending price auctions. Additionally, the example systems and techniques described herein require reduced levels of computational complexity. Consequently, the systems and techniques of the present disclosure require less bandwidth and/or other network resources, as well as less memory, processor, and/or other computing device resources as compared to known network-based auctions. As a result, the embodiments described herein allow for improved network and computing device performance. 
     This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The term “techniques,” for instance, can refer to system(s), method(s), computer-readable instructions, module(s), algorithms, hardware logic, and/or operation(s) as permitted by the context described above and throughout the document. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same reference numbers in different figures indicate similar or identical items. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram depicting an example centralized environment including an auction service usable to implement example auctions described herein. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram depicting an example auction service computing device usable to implement example auctions described in connection with the environment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram depicting an example user computing device usable to participate in example auctions described in connection with the environment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram depicting an example decentralized environment usable to implement example auctions described herein. 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram depicting a further example user computing device usable to implement example auctions described in connection with the environment of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6A  is a flow diagram that illustrates example methods associated with an example auction implemented in the environment illustrated in either  FIG. 1  or  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6B  illustrates example user interfaces associated with the example auction described in connection with the flow diagram of  FIG. 6A . 
         FIG. 6C  illustrates additional example user interfaces associated with the example auction described in connection with the flow diagram of  FIG. 6A . 
         FIG. 6D  illustrates further example user interfaces associated with the example auction described in connection with the flow diagram of  FIG. 6A . 
         FIG. 6E  illustrates still further example user interfaces associated with the example auction described in connection with the flow diagram of  FIG. 6A . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Overview 
     Examples described herein provide environments, systems, methods, and other techniques associated with descending price auctions for a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items. In the various auctions described herein, “bidders” may include individuals, companies, and/or other entities providing a bid associated with an item or items available in the auction. Such a “bid” may be, for example, an amount (e.g., a dollar amount or other currency amount) proposed by the bidder for matching the bidder and the item or items. As will be described below, in some examples, the items available in the auction may include commodities, shares of stock, debt offerings, probability stakes, or other substantially indistinguishable items (e.g., divisible goods). In such examples, a bid entered by a bidder may be an amount proposed by the bidder for matching the bidder with a particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items. Additionally, in the various auctions described herein, “receivers” may include individuals, companies, and/or other entities providing an item or items for auction. In some examples, a receiver providing an item or items for auction may provide a reserve price associated with the item or items. Such a “reserve price” may be, for example, a minimum amount (e.g., a dollar amount or other currency amount) that the receiver will accept for the item or items, and any bids below the reserve price may not be accepted during auctions of the present disclosure. 
     An “item” provided for an auction may include any tangible, digital, or other good or object, and/or any intangible good, service, or object that the receiver wishes to convey to a winning bidder via an auction. As noted above, in example auctions of the present disclosure, a receiver may provide a plurality of substantially identical and/or otherwise substantially indistinguishable items for the auction. Such substantially indistinguishable items may comprise any divisible goods or other items having substantially the same configuration, physical characteristics, qualities, and/or value (e.g., commodities, shares of stock, debt offerings, probability stakes, offices in an office space, raffle tickets, tokens, etc.). 
     The auctions described herein can take place in environments that include centralized systems in which a central server or other auction service computing device facilitates the auction between a number of bidders participating in the auction. Such auctions can also take place in environments that include decentralized systems in which respective computing devices of the plurality of bidders are configured to facilitate the auction without the use of a central computing device. The auctions described herein can be characterized as “one-sided auctions,” in which after a quantity or plurality of substantially indistinguishable items is provided for the auction by a receiver, the receiver remains substantially passive as the auction progresses. In any of the example auctions described herein, additional bidders and/or additional receivers may be prohibited from joining an auction once the auction has begun (e.g., once registration for the auction has closed, and/or once an initial counter value has been generated). 
     In any of the examples described herein, an auction may be governed by a series of counter values generated by one or more computing devices being used by the auction participants (e.g., bidders) and/or by one or more central auction service computing devices facilitating the auction. Such counter values may descend as the auction proceeds, and the counter values may be made available to all auction participants during the auction, such as by presenting the descending counter values via a computing device dashboard or other user interface. A bidder participating in such an auction may enter a bid for a particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items provided by a receiver participating in the auction, and the bidder may be matched with the particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items based at least partly on the particular counter value that is active when the bid from the bidder is received. For example, the bidder may be matched with the particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items at the particular counter value that was active when the bid was received. The bidder may then be responsible for providing payment for the particular quantity of items at a per-item price equal to the particular counter value. Once the bidder has been matched with the particular quantity of items, the particular quantity of items will be removed from the auction while the bidder may remain an active participant in the auction. 
     Additionally, the auction service computing device (in a centralized auction) or the respective computing devices of the bidders participating in the auction (in a decentralized auction) may calculate or otherwise determine a difference between the quantity of items originally provided by the receiver and the quantity of items matched to the bidder, and the difference may comprise the number of the substantially indistinguishable items remaining in the auction. As noted above, any of the techniques or methods described herein may also include providing information to the respective computing devices of the bidders participating in the auction, and such information may include the number of items remaining, as well as a currently active counter value corresponding to the remaining substantially indistinguishable items. The auction may proceed until there are no items remaining in the auction and/or until another stopping condition is reached. For example, one such alternative stopping condition may be that the counter value is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, such as zero or a reserve price set by the receiver. 
     In some of the example auctions described herein, a receiver may provide a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items for auction. At the beginning of an example one-sided auction, an initial counter value may be provided to all auction participants, and the initial counter value may begin to decrease. A bidder participating in such an auction may wait to enter a bid until the counter value reaches a value that he or she is willing to pay for a particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items available in the auction. When the counter value has decreased to such a value, the bidder may enter a bid for the particular quantity of items, and the bid will be given a per-item value equal to the counter value that is currently active. In such an example auction, the bidder may be instantly matched with the particular quantity of items at a per-item value equal to the counter value that is active at the time the bid is received. Since the receiver is only a passive participant in such a one-sided auction, the receiver may not tender a counter offer associated with the particular quantity of items. 
     Additionally, during any of the auctions described herein, the bidder may be provided with a dashboard, user interface, and/or other functionality via a computing device used by the bidder during the auction. For example, such dashboards may include one or more tools operable to enable the user to enter a bid for and/or otherwise purchase a particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items. Such tools may also enable the user to request and/or acquire additional information associated with the substantially indistinguishable items that may be useful to the bidder during the auction. In particular, systems of the present disclosure may enable the bidder to obtain such information prior to placing a bid. The dashboard may also provide information including the current counter value and the number of the substantially indistinguishable items remaining in the auction. Additionally, the dashboard may provide information including a transaction history indicating the bidder&#39;s previous activity in the auction. In some examples, the transaction history may indicate the particular quantity of items previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by the bidder, the particular counter value at which the bidder was matched with the quantity of items, and an identifier that uniquely identifies the bidder. The transaction history may also indicate quantities of items previously purchased by other bidders in the auction, as well as the respective counter values at which the other bidders were matched with the respective quantities of items. In some examples, however, the identity of the other bidders participating in the auction may not be shared with the respective bidders. For example, while the transaction history of a first bidder may include an identifier that uniquely identifies the first bidder, the transaction history may omit identifiers that uniquely identify the other bidders participating in the auction with the first bidder. 
     Governing each of the example auctions described herein in accordance with a series of descending counter values results in relatively high-value bidding/purchases taking place before relatively low-value bidding/purchases. Accordingly, example auctions of the present disclosure may result in more economically efficient outcomes than conventional auctions. 
     Additionally, the example systems and techniques of the present disclosure reduce the number of user interactions needed to conduct the auction as compared to traditional public ascending price auctions. For example, traditional public ascending price auctions require each bidder to confirm, at each offered price (i.e., at each counter value), whether they are participating in the auction and to state a particular quantity of items he or she wants to purchase. The example systems and techniques of the present disclosure, on the other hand, only require bidders to place bids when the counter value drops to a level at which they want to bid on a quantity of the items. Since the example systems and techniques of the present disclosure only require individual bidders to provide an input, such as via a network, when the bidder wishes to place a bid, such systems and techniques reduce the overall amount of information transmitted via the network over the course of the auction relative to traditional public ascending price auctions. Consequently, the example systems and techniques of the present disclosure also reduce the bandwidth and/or other network resources being utilized, as well as the amount of memory, processor, and/or other computing device resources required for storing such information at the auction service computing device and/or at the computing device of each respective bidder. 
     Additionally, in order to facilitate the example auctions described herein, the example computing devices of the present disclosure need only generate and/or determine a current counter value, a current number of items remaining in the auction, and/or the time at which to decrement and/or otherwise decrease the counter value. Computing devices used to facilitate traditional public ascending price auctions, on the other hand, are required to generate and/or determine the above parameters as well as a number of additional parameters at each counter value, such as the number of shares demanded by each bidder. Thus, example auctions using the techniques described herein taking place in centralized or decentralized environments, may reduce the number and size of data transmissions and/or require reduced levels of computational complexity. Such reduced complexity levels can improve network and/or computing device performance in the various centralized environments described herein. Such reduced complexity levels can also improve network and/or computing device performance in decentralized environments, and may enable peer-to-peer applications operating on the respective computing devices of the individual bidders in such environments to reach mutual agreement in less time and utilizing reduced computing device resources. 
     Various environments, configurations of electronic devices, and methods operating and/or facilitating an auction are described further with reference to the figures. While many examples described herein relate to servers and other non-consumer electronic devices, other types of electronic devices can be used, e.g., as discussed with reference to the figures. 
     Illustrative Environment 
       FIG. 1  shows an example environment  100  including an example system configured to operate an auction, and/or perform one or more of the methods described herein. In the illustrated example, one or more of the various devices and/or components of the environment  100  may comprise a system of the present disclosure, and such devices and/or components of the environment  100  may include computing device(s)  102 ( 1 )- 102 (N) (individually or collectively referred to herein with reference  102 ), where N is any integer greater than or equal to 1. The example environment  100  may also include computing devices  104 ( 1 )- 104 (M) (individually or collectively referred to herein with reference  104 ), where M is any integer greater than or equal to 1. Although illustrated as, e.g., desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, cellular phones, personal digital assistants, and the like, the computing devices  102 ,  104  can include a diverse variety of device categories, classes, or types and are not limited to a particular type of device. In the illustrated example, computing devices  102  can be computing devices in an auction service  106 . In some examples, the auction service  106  may comprise a cluster of computing devices and/or a cloud service. In the illustrated example, computing devices  104  can be clients of the auction service  106  and can submit bids, asks, modified bids, modified asks, information requests, messages, search queries, and/or other information to the auction service  106 . Computing devices  104  can receive bids, asks, modified bids, modified asks, information requests, messages, search queries, and/or other information or content from the auction service  106 . The computing devices  102  in auction service  106  can, e.g., share resources, balance load, increase performance, or provide fail-over support or redundancy. 
     In some examples, computing devices e.g., computing devices  102 ( 1 ) and  102 ( 2 ), can communicate with one another to participate in or carry out one or more of the operations described herein. For example, two or more of the computing devices  102  may cooperate to perform one or more steps or operations of an auction, such as a descending price auction, or other type of auction. Additionally, one or more of the computing devices  102 ,  104  may be operated by one or more respective users. For example, in an auction of the present disclosure, one or more of the computing devices  104  may be operated by user(s)  108 . In such examples, one or more of the user(s)  108  may comprise a bidder participating in an auction via one or more network(s)  110  of the present disclosure. As noted above, one or more “bidders” of the present disclosure may include individuals, companies, and/or other entities providing a bid associated with an item or items available in the auction. Such a bid may be, for example, an amount (e.g., a dollar amount or other currency amount) proposed by the bidder for matching the bidder and a particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items. Additionally, one or more of the user(s)  108  may comprise a receiver participating in an auction via one or more network(s)  110 . One or more “receivers” of the present disclosure may include individuals, companies, and/or other entities providing an item or items for auction. As noted above, in some examples a receiver may provide a reserve price associated with the item or items provided for the auction. Such a “reserve price” may be, for example, a minimum amount (e.g., a dollar amount or other currency amount) that the receiver will accept for the item or items, and any bids below the reserve price may not be accepted during auctions of the present disclosure. 
     The various computing devices  102 ,  104  can communicate with each other or with other computing devices via the network(s)  110 . In some examples, computing devices  102 ,  104  can also communicate with external devices via network(s)  110 . For example, network(s)  110  can include public networks such as the Internet, private networks such as an institutional or personal intranet, or combination(s) of private and public networks. Network(s)  110  can also include any type of wired or wireless network, including but not limited to local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), satellite networks, cable networks, Wi-Fi networks, WiMAX networks, mobile communications networks (e.g., 3G, 4G, and so forth) or any combination thereof. Network(s)  110  can utilize communications protocols, such as, for example, packet-based or datagram-based protocols such as Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), other types of protocols, or combinations thereof. Moreover, network(s)  110  can also include a number of devices that facilitate network communications or form a hardware infrastructure for the networks, such as switches, routers, gateways, access points, firewalls, base stations, repeaters, backbone devices, and the like. The computing devices  104  can receive access to any of the bids, asks, information associated with a plurality of items provided for an auction, and/or any of the other information described herein via the auction service computing devices  102  and/or via the network  110 . 
     Different networks have different characteristics, e.g., bandwidth, latency, accessibility (open, announced but secured, or not announced), or coverage area. The type of network  110  used for any given connection between, e.g., a computing device  104  and auction service  106  can be selected based on these characteristics and on the type of interaction. Additionally, as will be described below, various file creation, modification, compression, encryption, and/or other processes performed by components of the systems described herein may improve the functionality of such networks. In particular, such processes may generate one or more packets, signals, files, and/or other content, such as compressed content. Transferring or processing such content may require reduced memory, processor, and/or other system resources. As a result, such content may be transmitted via the network  110  at faster speeds, and using reduced bandwidth. Accordingly, the generation and/or use of such content may result in improved network performance. 
     Details of an example computing device  102 ( 1 ) are illustrated at inset  112 . The details of the example computing device  102 ( 1 ) can be representative of others of computing devices  102 . However, each of the computing devices  102  can include additional or alternative hardware and/or software components. Still referring to the example of  FIG. 1 , computing device  102 ( 1 ) can include one or more processing unit(s)  114  operably connected to one or more computer-readable media  116 , e.g., memories, such as via a bus  118 , which in some instances can include one or more of a system bus, a data bus, an address bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Express (PCIe) bus, a PCI bus, a Mini-PCI bus, and any variety of local, peripheral, or independent buses, or any combination thereof. In some examples, plural processing units  114  can exchange data through an internal interface bus (e.g., PCIe), rather than or in addition to network  110 . While the processing units  114  are described as residing on the computing device  102 ( 1 ), in this example, the processing units  114  can also reside on different computing devices  102 , in some examples. In some examples, at least two of the processing units  114  can reside on different computing devices  102 . In such examples, multiple processing units  114  on the same computing device  102  can use a bus  118  of the computing device  102  to exchange data, while processing units  114  on different computing devices  102  (e.g., computing devices  102 ( 1 ) and  102 ( 2 )) can exchange data via network(s)  110 . 
     Computer-readable media described herein, e.g., computer-readable media  116 , include computer storage media and/or communication media. Computer storage media includes tangible storage units such as volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, and/or other persistent and/or auxiliary computer storage media, removable and non-removable computer storage media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes tangible or physical forms of media included in a device or hardware component that is part of a device or external to a device, including but not limited to RAM, static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), phase change memory (PRAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disks (DVDs), optical cards or other optical storage media, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, magnetic cards or other magnetic storage devices or media, solid-state memory devices, storage arrays, network attached storage, storage area networks, hosted computer storage or memories, storage, devices, and/or storage media that can be used to store and maintain information for access by a computing device  102 ,  104 . In contrast to computer storage media, communication media embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave, or other transmission mechanism. As defined herein, computer storage media does not include communication media. In some examples, computer-readable media  116  can store instructions executable by the processing unit(s)  114 , and the processing units  114  can be internal or external (e.g., virtual processing unit) to the computing device  102 . 
     Computer-readable media  116  can store, for example, computer-executable instructions, an operating system, and/or other computer program instructions. The computer-readable media  116  can also store one or more module(s)  120  associated with an auction of the present disclosure. Such modules  120  may include, for example, a communication module, an encryption module, a matching module, a payment module, a compression module, and/or any other modules, programs, or applications that are loadable and executable by processing unit(s)  114 . 
     Processing unit(s)  114  can be or include one or more single-core processors, multi-core processors, CPUs, GPUs, GPGPUs, or hardware logic components configured, e.g., via specialized programming from modules or APIs, to perform functions described herein. For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components that can be used in or as processing units  114  include Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), and other types of customizable processors. For example, a processing unit  114  can be a hybrid device, such as a device from ALTERA or XILINX that includes a CPU core embedded in an FPGA fabric. These or other hardware logic components can operate independently or, in some instances, can be driven by a CPU. In some examples, at least some of computing device(s)  102 ,  104  can include a plurality of processing units  114  of multiple types. For example, the processing units  114  in computing device  102 ( 3 ) can be a combination of one or more GPGPUs and one or more FPGAs. Different processing units  114  can have different execution models, e.g., as is the case for graphics processing units (GPUs) and central processing unit (CPUs). 
     The communications interface(s)  122  may be connected via the bus  118  to processing units  114  to enable wired or wireless communications between computing device(s)  102  and other networked computing devices  102 ,  104  over network(s)  110 . Such communications interface(s)  122  can include one or more transceiver devices, e.g., network interface controllers (NICs) such as Ethernet NICs or other types of transceiver devices, to send and receive communications over a network. The processing units  114  can exchange data through respective communications interface(s)  122 . In some examples, the communications interface  122  can be a PCI Express (PCIe) transceiver, and the network  110  can be a PCIe bus. In some examples, the communications interface  122  can include, but is not limited to, a transceiver for cellular (3G, 4G, or other), WI-FI, Ultra-wideband (UWB), BLUETOOTH, or satellite transmissions. The communications interface  122  can include a wired I/O interface, such as an Ethernet interface, a serial interface, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, an INFINIBAND interface, or other wired interfaces. For simplicity, these and other components are omitted from the illustrated computing device  102 ( 1 ). 
     In some examples, computing device  102  can also include one or more user interface(s)  124  configured to permit a user, e.g., an auctioneer, a data analyst or neural-network administrator, to operate one or more of the modules  120  and/or other components of the computing device  102  before, during, and/or after, for example, an auction of the present disclosure. In an example embodiment, a user interface  124  can include one or more output devices configured for communication to a user or to another computing device  102 ,  104 . Output devices can be integral or peripheral to a computing device  102 ,  104 . Examples of output devices can include a display, a printer, audio speakers, beepers, or other audio output devices, a vibration motor, linear vibrator, or other haptic output device, and the like. For example, the user interface  124  can include a display, such as an organic light-emitting-diode (OLED) display, a liquid-crystal display (LCD), a cathode-ray tube (CRT), or another type of visual display. Such a display can be a component of a touchscreen, or can include a touchscreen. User interface  124  can also include one or more input devices, integral or peripheral to a computing device  102 ,  104 . The input devices can be user-operable, or can be configured for input from other computing device  102 ,  104 . Examples of input devices can include, e.g., a keyboard, keypad, a mouse, a trackball, a pen sensor or smart pen, a light pen or light gun, a game controller such as a joystick or game pad, a voice input device such as a microphone, voice-recognition device, or speech-recognition device, a touch input device such as a touchscreen, a gestural or motion input device such as a depth camera, a grip sensor, an accelerometer, another haptic input, a visual input device such as one or more cameras or image sensors, and the like. 
     Details of an example computing device  104 ( 1 ) are illustrated at inset  126 . The details of example computing device  104 ( 1 ) can be representative of others of computing device(s)  104 . However, each of the computing device(s)  104  can include additional or alternative hardware and/or software components. Computing device  104 ( 1 ) can include one or more processing unit(s)  128  operably connected to one or more computer-readable media  130 , e.g., via a bus  132 . The processing unit(s)  128  can be the same as or similar to the example processing units  114  discussed above. Additionally, the computer-readable media  130  can be the same as or similar to the example computer-readable media  116  described above. For example, computer-readable media  130  can include one or more computer storage media. Further, the bus  132  can be the same as or similar to the example bus  118  described above. 
     Computer-readable media  130  can store, for example, computer-executable instructions, an operating system, and/or other computer program instructions. The computer-readable media  130  can also store one or more module(s)  134  programs, or applications that are loadable and executable by processing unit(s)  128 . Some examples of modules  134  are discussed above with reference to modules  120 . As will be described below, the modules  134  can include modules that are the same as modules  120  and/or that are different from the modules  120 . 
     Computing device  104  can also include one or more communications interfaces  136  connected via the bus  132  to processing unit(s)  128  to enable wired or wireless communications between computing device(s)  104  and other networked computing devices  102  involved in one or more auctions or other computing functions over network(s)  110 . The communications interfaces  136  may be the same as or similar to the communications interface(s)  122  described above. 
     In some examples, computing device  104  can include a user interface  138  connected via the bus  132  to processing unit(s)  128 . For example, computing device  104 ( 1 ) can include a user interface  138  configured to enable a user  108  of the computing device  104 ( 1 ) to control or otherwise interact with the computing device  104 ( 1 ). Additionally or alternatively, the user interface  138  may be configured to enable a user  108  of the computing device  104 ( 1 ) to control or otherwise interact with one or more of the other computing devices  104 (M) via the network(s)  110 . For example, processing unit(s)  128  can receive inputs of user actions via user interface  138  and transmit corresponding data via communications interface(s)  136  to computing device(s)  102  or  104 (M). The user interfaces  138  may be the same as or similar to the user interfaces  124  described above. 
     Additionally, any of the computing devices  102 ,  104  described herein may be configured to provide one or more dashboards  140  or other user interfaces such as, via a display or other user interface of the computing device. As illustrated with respect to the computing device  104 ( 1 ) of  FIG. 1 , an example dashboard  140  may provide a variety of information and functionality to a user  108  including, among other things, one or more tools  142 ( 1 ),  142 ( 2 ),  142 ( 3 ) (collectively, “tools  142 ”) enabling the user  108  to perform various operations before, during, and/or after an example auction. For example, the dashboard  140  may include a first tool  142 ( 1 ) comprising a data entry field configured to receive an input from the user  108 . Such a data entry field may be configured to receive an input indicating, for example, a particular quantity of items that the user  108  wishes to bid on and/or otherwise purchase during an auction. The dashboard  140  may also include a second tool  142 ( 2 ) configured to receive another input from the user  108 . In particular, once the user  108  has entered a desired quantity of items in the data entry field of the tool  142 ( 1 ), the user may touch, click, and/or otherwise provide an input via the second tool  142 ( 2 ) to enter a corresponding bid and/or purchase during the auction. Additionally, the dashboard  142  may include one or more additional tools providing additional functionality to the user  108 . Such additional tools  142 ( 3 ) may enable the user  108  to, for example, request access to additional information related to the item or items (e.g., mandatory public disclosure documents) available in the auction, contact an underwriter associated with the receiver providing the items available in the auction, request that the current counter value be held for a certain period of time, and/or perform any number of additional operations associated with the auction and/or the items available. 
     Such an example dashboard  140  may also provide information  144  to the user  108  of the computing device  104 . For example, such information  144  may include, among other things, a real-time counter value corresponding to the auction, a time until the next decrease or decrement of the current counter value, the number of substantially indistinguishable items remaining in the auction, names or other information indicating one or more additional participants in the auction, the total number of substantially indistinguishable items already purchased by the particular user  108 , and/or the total amount of money or other currency that the particular user  108  has already spent in the auction. The dashboard  140  may also provide additional information  146  associated with the auction, and such additional information  146  may include, for example, a chart or other visual representation of a transaction history specific to the particular user  108 . As noted above, such a dashboard  140  may be provided to, and may be tailored to, a bidder and/or a receiver during an auction. Accordingly, in some examples, the transaction history provided by the dashboard  140  may indicate the particular quantity of items previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by the user  108 , the particular counter value at which the user  108  was matched with the quantity of items, and an identifier that uniquely identifies the user  108 . The transaction history may also indicate quantities of items previously purchased by other bidders in the auction, as well as the respective counter values at which the other bidders were matched with the respective quantities of items. In some examples, however, the identity of the other bidders participating in the auction may not be shared with the respective bidders. For example, while the transaction history of a first user  108  provided by the dashboard  140  may include an identifier that uniquely identifies the first user  108 , the transaction history provided by the dashboard  140  may omit identifiers that uniquely identify the other bidders participating in the auction. 
     As illustrated with respect to the example computing device  102 (N) of  FIG. 1 , an example dashboard  148  provided to an auctioneer and/or other user of a computing device  102  of the auction service  106  may be substantially similar to the dashboards  140  described above. For example, such an example dashboard  148  may provide a variety of information  150  and/or functionality to a user including, among other things, a real-time counter value corresponding to the auction, the number of substantially indistinguishable items remaining in the auction, names or other information indicating one or more participants in the auction, and/or other such information. The dashboard  148  may also provide additional information  152  associated with the auction, and such additional information  152  may include, for example, a chart or other visual representation of a transaction history specific to the auction and representative of the activities of each bidder participating in the auction. In some examples, the transaction history provided by the dashboard  148  may indicate the particular quantity of items previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by each bidder, the particular counter value at which each respective bidder was matched with a corresponding quantity of items, and an identifier that uniquely identifies each of the bidders. Further details regarding the example dashboards  140 ,  148  described above will be provided below. 
     Illustrative Components 
       FIG. 2  is an illustrative diagram that shows example components of an auction service computing device  200 , which can be similar to or the same as one or more of computing device(s)  104  and which can be a central server or other computing device configured to operate and/or otherwise facilitate an auction between two or more entities according to various examples described herein. Auction service computing device  200  can implement an auction engine  202 , an operating system  204 , and/or any other software or hardware component configured to operate such an auction. 
     Auction service computing device  200  can include or be connected to a user interface  206 , which can be similar to or the same as the user interface  124  described above with respect to  FIG. 1 . The user interface  206  can include various types of output devices and/or input devices described above with reference to user interface  124 . The user interface  206  can also include one or more input/output (I/O) interfaces to allow auction service computing device  200  to communicate with input, output, or I/O devices. Examples of such devices can include components of user interface  206  such as user-operable input devices and output devices described above with reference to user interface  124 . 
     The auction service computing device  200  can include one or more processing unit(s)  208 , which can be similar to or the same as processing unit(s)  114  described above with respect to  FIG. 1 . Processing units  208  can be operably coupled to the I/O interface and/or other user interface(s)  206 , as well as to at least one computer-readable media  210 , discussed below. Processing unit(s)  208  can include, e.g., processing unit types described above such as CPU- or GPGPU-type processing unit(s). In some examples, processing unit(s)  208  can include or be connected to a memory  212 , e.g., a RAM or cache. 
     In some examples, computer-readable media  210  of the auction service computing device  200  can be similar to or the same as computer-readable media  116  described above with respect to  FIG. 1 , and can store a plurality of modules of the auction engine  202 . The computer-readable media  210  can also store the operating system  204 , as well as other items that will be described below. Processing unit(s)  208  can be configured to execute modules of the plurality of modules of the auction engine  202 . For example, computer-executable instructions and/or other computer program instructions  214  stored within a data store  216  of the computer-readable media  210  can, upon execution, configure a computer such as an auction service computing device  200  to perform operations described herein with reference to the modules of the plurality of modules. The modules stored in the computer-readable media  210  can include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing units  208 , cause the one or more processing units  208  to perform operations described below. 
     In some examples, data store  216  can include data storage, structured or unstructured, such as a database (e.g., a Structured Query Language, SQL, or NoSQL database) or data warehouse. In some examples, data store  216  can include a corpus or a relational database with one or more tables, arrays, indices, stored procedures, and so forth to enable data access. Data store  216  can store data for the operations of processes, applications, components, or modules stored in computer-readable media  210  or computer instructions in those modules executed by processing unit(s)  208 . In some examples, the computer program instructions  214  stored in the data store  216  may comprise instructions corresponding to processes described herein or to other software executable by processing unit(s)  208 . 
     In some examples, the operating system  204  can include components that enable or direct the auction service computing device  200  to receive data via various inputs (e.g., user controls, network or communications interfaces, memory devices, or sensors), and process the data using the processing unit(s)  208  to generate output. The operating system  204  can further include one or more components that present the output (e.g., display an image on an electronic display, store data in memory, and/or transmit data to another computing device). 
     The auction service computing device  200  can also include a communications interface  218 , which can be similar to or the same as communications interface  122  described above with respect to  FIG. 1 . For example, communications interface  218  can include a transceiver device such as a network interface controller (NIC) to send and receive communications over a network  110  (shown in phantom), e.g., as discussed above. As such, the auction service computing device  200  can have network capabilities. For example, the auction service computing device  200  can exchange data with computing devices  104  and/or other computing devices  104  (e.g., laptops, computers, and/or servers) via one or more network(s)  110 , such as the Internet. 
     In some examples, the processing unit(s)  208  can access the module(s) on the computer-readable media  210  via a bus  220 , which can be similar to or the same as bus  118  described above with respect to  FIG. 1 . User interface  206  and communications interface  218  can also communicate with processing unit(s)  208  via bus  220 . The modules of the auction engine  202  stored on computer-readable media  210  can include one or more modules (e.g., shell modules, or API modules) which are illustrated as a communication module  222 , an encryption module  224 , a counter module  226 , a matching module  228 , a payment module  230 , and a compression module  232 . In the auction engine  202 , the number of modules can vary higher or lower, and modules of various types can be used in various combinations. For example, functionality described associated with the illustrated modules can be combined to be performed by a smaller number of modules or APIs or can be split and performed by a larger number of modules or APIs. For example, the communication module  222  and the encryption module  224  can be combined in a single module that performs at least some of the example functions described below of those modules. Additionally or alternatively, the matching module  228  and the payment module  230  can be combined in a single module that performs at least some of the example functions described below of those modules. Further, the compression module  232  and the encryption module  224  can be combined in a single module that performs at least some of the example functions described below of those modules. In some examples, computer-readable media  210  may have thereon computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions, upon execution, configuring a computer to perform operations described herein. 
     Example functionality associated with the modules  222 ,  224 ,  226 ,  228 , and  230  of the auction engine  202  will be described in greater detail below with respect to example auctions. However, in some example systems of the present disclosure, the communication module  222  may be configured to receive information from a bidder of a plurality of bidders, and to receive information from a receiver of a plurality of receivers. Such information may be received, for example, using the communications interface  218  and via the network  110 . In such examples, the information received from a bidder may include a name, address, Social Security Number, Employer Identification Number, bank account number, telephone number, email address, and/or other information identifying and/or otherwise describing the bidder. Such information may be provided by the bidder in order to, for example, register for an auction. Further, the information received from a receiver may include information describing an item or items provided for auction by the receiver. Such items may include any tangible, digital, or other good or object, and/or any intangible good, service, or object that the receiver wishes to convey to a winning bidder via an auction. As noted above, in some example auctions the receiver may provide a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items for an auction. Such, substantially indistinguishable items may comprise any divisible goods or other items having substantially the same configuration, physical characteristics, and/or value (e.g., shares, commodities, offices in an office space, debt, raffle tickets, tokens, etc.). Accordingly, in examples in which the plurality of substantially indistinguishable items comprises a block of stock shares, such information may include the company or other entity to which the shares correspond, the number of shares being offered in the auction, the class of shares (e.g., voting, non-voting, etc.), the current stock price as listed on a public market exchange (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange), a per-share reserve price associated with the block of shares, etc. Alternatively, in another example in which the plurality of substantially indistinguishable items comprises a commodity such as wheat, sugar, coffee, cocoa, gold, or oil, such information may include the type of commodity (e.g., wheat, sugar, coffee, etc.), the amount of the commodity being offered in the auction, a reserve price per unit of the commodity, a country/state/region/farm/mine of origin, etc. Such information may also include any other information descriptive of the particular item or items provided for auction by the receiver. 
     For example, in some embodiments the communication module  222  may be configured to receive first information from a computing device  104  of the bidder via the network  110 , and to receive second information from a computing device  104  of the receiver via the network  110 . In such examples, communications module  222  may comprise a component of a central server or other central computing device  102  facilitating the auction. In other examples, the communications module  222  may be a component of an application of the computing device  104  of the bidder. In such examples, the auction may proceed without the use of a central server or other central computing device  102  facilitating the auction. 
     In some example auctions, the communication module  222  may be configured to receive, from the bidder and during the auction, an information request associated with the item or items provided by the receiver. In such examples, the communication module  222  may also be configured to provide information associated with the item or items to the computing device  104  of the bidder. Additionally or alternatively, the communication module  222  may be configured to provide the computing device  104  of the bidder with access to such information via the network. For example, in embodiments in which the receiver provides public disclosure documents associated with shares of stock or other divisible items offered during the auction, such information may be stored in the computer-readable media  210 . In such examples, the communication module  222  may provide the computing device  104  of the bidder with access to such information via the network  110  instead of or in addition to providing such information directly to the computing device  104  of the bidder. In some examples, the communication module  222  may provide such information to the computing device  104  of the bidder prior to receiving a bid on the item from the bidder, or from one or more additional bidders participating in the auction. Additionally, the communication module  222  may provide such information to the computing device  104  of the bidder at least partly in response to receiving the information request. 
     The communication module  222  may also be configured to receive a bid from the computing device  104  of at least one bidder of a plurality of bidders participating in the auction. Such a bid may comprise, for example, a quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items that the bidder wishes to procure from the receiver, at a price per unit equal to the counter value that is active when the bid is received by the communication module  222 . Additionally, in some auctions, the communication module  222  may be configured to receive multiple bids from the computing devices  104  of multiple respective bidders. In such examples, each bid may comprise a quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items that the respective bidder proposes to procure from the receiver, and such amounts may be procured at a price per unit equal to the counter value that is active when the respective bids are received by the communication module  222 . 
     The encryption module  224  may be configured to perform a variety of encryption, decryption, file conversion, file modification, and/or other functions associated with one or more example auctions of the present disclosure. For example, the encryption module  224  may be configured to encrypt the various information, messages, requests, bids, asks, and/or other electronic content (collectively referred to herein as “auction content”) received by the communication module  222  before, during, and/or after an auction. For example, such auction content may be received by the communication interface  218  and/or the communication module  222  in the form of signals, files, and/or packets, and such auction content may include an encryption key or other encoded information identifying, for example, the sender of the auction content. The encryption module  224  may receive such auction content as inputs, and may decrypt the auction content in order to authenticate the encryption key. The encryption module  224  may also authenticate the encryption key using one or more accepted receiver lists or other like information stored within the computer-readable media  210 . The encryption module  224  may also verify the identity of the sender and/or the intended recipient of such auction content based at least partly on matching and/or otherwise authenticating the encryption key using the information stored within the computer readable media  210 . In any of the example embodiments described herein, the encryption module  224  may perform any digital signature scheme or other cryptographic authentication scheme. 
     In still further examples, the encryption module  224  may be configured to encrypt such auction content prior to transmitting such content using the communication interface  218  and via the network  110 . For example, the encryption module  224  may be configured to generate one or more encryption keys, and to embed and/or otherwise incorporate such encryption keys within the auction content prior to transmitting such auction content to a computing device  104  of a bidder, a receiver, and/or other intended recipient. Accordingly, the various information, messages, requests, bids, asks, and/or other auction content may be augmented, and/or otherwise altered by the encryption module  224  prior to being transmitted. As part of such an encryption process, and/or as a separate process associated with one or more of the example auctions described herein, encryption module  224  and/or the compression module  232  may modify the various information, messages, requests, bids, asks, and/or other auction content prior to transmitting such content using the communication interface,  218  and via the network  110 . For example, the compression module  232  may compress, zip, and/or otherwise modify auction content, generated at least in part by the encryption module  224 , thereby generating modified auction content prior to transmission. Relative to the original auction content, such modified auction content may have a reduced size, reduced bandwidth requirements, reduced memory requirement, and/or other such reduced characteristic. As a result, such modified auction content may be transmitted via the network  110  more quickly, may reduce the bandwidth and/or other system resources required for transmission, and/or may reduce the memory requirements of one or more of the computing devices  200 ,  102 ,  104  associated with storing such content. As a result, generation and utilization of such modified auction content by the encryption module  224  and/or by the compression module  232  may improve the efficiency of the system, components thereof, the network  110 , and/or of the auction facilitated by the system. 
     The counter module  226  may be configured to generate a series of decreasing counter values during an auction of an item. For example, in auctions such as descending price auctions for a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items, the counter module  226  may generate an initial counter value that is greater than an expected or actual bid proposed by at least one bidder of a plurality of bidders. The counter module  226  may, during the course of the auction, generate a series of additional counter values, and the values included in the series of counter values may decrease over time from the initial counter value. 
     In general, a bidder and an item or items provided for auction by a receiver may be matched based at least partly on a particular counter value of the series of counter values that is currently active in real time. In some example auctions, the particular counter value may be active when a bid is received from the bidder for a particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items, and “matching” the bidder with the particular quantity of items may comprise enabling the bidder to purchase the items. For example, in a one-sided descending price auction for a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items, a bidder may submit a bid for a particular quantity of the items at any time, and the system (e.g., the counter module  226  or the matching module  228 ) may automatically set the amount of the bid received from the bidder equal to the particular counter value that is active at the time the bid is received. In such an auction, the receiver may be a passive participant in the auction. For example, the receiver may set a reserve price, on a per-item basis, before the auction begins, and may not be permitted to affect the price of the plurality of substantially indistinguishable items during the auction. Accordingly, in such auctions the bid received from the bidder may comprise the particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items that the bidder wishes to purchase, and the per-item value of the bid may be set equal to the particular counter value that is active when the bid is received. 
     Due to the descending counter values described above, matches and/or other sales of items in which the willingness of the bidder to pay relatively high prices for particular quantities of substantially indistinguishable items are made earliest in the auction. Conversely, matches and/or other sales of items in which the willingness of the bidder to pay relatively low prices for particular quantities of substantially indistinguishable items are made later in the auction. In some examples, the communication module  222  may be configured to provide each value of the plurality of counter values generated by the counter module  226  to the respective computing devices  104  of each bidder of the plurality of bidders. Additionally, the communication module  222  may be configured to provide information associated with any of the dashboards described herein, such as the dashboards  140 , to the respective computing devices  104  of the bidders. Such information may be provided, for example, electronically using the communication interface,  218  and via the network  110 . 
     The matching module  228  may be configured to match the bidder and the particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items bid on by the respective bidder at least partly in response to a bid received by the communication module  222  from the bidder during the auction. For example, the matching module  228  may facilitate pairing the bidder with the particular receiver that provided the particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items for auction once the communication module  222  receives the bid from the bidder and/or once any other conditions or rules of the auction have been satisfied. In any of the auctions described herein, the matching module  228  may match the bidder and the particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items based at least partly on and/or in accordance with a particular counter value of the series of counter values active when the bid is received. The matching module  228  may also remove the particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items from the auction based at least partly on the matching. In example embodiments, however, the particular bidder may remain an active participant in the auction after the particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items has been removed. For example, the bidder may be maintained as an active participant in the auction until no further substantially indistinguishable items remain in the auction or until the counter value has decreased to a value less than or equal to a reserve price set by the receiver. 
     The payment module  230  may be configured to determine an amount that the bidder is responsible to provide to the receiver for the particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items as a condition of the bidder being matched with and/or otherwise purchasing the particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items in the auction. For example, at least partly in response to the matching module  228  matching a bidder with the particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items, the payment module  230  may be configured to determine an amount owed to the receiver by the bidder. In some examples, the payment module  230  may determine such an amount by multiplying the particular quantity bid on by the bidder by the per-unit counter value that was active when the bid was received from the bidder. For example, in an auction in which the bidder enters a bid for a quantity of 5,000 shares at a counter value of $60, the payment module may determine that an amount of $300,000 (i.e., 5,000×$60) is owed to the receiver by the bidder. 
     In some examples, the communication module  222  may be configured to provide a payment request to the bidder in order to facilitate payment from the bidder. In example auctions, the bidder may be responsible for paying the owed amount to the auction service  106  or other entity facilitating the auction. In yet another example, the bidder may be responsible for paying the amount owed directly to the receiver. In example embodiments of the present disclosure, the payment module  230  may comprise any application, component, system, or component within a system, configured to facilitate payments between bidders and receivers participating in an auction. For example, the payment module  230  may be operable to outsource payment interactions between bidders and receivers. In such examples, the payment module  230  may connect, for example, a bank account of a bidder with a bank account of a receiver in order to facilitate the transfer of funds between the bank accounts. In other examples, the payment module  230  may connect the computing device  200  to an external payment service or other payment platform used by auction participants to facilitate payments. 
       FIG. 3  is an illustrative diagram that shows example components of a user computing device  300 , which can be similar to or the same as one or more of computing device(s)  102 ,  104 , and which can be a computing device of a user  108 . In particular, the user computing device  300  of  FIG. 3  may comprise a computing device  104  of a bidder and/or a computing device of a receiver used during an example auction of the present disclosure. In such examples, the user computing device  300  may be used by either a bidder or a receiver in a centralized auction in which one or more additional computing devices  200  ( FIG. 2 ) operates and/or otherwise facilitates the auction. In particular, the system  100  of  FIG. 1  may be configured to facilitate such a centralized auction and, as noted above with respect to  FIG. 2 , an auction service computing device  200  may implement an auction engine  202 , an operating system  204 , and/or any other software or hardware component configured to operate and/or otherwise facilitate such an auction. In some examples, the user computing device  300  of  FIG. 3  may access a website or other interface of the auction via a browser. In other examples, the user computing device  300  may include an auction application  302  usable to interact with the auction engine  202  of the auction service computing device  200 , an operating system  304 , and/or any other software or hardware component configured to enable a bidder and/or a receiver to participate in such an auction. 
     User computing device  300  can include or be connected to a user interface  306 , which can be similar to or the same as user interface  138 . The user interface  306  can include various types of output devices and/or input devices described above with reference to user interface  138 . The user interface  306  can also include one or more input/output (I/O) interfaces to allow user computing device  300  to communicate with input, output, or I/O devices. Examples of such devices can include components of user interface  306  such as user-operable input devices and output devices described above with reference to user interface  138 . 
     The user computing device  300  can include one or more processing unit(s)  308 , which can be similar to or the same as processing unit(s)  128 . Processing units  308  can be operably coupled to the I/O interface and/or other user interface(s)  306 , as well as to at least one computer-readable media  310 , discussed below. Processing unit(s)  308  can include, e.g., processing unit types described above such as CPU- or GPGPU-type processing unit(s). In some examples, processing unit(s)  308  can include or be connected to a memory  312 , e.g., a RAM or cache. 
     In some examples, computer-readable media  310  of the user computing device  300  can be similar to or the same as computer-readable media  130 , and can store a plurality of modules of the auction application  302 . The computer-readable media  310  can also store the operating system  304 , and the operating system  304  may be similar in function and operation to the operating system  204  described above with respect to auction service computing device  200 . Processing unit(s)  308  can be configured to execute modules of the plurality of modules of the auction application  302 . For example, computer-executable instructions and/or other computer program instructions  314  stored within a data store  316  of the computer-readable media  310  can upon execution configure a computer such as a user computing device  300  to perform operations described herein with reference to the modules of the plurality of modules. The modules stored in the computer-readable media  310  can include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing units  308 , cause the one or more processing units  308  to perform operations described below. 
     In some examples, data store  316  can include data storage, structured or unstructured, such as a database (e.g., a Structured Query Language, SQL, or NoSQL database) or data warehouse. In some examples, data store  316  can include a corpus or a relational database with one or more tables, arrays, indices, stored procedures, and so forth to enable data access. Data store  316  can store data for the operations of processes, applications, components, or modules stored in computer-readable media  310  or computer instructions in those modules executed by processing unit(s)  308 . In some examples, the computer program instructions  314  stored in the data store  316  may comprise instructions corresponding to processes described herein or to other software executable by processing unit(s)  308 . 
     The user computing device  300  can also include a communications interface  318 , which can be similar to or the same as communications interface  136 . For example, communications interface  318  can include a transceiver device such as a network interface controller (NIC) to send and receive communications over the network  110  (shown in phantom), e.g., as discussed above. As such, the user computing device  300  can have network capabilities. For example, the user computing device  300  can exchange data with the computing devices  102  and/or with one or more additional computing devices  104  via one or more network(s)  110 , and in some examples, the user computing device  300  can receive data from one or more data source(s) (not shown) via one or more network(s)  110 . 
     In some examples, the processing unit(s)  308  can access the module(s) on the computer-readable media  310  via a bus  320 , which can be similar to or the same as bus  132 . User interface  306  and communications interface  318  can also communicate with processing unit(s)  308  via bus  320 . The modules of the auction application  302  stored on computer-readable media  310  can include one or more modules (e.g., shell modules, or API modules) which are illustrated as a dashboard module  322  and a payment module  324 . In the auction application  302 , the number of modules can vary higher or lower, and modules of various types can be used in various combinations. For example, functionality described associated with the illustrated modules can be combined to be performed by a fewer number of modules or APIs or can be split and performed by a larger number of modules or APIs. 
     Example functionality associated with the modules  322  and  324  of the auction application  302  will be described in greater detail below with respect to example auctions. However, in some example systems of the present disclosure, such as systems including a user computing device  300  configured for use in a centralized auction facilitated by one or more central servers or other central computing device(s)  102 , the dashboard module  322  may be configured to receive a bid for a particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items from a bidder of a plurality of bidders. For example, the dashboard module  322  may control a display or other user interface  306  of the computing device  300  to provide a dashboard, such as the dashboard  140  ( FIG. 1 ) to a bidder during an auction. Such a dashboard may provide the bidder with information related to a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items available in an ongoing auction, and such information may include, for example, a current counter value and a number of items remaining and/or otherwise available in the auction. The bidder may enter, via a data entry field of the dashboard, a number indicating a particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items that the user wishes to bid on and/or otherwise purchase during the auction. The bidder may also provide an input via a button, an additional data entry field, and/or other control of the dashboard, and such input may facilitate the submission of a bid for the particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items at the currently active counter value. Although not described with respect to  FIG. 2 , it is understood that the computing device  200  may also include a similar dashboard module, and such a dashboard module may control a display or other user interface  206  of the computing device  200  to provide a dashboard, such as the dashboard  148  ( FIG. 1 ) to an auctioneer or other user of the computing device  200  during an auction. 
     With continued reference to  FIG. 3 , the dashboard module  322  may also generate a dashboard providing information useful to the bidder in generating a bid for a particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items. For example, as noted above, such a dashboard may include the counter value that is currently active, and the number of items remaining in the auction. Such a dashboard may also include various additional tools enabling the bidder to request information related to, for example, items available during the present auction, and/or any other information that may be useful to the bidder in placing a bid during the auction. Such a dashboard may further include information such as the transaction history described with respect to  FIG. 1 . 
     In some example systems of the present disclosure, such as systems including a user computing device  300  configured for use in a centralized auction facilitated by one or more central servers or other central computing device(s)  102 , the payment module  324  may be configured to provide and/or facilitate providing electronic payment between the bidder and the receiver. In examples in which the user computing device  300  comprises a computing device of a bidder who must make a payment as a result of the outcome of the auction, the payment module  324  may be configured to enable the bidder to provide payment in the amount determined during the auction, and to route such payment to a bank account and/or other account of the party receiving such payment. As noted above with respect to  FIG. 2 , such amounts may be determined by the payment module  230  of the auction service computing device  200 . 
     Additional Illustrative Environment 
     As noted above, the example system  100  of  FIG. 1  may comprise a system for use in a centralized auction. In such a centralized auction, one or more computing devices  102 ,  200  may operate and/or otherwise facilitate an auction for the purchase of a plurality of substantially indistinguishable (e.g., divisible) items according to various examples described herein. Additionally, one or more computing devices  104 ,  300  may implement an auction application  302 , an operating system  304 , and/or any other software or hardware component configured to enable a bidder and/or a receiver to participate in such a centralized auction. 
       FIG. 4 , on the other hand, illustrates an environment  400  comprising a system for use in a decentralized or “peer-to-peer” auction. In such a decentralized auction, the one or more computing devices  102 ,  200  described above with respect to  FIGS. 1 and 2  may be omitted. Instead, one or more computing devices  402 ( 1 ) . . .  402 (N) (representing computing devices  104  and referred to singularly or collectively herein using reference  402 ) may operate and/or otherwise facilitate an auction for the purchase of a plurality of substantially indistinguishable (e.g., divisible) items according to various examples described herein. For example, users  404 ( 1 ) . . .  404 (N) (e.g., bidders) may utilize a respective one of the computing devices  402  to enter a bid and/or otherwise participate in a decentralized auction for the purchase of a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items provided by a receiver. In such examples, each of the computing devices  402  may implement an auction application, an operating system, and/or any other software or hardware component configured to enable a bidder and/or a receiver to participate in such a decentralized auction. 
     Details of an example computing device  402 ( 1 ) are illustrated at inset  406 . The details of example computing device  402 ( 1 ) can be representative of others of computing device(s)  402 . However, each of the computing device(s)  402  can include additional or alternative hardware and/or software components. Computing device  402 ( 1 ) can include one or more processing unit(s)  408  operably connected to one or more computer-readable media  410 , e.g., via a bus  412 . Some examples of processing unit(s)  408  are discussed above with reference to processing unit(s)  114 . Some examples of computer-readable media  410  are discussed above with reference to computer-readable media  116 . For example, computer-readable media  410  can include one or more computer storage media. Some examples of bus  412  are discussed above with reference to bus  118 . 
     Computer-readable media  410  can store, for example, computer-executable instructions, an operating system, and/or other computer program instructions. The computer-readable media  410  can also store one or more module(s)  414  associated with an auction of the present disclosure, and/or other modules, programs, or applications that are loadable and executable by processing unit(s)  418 . Some examples of modules  414  are discussed above with reference to modules  120  and  134 . 
     Computing device  402  can also include one or more communications interfaces  416  connected via the bus  412  to processing unit(s)  408  to enable wired or wireless communications between computing device(s)  402  and other networked computing devices  402  involved in one or more auctions or other computing functions over network(s)  110 . Some examples of communications interfaces  416  are discussed above with reference to communications interface(s)  122 . 
     In some examples, computing device  402  can include a user interface  418  connected via the bus  412  to processing unit(s)  408 . For example, computing device  402 ( 1 ) can include a user interface  418  configured to enable a user  404 ( 1 ) of the computing device  402 ( 1 ) to control or otherwise interact with one or more of the computing devices  402  via the network(s)  110 . Some examples of user interfaces  418  are discussed above with reference to user interface  124 . 
     Additionally, any of the computing devices  402  described herein may be configured to provide one or more dashboards  420  or other user interfaces, such as via a display or other user interface of the computing device. As illustrated with respect to the computing device  404 ( 1 ) of  FIG. 4 , an example dashboard  420  may provide a variety of information and functionality to a user  404 ( 1 ) including, among other things, one or more tools  422 ( 1 ),  422 ( 2 ),  422 ( 3 ) (collectively, “tools  422 ”) enabling a user  404  to perform various operations before, during, and/or after an example auction. For example, the dashboard  420  may include a first tool  422 ( 1 ) comprising a data entry field configured to receive an input from the user  404 . Such a data entry field may be configured to receive an input indicating, for example, a particular quantity of items that the user  404  wishes to bid on and/or otherwise purchase during an auction. The dashboard  420  may also include a second tool  422 ( 2 ) configured to receive another input from the user  404 . In particular, once the user  404  has entered a desired quantity of items in the data entry field of the tool  422 ( 1 ), the user may touch, click, and/or otherwise provide an input via the second tool  422 ( 2 ) to enter a corresponding bid and/or purchase during the auction. Additionally, the dashboard  420  may include one or more additional tools providing additional functionality to the user  404 . Such additional tools  422 ( 3 ) may enable the user  404  to, for example, request access to additional information related to the item or items available in the auction, contact an underwriter associated with the receiver providing the items available in the auction, request that the current counter value be held for a certain period of time, and/or perform any number of additional operations associated with the auction and/or the items available. 
     Such an example dashboard  420  may also provide information  424  to the user  404  of the computing device  402 . For example, such information  424  may include, among other things, a real-time counter value corresponding to the auction, the number of substantially indistinguishable items remaining in the auction, names or other information indicating one or more additional participants in the auction, the total number of substantially indistinguishable items already purchased by the particular user  404 , and/or the total amount of money or other currency that the particular user  404  has already spent in the auction. The dashboard  420  may also provide additional information  426  associated with the auction, and such additional information  426  may include, for example, a chart or other visual representation of a transaction history specific to the particular user  404 . The dashboard  420  may be similar to and/or the same as the dashboard  140  ( FIG. 1 ) described above. Additionally, an example dashboard  420  may be provided to, and may be tailored to, a particular bidder and/or a particular receiver during an auction. 
     Additional Illustrative Components 
       FIG. 5  is an illustrative diagram that shows example components of a computing device  500 , which can be similar to or the same as one or more of computing device(s)  402 , and which can be a computing device configured to operate and/or otherwise facilitate a decentralized auction for a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items according to various examples described herein. Computing device  500  can implement an auction engine  502 , an operating system  504 , and/or any other software or hardware component configured to operate such an auction. 
     Computing device  500  can include or be connected to a user interface  506 , which can be similar to or the same as user interface  418 . The user interface  506  can include various types of output devices and/or input devices described above with reference to user interface  418 . The user interface  506  can also include one or more input/output (I/O) interfaces to allow computing device  500  to communicate with input, output, or I/O devices. Examples of such devices can include components of user interface  506  such as user-operable input devices and output devices described above with reference to user interface  418 . 
     The computing device  500  can include one or more processing unit(s)  508 , which can be similar to or the same as processing unit(s)  408 . Processing units  508  can be operably coupled to the I/O interface and/or other user interface(s)  506 , as well as to at least one computer-readable media  510 , discussed below. Processing unit(s)  508  can include, e.g., processing unit types described above such as CPU- or GPGPU-type processing unit(s). In some examples, processing unit(s)  508  can include or be connected to a memory  512 , e.g., a RAM or cache. 
     In some examples, computer-readable media  510  of the computing device  500  can be similar to or the same as computer-readable media  410 , and can store a plurality of modules of the auction engine  502 . The computer-readable media  510  can also store the operating system  504 , and the operating system  504  may be similar in function and operation to the operating system  304  described above with respect to user computing device  300 . Processing unit(s)  508  can be configured to execute modules of the plurality of modules of the auction engine  502 . For example, computer-executable instructions and/or other computer program instructions  514  stored within a data store  516  of the computer-readable media  510  can upon execution configure a computer such as a computing device  500  to perform operations described herein with reference to the modules of the plurality of modules. The modules stored in the computer-readable media  510  can include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing units  508 , cause the one or more processing units  508  to perform operations described below. 
     The computing device  500  can also include a communications interface  518 , which can be similar to or the same as communications interface  416 . For example, communications interface  518  can include a transceiver device such as a network interface controller (NIC) to send and receive communications over the network  110  (shown in phantom), e.g., as discussed above. As such, the computing device  500  can have network capabilities. For example, the computing device  500  can exchange data with various other computing devices  402  via one or more network(s)  110 , and in some examples, the computing device  500  can receive data from one or more data source(s) (not shown) via one or more network(s)  110 . 
     In some examples, the processing unit(s)  508  can access the module(s) on the computer-readable media  510  via a bus  520 , which can be similar to or the same as bus  412 . User interface  506  and communications interface  518  can also communicate with processing unit(s)  508  via bus  520 . The modules of the auction engine  502  stored on computer-readable media  510  can include one or more modules (e.g., shell modules, or API modules) which are illustrated as a communication module  522 , an encryption module  524 , a counter module  526 , a matching module  528 , a payment module  530 , a dashboard module  532 , and a compression module  534 . In the auction engine  502 , the number of modules can vary higher or lower, and modules of various types can be used in various combinations. For example, functionality associated with the illustrated modules can be combined to be performed by a fewer number of modules or APIs or can be split and performed by a larger number of modules or APIs. 
     Example functionality associated with the modules  522 ,  524 ,  526 ,  528 ,  530 , and  534  of the auction engine  502  will be described in greater detail below with respect to example auctions. Such functionality may be substantially similar to and/or the same as the functionality described above with the communication module  222 , encryption module  224 , counter module  226 , matching module  228 , payment module  230 , and the compression module  232  of the auction service computing device  200  shown in  FIG. 2 . Additionally, the functionality of the dashboard module  532  may be substantially similar to and/or the same as the functionality described above with respect to the dashboard module  322  of the user computing device  300  shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     Illustrative Processes 
       FIG. 6A  is a flow diagram that illustrates an example method  600  for operating and/or otherwise facilitating an example one-sided auction for the purchase of a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items. The example auction associated with the method  600  may comprise either a centralized auction or a decentralized auction. Accordingly, the auction associated with the method  600  may be performed, at least in part, using either the system illustrated in  FIG. 1 , and/or one or more components thereof, or the system illustrated in  FIG. 4 , and/or one or more components thereof. In particular, the example functions shown in  FIG. 6A  and other flow diagrams and example processes herein can be implemented on or otherwise embodied in one or more computing device(s)  102 ,  104 , or  402 . For example, in a centralized auction, such as an auction performed and/or facilitated by the system shown in environment  100 , the functions shown in  FIG. 6A  and other flow diagrams and example processes herein can be implemented using software running on one or more of the computing devices  102 ,  200 ,  104 ,  300 . Alternatively, in a decentralized auction, such as an auction performed and/or facilitated by the system shown in environment  400 , one or more of the functions of method  600  may be performed by one or more of the computing devices  402   500 , and the computing devices  102 ,  200  may be omitted. 
     The order in which the operations are described in each example flow diagram or method is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described operations can be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement each method. Moreover, the operations in each of  FIGS. 6A-6E  can be implemented in hardware, software, and/or a combination thereof. In the context of software, the operations represent computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause one or more processors to perform the recited operations. In the context of hardware, the operations represent logic functions implemented in circuitry, e.g., datapath-control and finite-state-machine sequencing functions. 
     In some examples, at block  602  one or more bidders wishing to participate in an auction may provide information associated with the bidder and/or otherwise identifying at least one of the bidder and a computing device  300 ,  500  of the bidder. For example, the one or more bidders may enter such information via the electronic device  300 ,  500 . In some examples, the dashboard module  322  of the user computing device  300  may receive such information from a bidder, and the dashboard module  322  may provide such information to the communication module  222  of the auction service computing device  200 . Alternatively, in a decentralized auction, the communication module  522  of the computing device  500  may receive such information from the bidder. Such information may include, for example, a name, address, Social Security Number, Employer Identification Number, bank account number, telephone number, email address, and/or other information noted herein describing the bidder and/or the computing device  300 ,  500  of the bidder. Such information may be provided by the bidder in order to, for example, register for the auction. 
     Further, at block  602 , one or more of the receivers wishing to provide an item for auction may also provide information. Such information may be associated with the receiver and/or with a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items being provided by the receiver for the auction. For example, the one or more receivers may enter such information via a respective electronic device  300 ,  500  of the receiver. In some examples, the dashboard module  322  of the user computing device  300  may receive such information from a receiver, and the dashboard module  322  may provide such information to the communication module  222  of the auction service computing device  200 . Alternatively, in a decentralized auction, the communication module  522  of the computing device  500  may receive such information from the receiver. Such information may include information describing a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items being provided by the receiver for the auction. As noted above, such substantially indistinguishable items may comprise any divisible goods or other items having substantially the same configuration, physical characteristics, and/or value (e.g., shares, commodities, offices in an office space, debt, raffle tickets, tokens, etc.). Accordingly, in examples in which the plurality of substantially indistinguishable items comprises a block of stock shares, such information may include the company or other entity to which the shares correspond, the number of shares being offered in the auction, the class of shares (e.g., voting, non-voting, etc.), the current stock price as listed on a public market exchange (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange), a per-share reserve price associated with the block of shares, etc. Alternatively, in another example in which the plurality of substantially indistinguishable items comprises a commodity such as wheat, sugar, coffee, cocoa, gold, or oil, such information may include the type of commodity (e.g., wheat, sugar, coffee, etc.), the amount of the commodity being offered in the auction, a reserve price per unit of the commodity, a country/state/region/farm/mine of origin, etc. Such information may also include any other information descriptive of the particular item or items provided for auction by the receiver. 
     At block  604 , the method may include generating a series of decreasing counter values. Such counter values may comprise respective proxies for the strike price, matching price, and/or other per-item price corresponding to the plurality of substantially indistinguishable items provided for sale during the auction. For example, during the auction the counter module  226  of the auction service computing device  200  may generate an initial counter value, and may continue to generate a series of counter values that decrease over time during the auction. Alternatively, in a decentralized auction the series of decreasing counter values may be generated by the counter module  526  of the computing device  500  of the bidder and/or the receiver at block  610 . 
     In some examples, the counter values generated at block  604  may decrease at a substantially constant rate. Alternatively, the counter values generated at block  604  may decrease at a variable rate. Such a rate may vary depending on, for example, the difference between the counter value when a first bid is received and a reserve price submitted by the receiver. For example, if the difference (e.g., a spread value) between a bid and such a reserve price is equal to $200, and the particular counter value active when the bid is received is equal to $500, the counter values generated by the counter module  226 ,  526  may decrease at a relatively fast rate. However, as the counter value decreases such that it approaches the spread value of $200 and/or as the counter value approaches the reserve price, counter module  226 ,  526  may decrease the rate at which the counter value decreases until the counter value is equal to either the spread value or the reserve price. 
     At block  606 , the method may include sending, transferring, and/or otherwise providing various information to the bidders participating in the auction. For example, during a centralized auction the communication module  222  of the computing device  102  may provide one or more of the decreasing counter values generated at block  604  to the respective computing devices  102  of the bidders participating in the auction. At block  606 , the communication module may also provide, among other things, the current counter value, the number of the substantially indistinguishable items currently remaining and/or otherwise available in the auction, the total amount of money or other currency already spent by the particular bidder during the current auction, a transaction history of the particular bidder, and/or any of the other information described herein with respect to, for example, the dashboard  140  ( FIG. 1 ). Alternatively, in a decentralized auction the counter module  526 , dashboard module  532 , and/or the user interface  506  may provide such information to the bidder. In such auctions, such information may include, for example, any of the information described above with respect to the example dashboard  420  ( FIG. 4 ). 
     At block  608 , the method may include receiving a bid for a particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items from at least one bidder of a plurality of bidders participating in the auction. For example, the bidder may enter such a bid using the dashboard module  322  of the auction application  302  operable on the user computing device  300 . The communications interface  318  may then provide the bid to the communication module  222  of the auction service computing device  200 . Alternatively, in a decentralized auction the bidder may enter such a bid using the dashboard modules  532  operable on the computing device  500  being used by the bidder. At block  608 , the bid may be received during the auction, and the bid may comprise the particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items that the bidder wishes to purchase at the particular counter value that is active when the bid was received (e.g., at block  608 ). 
     At block  610 , the method may include matching the bidder and the particular quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items that the bidder wishes to purchase at least partially in response to the bid received at block  608 . In example embodiments, the matching module  228  may match the bidder and the particular quantity at block  610  using the information received at block  602 . Such information may identify the bidder and/or the computing device  104 ,  402  of the bidder, and the matching module  228  may use such information to link and/or otherwise associate the bid with bidder and/or the computing device  104 ,  402  for accounting and/or other auction-related purposes at block  610 . For example, during the auction the matching module  228  of the auction service computing device  200  may monitor the series of decreasing counter values generated by the counter module  226 , and may link a particular bid received at block  608  with the corresponding counter value that is active when the bid was received. As a result, the per-item purchase price for the quantity of substantially indistinguishable items identified in the bid will be the corresponding counter value identified by the matching module  228 . Alternatively, in a decentralized auction the matching module  528  of the computing device  500  may monitor the series of decreasing counter values generated by the counter module  526 , and may link a particular bid received at block  608  with the corresponding counter value that is active when the bid was received. As a result, the per-item purchase price for the quantity of substantially indistinguishable items identified in the bid will be the corresponding counter value identified by the matching module  528 . In some examples, such matching may include providing an electronic message or other notification to the bidder and/or to the receiver associated with the plurality of substantially indistinguishable items. 
     At block  612 , the method may further include removing the particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items, identified in the bid received at block  608 , from the auction based at least partly on the matching described above with respect to block  610 . For example, the matching module  228 ,  528  may allocate the particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items to the bidder providing the bid at block  608 , and the particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items may no longer be visible and/or otherwise available to any of the other bidders participating in the auction. As noted above, the particular bidder providing the bid received at block  608  may remain in the auction even after the particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items are removed from the auction at block  612 . 
     In such examples, the auction may continue until, for example, all of the substantially indistinguishable items provided by the receiver have been matched with corresponding bidders, until the counter value has decreased to a value less than or equal to a reserve price specified by the receiver, or until the counter value reaches a predetermined threshold value such as zero. Accordingly, at block  614 , the method may include determining a number of the substantially indistinguishable items currently remaining in the auction. For example, at block  614  the matching module  228 ,  528  may calculate or otherwise determine a difference between the quantity of substantially indistinguishable items originally provided by the receiver and the quantity of items matched to the bidder at block  610 , and the difference may comprise the number of the substantially indistinguishable items remaining in the auction. It is understood that, in some examples, such a difference may also be determined at block  614  between a cumulative and or total number of substantially indistinguishable items purchased by the bidders participating in the auction and the total number of substantially indistinguishable items provided by the receiver. In some examples, at least one of the operations described above with respect to blocks  610 ,  612 , and  614  may be performed at least partially in response to receiving the bid at block  608 . 
     At block  616 , the method may include sending, transferring and/or otherwise providing various additional information to the bidders participating in the auction. For example, at block  616 , during a centralized auction the communication module  222  of the computing device  102  may provide one or more additional decreasing counter values generated at block  604  to the respective computing devices  102  of the bidders participating in the auction. At block  616 , the communication module  222  may also provide, among other things, the current counter value, the number of the substantially indistinguishable items currently remaining and/or otherwise available in the auction (determined at block  614 ) to the respective computing devices of each of the bidders. At block  616 , the communication module  22  may also provide, to one or more particular bidders, the total amount of money or other currency already spent by the particular bidder during the current auction, a transaction history of the particular bidder, and/or any of the other information described herein with respect to, for example, the dashboard  140  ( FIG. 1 ). Alternatively, at block  616 , in a decentralized auction the counter module  526 , dashboard module  532 , and/or the user interface  506  may provide such additional information to the bidder. In such auctions, such additional information provided at block  616  may include, for example, any of the information described above with respect to the example dashboard  420  ( FIG. 4 ). Further, it is understood that in example auctions the computing device  102  may provide at least one of the total number of items remaining in the auction, the total number of items purchased by a bidder at a particular counter value, or the total number of shares offered by the receiver in the auction. In such examples, the computing device  104  of the bidder receiving such information may calculate or otherwise determine the number of remaining items, at block  614 , based on such information. 
     At block  618 , the method may include determining whether any of the substantially indistinguishable items are remaining in the auction. For example, at block  614  the matching module  228 ,  528  may monitor and/or otherwise track the number of remaining items determined at block  614 . At block  618 , if a quantity of substantially indistinguishable items remaining in the auction is greater than zero (block  618 —Yes), control may proceed to block  608 , and the auction may continue. Alternatively, if none of the substantially indistinguishable items are remaining in the auction (block  618 —No), control may proceed to block  620  and the auction may end. 
     One or more of the blocks  602 - 620  will now be described in greater detail below with respect to  FIGS. 6B-6E . As shown in  FIG. 6B , any of the information described above with respect to block  602  may be provided by the bidder or the receiver via a dashboard and/or other user interface operable on the respective computing device being utilized by the bidder or the receiver. Such information may be provided by the bidder or the receiver, and received as described above with respect to block  602 , before and/or during the auction. For example, one or more bidders (e.g., Alice, Bob, and Carla) may provide information at block  602  via respective dashboards  140 ( 1 ),  140 ( 2 ),  140 ( 3 ) generated and/or otherwise provided by the dashboard module  322  of the corresponding respective computing devices  104 ( 1 ),  104 ( 2 ),  104 ( 3 ) utilized by the bidders. Such information may be transferred to the computing device  102  of the auction service  106  via the network  110 . Alternatively, in a decentralized auction one or more of the bidders (e.g., Alice, Bob, and Carla) may provide such information at block  602  via dashboards  140 ( 1 ),  140 ( 2 ),  140 ( 3 ) generated and/or otherwise provided by the dashboard module  532  of the corresponding respective computing devices  104 ( 1 ),  104 ( 2 ),  104 ( 3 ) utilized by the bidders. 
     In any of the example embodiments described herein, such dashboards  140 ( 1 ),  140 ( 2 ),  140 ( 3 ) may include a variety of tools  142  operable to enable the bidder to provide information, request information, view information, and/or perform one or more additional functions associated with the auction. For example, the dashboards  140 ( 1 ),  140 ( 2 ),  140 ( 3 ) may include a search tool, a query box, a tool enabling the bidder to request further information with respect to the plurality of substantially indistinguishable items provided during the auction, and/or any of the other tools  142 ( 1 ),  142 ( 2 ),  142 ( 3 ) described above with respect to the dashboards  140  described with respect to  FIG. 1 . Such tools  142  may enable the bidder to place and/or change a bid associated with a particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items available in an auction, to request additional information associated with such items, to, for example, send a message the auction service  106 , and/or to perform any other tasks associated with the auction. For example, the various tools  142  illustrated in the dashboards  140 ( 1 ),  140 ( 2 ),  140 ( 3 ) of  FIGS. 6B-6E  may enable the respective bidders (e.g., Alice, Bob, and Carla) to enter bids and/or otherwise purchase particular respective quantities of the substantially indistinguishable items offered in the auction as described above with respect to block  608 . The dashboards  140 ( 1 ),  140 ( 2 ),  140 ( 3 ) may also include information  144  including the current counter value, the number of substantially indistinguishable items currently remaining in the auction, the time until the next decrement or decrease in the current counter value and/or any other information  144  described herein. For example, a series of decreasing counter values may be generated as described above with respect to block  604 , and such counter values and/or other information  144  may be provided to the bidders via the dashboards  140 ( 1 ),  140 ( 2 ),  140 ( 3 ) throughout the auction, as described with respect to blocks  606 ,  616 . 
     The dashboards  140 ( 1 ),  140 ( 2 ),  140 ( 3 ) may also provide a plurality of additional information  146 ( 1 ),  146 ( 2 ),  146 ( 3 ) to the respective bidders during the auction. For example, such additional information  146 ( 1 ),  146 ( 2 ),  146 ( 3 ) may include among other things, a transaction history that is specific to the respective bidder. In some examples, the transaction history may indicate the particular quantity of items previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by the bidder, the particular counter value at which the bidder was matched with the quantity of items, and an identifier that uniquely identifies the bidder. For example, as shown in the dashboard  140 ( 1 ) associated with an example ongoing auction, Alice has purchased a quantity of 5,000 shares at a counter value or per-share price of $60. In particular, the width of an identifier A along the X-axis of the illustrated transaction history indicates the particular quantity (5,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Alice, and the height of the identifier A along the Y-axis of the illustrated transaction history indicates the particular counter value ($60) at which the particular quantity of items/shares were purchased. Further, the identifier A may be color coded, shaded, hatched, labeled, and/or otherwise marked so as to uniquely identify Alice and/or to distinguish transactions made by Alice from transactions made by other bidders participating in the present auction and represented in the transaction history. 
     The various transaction histories provided by the respective dashboards  140 ( 1 ),  140 ( 2 ),  140 ( 3 ) may also indicate quantities of items previously purchased by other bidders in the auction, as well as the respective counter values at which the other bidders were matched with the respective quantities of items. In some examples, however, the identity of the other bidders participating in the auction may not be shared with the respective bidders. For example, while the transaction history provided to Alice in the dashboard  140 ( 1 ) may include the identifier A that uniquely identifies Alice, the transaction histories provided to Bob and Carol at this stage of the ongoing auction may omit the Alice-specific identifier A, and instead, may include a generic identifier B that does not identify Alice to Bob or Carol. Instead, the generic identifier B may indicate the particular quantity (5,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased during the ongoing auction, as well as the particular counter value ($60) at which the particular quantity of items/shares were purchased, without identifying Alice. Any such additional information  146  may be provided to the individual bidders at block  606  and/or block  616 . 
     Further, in example centralized auctions a dashboard module of the computing device  102  may provide a dashboard  148  to an auctioneer and/or other user of the computing device  102  and, as illustrated in  FIG. 6B , such a dashboard  148  may provide information  150 ,  152  including a global transaction history identifying each of the bidders participating in the ongoing auction. As will be described below, the transaction history included in the dashboard  148  may include identifiers corresponding to each of the purchases and/or matches made during the auction, and the identifiers included in the dashboard  148  may uniquely identify each of the bidders (e.g., Alice, Bob, and Carol) corresponding to the respective purchases and/or matches. For example, as shown in  FIG. 6B , at this stage of the example auction the example dashboard  148  includes the identifier A uniquely identifying Alice, and indicating the particular quantity (5,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Alice as well as the particular counter value ($60) at which the particular quantity of items/shares were purchased. Further, as shown in each of the dashboards  140 ,  148  illustrated in  FIG. 6B , the current counter value (generated at block  604 ) is $60 per share, and there are a total of 45,000 shares currently remaining and/or otherwise available in the ongoing auction. The number of remaining shares provided by the respective dashboards  140 ( 1 ),  140 ( 2 ),  140 ( 3 ) may be determined as described above with respect to block  614 . Additionally, the matching of bidders with a respective quantity of substantially indistinguishable items described above with respect to block  610 , and the removal of the respective quantity of substantially indistinguishable items described above with respect to block  612  may be reflected in both the information  144  and the transaction history provided by the respective dashboards  140 ( 1 ),  140 ( 2 ),  140 ( 3 ) shown in  FIGS. 6B-6E . 
     Additionally, in any of the example auctions described herein, one or more encryption modules of the present disclosure may be configured to generate encrypted information by encrypting information received from at least one of the bidder, the receiver, and the auction service. The encryption module may also store encrypted information within the computer-readable media and/or other memory of the electronic device on which the encryption module is operable. For example, any of the information received at block  602 , any information provided at blocks  606 ,  616  by way of one of the dashboards described herein, and/or any of the bids received at block  608  may be encrypted by the encryption module  224  of the computing device  102  upon receipt thereof. Such a computing device  102  may be in communication with the computing device  104 ( 2 ) of the receiver and with the computing device  104 ( 1 ) of the bidder. Alternatively, in a decentralized auction such information may be encrypted by the encryption module  524 . By encrypting information in this way, the encryption modules  224 ,  524  described herein may provide increased security with respect to information that is shared during the auction. Additionally, in any of the auctions described herein, the encryption modules  224 ,  524  and/or the compression modules  232 ,  534  may modify the various information, messages, requests, bids, asks, and/or other auction content described herein prior to transmitting such content using via the network  110 . For example, the compression modules  232 ,  534  may compress, zip, and/or otherwise modify such auction content, thereby generating modified auction content prior to transmission. Such modified auction content may have a reduced size, reduced bandwidth requirements, reduced memory requirement, and/or other such characteristic. As a result, such modified auction content may be transmitted across the network  110  more quickly, may reduce the bandwidth and/or other system resources required for transmission, and may reduce the memory requirements at one or more of the computing devices  200 ,  102 ,  104  associated with storing such content. As a result, generation and utilization of such modified auction content by the encryption modules  224 ,  524  and/or the compression modules  232 ,  534  may improve the efficiency of the systems described herein, and/or of the auction facilitated by such systems. 
       FIG. 6C  illustrates information provided during another stage of the ongoing auction described with respect to  FIG. 6B . As illustrated by each of the dashboards  140 ,  148  illustrated in  FIG. 6C , the current counter value has decreased to $40 per share. Additionally, due to a purchase made by Bob, there are currently 30,000 shares remaining and/or otherwise available in the auction. In particular, as shown in the dashboard  140 ( 2 ), Bob has purchased a quantity of 15,000 shares at a counter value or per-share price of $40. In particular, the width of an identifier C along the X-axis of the illustrated transaction history indicates the particular quantity (15,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Bob, and the height of the identifier C along the Y-axis of the illustrated transaction history indicates the particular counter value ($40) at which the particular quantity of items/shares were purchased. Further, the identifier C may be color coded, shaded, hatched, labeled, and/or otherwise marked so as to uniquely identify Bob and/or to distinguish transactions made by Bob from transactions made by other bidders (e.g., Alice) participating in the present auction and represented in the transaction history. 
     Additionally, while the transaction history provided to Bob in the dashboard  140 ( 2 ) may include the identifier C that uniquely identifies Bob, the transaction histories provided to Alice and Carol at this stage of the ongoing auction may omit the Bob-specific identifier C, and instead, may include a generic identifier D that does not identify Bob to Alice or Carol. Instead, the generic identifier D may indicate the particular quantity (15,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Bob during the ongoing auction, as well as the particular counter value ($40) at which Bob purchased the particular quantity of items/shares, without identifying Bob. Any such information  144 ,  146  may be provided to the individual bidders at block  606  and/or block  616 . 
     Further, in example centralized auctions the dashboard  148  generated by the computing device  102  may include identifiers corresponding to each of the purchases and/or matches made during the auction, and the identifiers included in the dashboard  148  may uniquely identify each of the bidders corresponding to the respective purchases and/or matches. For example, as shown in  FIG. 6C , at this stage of the example auction the example dashboard  148  includes the identifier A uniquely identifying Alice, and indicating the particular quantity (5,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Alice as well as the particular counter value ($60) at which Alice purchased the particular quantity of items/shares. The dashboard  148  also includes the identifier C uniquely identifying Bob, and indicating the particular quantity (15,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Bob as well as the particular counter value ($40) at which Bob purchased the particular quantity of items/shares. 
       FIG. 6D  illustrates information provided during still another stage of the ongoing auction described with respect to  FIG. 6B . As illustrated by each of the dashboards  140 ,  148  illustrated in  FIG. 6D , the current counter value has decreased to $20 per share. Additionally, due to an additional purchase made by Alice, there are currently 20,000 shares remaining and/or otherwise available in the auction. In particular, as shown in the dashboard  140 ( 1 ), Alice has purchased a quantity of 10,000 shares at a counter value or per-share price of $20. In particular, the width of an identifier E along the X-axis of the illustrated transaction history indicates the particular quantity (10,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Alice, and the height of the identifier E along the Y-axis of the illustrated transaction history indicates the particular counter value ($20) at which the particular quantity of items/shares were purchased. Further, the identifier E may be color coded, shaded, hatched, labeled, and/or otherwise marked so as to uniquely identify Alice and/or to distinguish transactions made by Alice from transactions made by other bidders (e.g., Bob) participating in the present auction and represented in the transaction history. As shown in  FIG. 6D , the identifiers A and E may have the same color, shading, hatching, labeling, and/or other marking so as to uniquely identify Alice and/or to distinguish transactions made by Alice from those made by other bidders in the present auction. 
     Additionally, while the transaction history provided to Alice in the dashboard  140 ( 1 ) at this stage of the auction may include the identifiers A and E that uniquely identify Alice, the transaction histories provided to Bob and Carol at this stage of the ongoing auction may omit the Alice-specific identifiers A and E. Instead, the transaction histories provided to Bob and Carol at this stage of the auction may include another generic identifier F that does not identify Alice to Bob or Carol. Instead, the generic identifier F may indicate the particular quantity (10,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Alice during the ongoing auction, as well as the particular counter value ($20) at which Alice purchased the particular quantity of items/shares, without identifying Alice. Any such information  144 ,  146  may be provided to the individual bidders at block  606  and/or block  616 . 
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 6D , at this stage of the example auction an example dashboard  148  may include the identifier A uniquely identifying Alice, and indicating the particular quantity (5,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Alice as well as the particular counter value ($60) at which Alice purchased the particular quantity of items/shares. The dashboard  148  may also include the identifier C uniquely identifying Bob, and indicating the particular quantity (15,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Bob as well as the particular counter value ($40) at which Bob purchased the particular quantity of items/shares. Such an example dashboard  148  may further include the identifier E uniquely identifying Alice, and indicating the particular quantity (10,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Alice as well as the particular counter value ($20) at which Alice purchased the particular quantity of items/shares. 
       FIG. 6E  illustrates information provided during yet another stage of the auction described with respect to  FIG. 6B . As illustrated by each of the dashboards  140 ,  148  illustrated in  FIG. 6E , the current counter value has decreased to $10 per share. Additionally, due to a purchase made by Carol, there are currently 0 shares remaining and/or otherwise available in the auction, and accordingly, the auction may now be closed. As shown in the dashboard  140 ( 3 ), Carol has purchased the remaining quantity of 20,000 shares at a counter value or per-share price of $10. In particular, the width of an identifier G along the X-axis of the illustrated transaction history indicates the particular quantity (20,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Carol, and the height of the identifier G along the Y-axis of the illustrated transaction history indicates the particular counter value ($10) at which the particular quantity of items/shares were purchased. Further, the identifier G may be color coded, shaded, hatched, labeled, and/or otherwise marked so as to uniquely identify Carol and/or to distinguish transactions made by Carol from transactions made by other bidders (e.g., Bob and Alice) participating in the present auction and represented in the transaction history. 
     Additionally, while the transaction history provided to Carol in the dashboard  140 ( 3 ) at this stage of the auction may include the identifier G that uniquely identifies Carol, the transaction histories provided to Bob and Alice at this stage of the ongoing auction may omit the Carol-specific identifier G. Instead, the transaction histories provided to Bob and Alice at this stage of the auction may include another generic identifier H that does not identify Carol to Bob or Alice. Instead, the generic identifier H may indicate the particular quantity (20,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Carol during the auction, as well as the particular counter value ($10) at which Carol purchased the particular quantity of items/shares, without identifying Carol. Any such information  144 ,  146  may be provided to the individual bidders at block  606  and/or block  616 . 
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 6E , at this stage of the example auction an example dashboard  148  may include the identifier A uniquely identifying Alice, and indicating the particular quantity (5,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Alice as well as the particular counter value ($60) at which Alice purchased the particular quantity of items/shares. The dashboard  148  may also include the identifier C uniquely identifying Bob, and indicating the particular quantity (15,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Bob as well as the particular counter value ($40) at which Bob purchased the particular quantity of items/shares. Such an example dashboard  148  may further include the identifier E uniquely identifying Alice, and indicating the particular quantity (10,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Alice as well as the particular counter value ($20) at which Alice purchased the particular quantity of items/shares. The dashboard  148  may also include the identifier G uniquely identifying Carol, and indicating the particular quantity (20,000) of items/shares previously bid on and/or otherwise purchased by Carol as well as the particular counter value ($10) at which Carol purchased the particular quantity of items/shares. Because the auctions described herein are descending in nature, the dashboard  148  may comprise a chronological visual representation of the transactions that occurred during the auction. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 6B-6E , the bidders Alice, Bob, and Carol may remain in the ongoing auction until there are no further substantially indistinguishable items remaining in the auction, until the counter value has decreased to a value less than or equal to a predetermined reserve price, or until another predetermined stop condition has been met. Additionally, as part of any of the methods described herein, once a match has been made as described above with respect to block  610 , one or more of the computing devices may determine an amount required for the bidder to pay to the receiver and/or the auction service  106  for the particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items purchased by the respective bidder. Additionally, such methods may include providing a payment request to the bidder. For example, with reference to  FIG. 6B  and blocks  608 - 612 , once Alice enters a bid and/or otherwise purchases a quantity of 5,000 shares at a per-item counter value of $60, the payment module  230  of the computing device  102  may determine an amount due ($30,000) by multiplying the particular quantity (5,000) by the counter value ($60) that was active when the bid from Alice was received at block  608 . The computing device  102  may generate a payment request that includes the amount due, and may provide the payment request to Alice via the dashboard  140 ( 1 ). For example, the payment module  230  may provide such a payment request to Alice using, for example, communication module  222 . In particular, the communication module  222  of the computing device  102  may send such a payment request to the computing device  104 ( 1 ) being utilized by Alice, and the payment module  324  of the computing device  104 ( 1 ) may assist Alice in providing a corresponding payment to the receiver and/or to the auction service  106 , such as by an electronic fund transfer, an electronic check, and/or any other form of electronic payment. Such an electronic payment may be completed and/or otherwise facilitated based on further input from Alice via the dashboard  140 ( 1 ). Alternatively, in a decentralized auction one or more of the methods described above with respect to, for example, determining an amount due, providing a payment request, and/or providing a corresponding payment may be performed by the payment module  530 , communication module  522 , and/or other modules operable on at least one of the computing devices  104 ( 1 ),  104 ( 2 ),  104 ( 3 ). 
     As noted above, the example auctions described herein with respect to  FIGS. 6A-6E  may be governed by a series of descending counter values. As a result, in such auctions relatively high-value bids/purchases occur before relatively low-value bids/purchases. Accordingly, such descending price auctions result in more economically efficient outcomes than conventional auctions. Additionally, due to the processes described with respect to  FIGS. 6A-6E , the example auctions of the present disclosure minimize the number of bidder interactions needed to conduct the auction as compared to traditional public ascending price auctions and/or other traditional auction formats. For example, while traditional ascending price auctions require each bidder to confirm, at each counter value, whether they are participating in the auction and to state a particular quantity of items he or she wants to purchase (even if the particular quantity is zero at the current counter value), the example auctions of the present disclosure only require bidders to place bids when the counter value decreases to a per-item value at which the respective bidder wants to bid on a particular quantity of substantially indistinguishable items. Since the example auctions described with respect to  FIGS. 6A-6E  only require individual bidders to provide an input, such as via the respective dashboards  140 ( 1 ),  140 ( 2 ),  140 ( 3 ) when the bidder wishes to place a bid, such auctions reduce the overall amount of information transmitted over the network  110  over the course of the auction relative to traditional ascending price auctions. Consequently, the example auctions of the present disclosure also reduce the bandwidth and/or other network resources being utilized, as well as the amount of memory, processing unit, and/or other computing device resources required for storing and/or processing such information at the auction service computing device  102  and/or at the computing device  104 ( 1 ),  104 ( 2 ),  104 ( 3 ) of each respective bidder. 
     Additionally, in order to facilitate the example auctions described herein with respect to  FIGS. 6A-6E , the example computing devices  102 ,  104  of the present disclosure need only generate and/or determine a current counter value (e.g., block  604 ), a current number of items remaining in the auction (e.g., block  614 ), and/or the time at which to decrement and/or otherwise decrease the counter value. Computing devices used to facilitate traditional ascending price auctions, on the other hand, are required to generate and/or determine the above parameters as well as a number of additional parameters at each counter value, such as the number of shares demanded by each bidder. Thus, example auctions of the present disclosure taking place in centralized or decentralized environments require reduced levels of computational complexity. For example, in centralized environments of the present disclosure, such reduced complexity levels may advantageously reduce the resources requirements associated with the network  110 , the processing units  208 ,  308 , and/or the computer-readable media  210 ,  310  relative to traditional ascending price auctions. Such reduced complexity levels can be particularly advantageous in decentralized environments, such as the environment described with respect to  FIG. 4 , and may enable peer-to-peer applications operating on the respective computing devices  402  of the individual users/bidders  404  in such environments to reach mutual agreement in less time and utilizing reduced resources associated with the network  110 , the processing units  408 , and/or the computer-readable media  410 . Accordingly, the example embodiments described herein provide and/or result in meaningful improvements in the performance of the various networks  110  and computing devices  102 ,  104 ,  402 . 
     Example Clauses 
     A: A system comprising: one or more processing units; and computer-readable media operably connected to the one or more processing units, the computer-readable media storing a plurality of modules that, when executed by the one or more processing units, cause the one or more processing units to perform operations comprising: generating, by a counter module, a series of decreasing counter values during an auction of a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items; providing, by a communication module, the series of decreasing counter values to a computing device of a bidder participating in the auction; receiving, by the communication module, a bid for a first quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items from the computing device of the bidder at a first counter value of the series of decreasing counter values; determining, by a matching module, a remaining quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items remaining in the auction after removal of the first quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items from the auction; and providing, by the communication module, at least one of the remaining quantity or the first quantity to the computing device of the bidder, wherein the bidder remains an active participant in the auction. 
     B: The system of clause A, the operations further comprising: determining, by a payment module, an amount to be paid by the bidder for the first quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items; generating, by the payment module, a payment request comprising the amount to be paid; and providing, by the communication module, the payment request to the computing device of the bidder. 
     C: The system of clause A or B, further including an encryption module which, when executed, encrypts information received by the communication module about the bidder or the computing device of the bidder, thereby generating encrypted information, the communication module providing the at least one of the first quantity or the remaining quantity, and at least part of the encrypted information, to a computing device of an additional bidder participating in the auction. 
     D: The system of clause A, B, or C, wherein, further comprising instructions stored in the computer-readable media that, when executed, cause presentation of a user interface configured to display the remaining quantity, and a current counter value of the series of decreasing counter values, wherein the current counter value comprises a per-item price associated with the bid. 
     E: The system of clause D, wherein, the user interface is configured to display the remaining quantity and the current counter value with information, the information comprising: the first quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items, a particular counter value of the series of decreasing counter values at which the bid was received for the first quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items, and an identifier in association with the information, the identifier uniquely identifying the bidder. 
     F: The system of clause E, wherein, wherein the user interface is further configured to display the information with additional information, the additional information comprising: a second quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items purchased by an additional bidder, an additional counter value at which the additional bidder purchased the second quantity, and an additional identifier in association with the additional information, the additional identifier uniquely identifying the additional bidder. 
     G: A method, comprising: generating a series of decreasing counter values during an auction associated with a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items; providing the series of decreasing counter values to respective computing devices of a plurality of bidders participating in the auction; receiving a bid for a first quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items from a computing device of a bidder of the plurality of bidders and at a first counter value of the series of decreasing counter values, wherein the bid is received via a network to which the computing device of the bidder is connected; at least partly in response to receiving the bid, determining a remaining quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items remaining in the auction after removing the first quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items from the auction; and providing at least one of the remaining quantity or the first quantity to the respective computing devices of the plurality of bidders via the network. 
     H: The method of clause G, further including: receiving a request for information associated with the plurality of substantially indistinguishable items from the computing device of the bidder; and at least partly in response to receiving the request, prior to receiving the bid, and via the network, providing the computing device of the bidder with access to information associated with the plurality of substantially indistinguishable items. 
     I: The method of clause G or H, wherein the generating is performed by at least one of: the computing device of the bidder, or an auction service computing device, different from the computing device of the bidder, in communication with the respective computing devices of the plurality of bidders via the network. 
     J: The method of clause G, H, or I, further comprising receiving an additional bid from the bidder after receiving the first bid for the first quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items. 
     K: The method of clause G, H, I, or J, wherein the first counter value is a counter value of the series of decreasing counter values that is active when the bid is received. 
     L: The method of clause G, H, I, J, or K, wherein the bid comprises a first bid, the method further comprising receiving a second bid for a second quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items, wherein: the first bid is received when the first counter value of the series of decreasing counter values is active, the second bid is received from the computing device of the bidder, and the second bid is received when a second counter value of the series of decreasing counter values is active, the second counter value being lower than the first counter value. 
     M: The method of clause G, H, I, J, K, or L, further comprising providing information to the respective computing devices of the plurality of bidders via the network, the information indicating: the first quantity, and a particular counter value that is active when the bid is received. 
     N: The method of clause G, H, I, J, K, L, or M, wherein the information provided to the computing device of the bidder is different from the information provided to an additional computing device of an additional bidder of the plurality of bidders. 
     O: The method of clause G, H, I, J, K, L, M, or N, wherein the bid comprises an encryption key, the method further comprising authenticating the encryption key and verifying an identity of the bidder based at least partly on the authenticating. 
     P: A method, comprising: generating a first counter value during an auction associated with a plurality of substantially indistinguishable items; providing the first counter value to: a first computing device of a first bidder participating in the auction, and a second computing device of a second bidder participating in the auction; receiving a bid for a first quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items, at a per-item price equal to the first counter value, from the computing device of the first bidder; determining a remaining quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items remaining in the auction after removing the first quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items from the auction; generating a second counter value; and providing information to the first and second computing devices, the information comprising: the remaining quantity, and the second counter value. 
     Q: The method of clause P, wherein: the first and second counter values are generated by a computing device of an auction service in communication with the first and second computing devices via the network, and the second counter value is less than the first counter value. 
     R: The method of clause P or Q, wherein the first and second computing devices are in communication via a network, and one or more peer-to-peer applications operating on the first and second computing devices: generates the first and second counter values, determines the remaining quantity, causes display of a first transaction history on the first computing device, the first transaction history including a first identifier uniquely identifying the first bidder, and causes display of a second transaction history on the second computing device, the second transaction history including a second identifier different from the first identifier, the second identifier indicating the first quantity and the first counter value. 
     S: The method of clause P, Q, or R, further comprising: generating encrypted information by encrypting information received from at least one of the first and second computing devices; and storing the encrypted information within computer-readable media of an auction service computing device, wherein the auction service computing device is in communication with the first and second computing devices via a network. 
     T: The method of clause P, Q, R, or S, wherein the bid comprises a first bid, the method further comprising receiving a second bid for a second quantity of the substantially indistinguishable items from the second computing device, wherein: the first bidder is participating in the auction when the second bid is received, the first bid is received when the first counter value is active, and the second bid is received when the second counter value is active. 
     U: The method of clause P, Q, R, S or T, wherein the information provided to the first computing device is different from the information provided to the second computing device. 
     CONCLUSION 
     Various systems, environments, and/or methods described herein can permit efficient matching of bidders with respective quantities of substantially indistinguishable items during descending price auctions associated with such items. Due at least in part to each of the example auctions described herein being governed in accordance with a series of descending counter values, such auctions result in relatively high-value matches/purchases taking place before relatively low-value matches/purchases. As a result, example auctions of the present disclosure reduce the amount of time, effort, and other resources that bidders must invest in determining the quality of potential matches, resulting in more economically efficient outcomes than conventional auctions. Additionally, the auctions described herein may be facilitated with minimal computational complexity and with reduced input from the respective bidders, thereby lessening the bandwidth, memory, processing, and/or other resource requirements of the systems described herein. Further, due to the techniques described herein, information associated with such auctions may be transmitted across one or more networks in a more efficient and secure manner, and in a manner that reduces the bandwidth, memory, and/or other resource requirements of the systems described herein. As a result, the methods described herein improve the functionality of such systems. 
     Although the techniques have been described in language specific to structural features or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the features or acts described. Rather, the features and acts are described as example implementations of such techniques. 
     The operations of the example processes are illustrated in individual blocks and summarized with reference to those blocks. The processes are illustrated as logical flows of blocks, each block of which can represent one or more operations that can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In the context of software, the operations represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable media that, when executed by one or more processors, enable the one or more processors to perform the recited operations. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, modules, components, data structures, and the like that perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described operations can be executed in any order, combined in any order, subdivided into multiple sub-operations, and/or executed in parallel to implement the described processes. The described processes can be performed by resources associated with one or more computing device(s)  102 ,  104 , or  200  such as one or more internal or external CPUs or GPUs, and/or one or more pieces of hardware logic such as FPGAs, DSPs, or other types described above. 
     Conditional language such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, mean that certain examples include, while other examples do not include, certain features, elements and/or operations. Thus, such conditional language is meant to indicate that certain features, elements and/or operations are permissible but not required for one or more examples. Conjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y or Z” and “and/or,” unless specifically stated otherwise, is to be understood to present that an item, term, etc., can be either X, Y, or Z, or a combination thereof. 
     Any descriptions, elements or blocks in the flow diagrams described herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code that include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or elements. Many variations and modifications can be made to the above-described examples. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims. For instance, the examples described herein include variations in which elements or functions are deleted, or executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially synchronously or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved as would be understood by those skilled in the art.