Bisq
Bisq: A decentralised bitcoin exchange network
It's worth looking into purchasing bitcoin without handing over your personal details to a trusted third party who has record keeping obligations. Let's dive in.
What is Bisq?
Bisq is a decentralised peer-to-peer exchange where you can buy and sell bitcoin. It is free and open source software that respects the privacy and dignity of the user.
Why Bisq?
- No registration required
- No KYC personal information required
- Self custody
- Private buying and selling
Handing over personal information to a trusted third party comes fraught with danger. Having your personal details including name, home address, email, phone number and government issued identification details on a database that contains how much bitcoin you've bought and sold is not a good idea.
Unfortunately, centralised exchanges are coerced by the government to keep this practice going. The only people that end up getting hurt (physically, financially, emotionally) by this regulation is everyday ordinary citizens. It is cruel, barbaric and anti-human. The practice needs to be stopped, but that goes against the government's interest from a taxation perspective.
Just recently, Coinbase, a large American exchange had their database compromised. You can read about it here.
Zack Whittaker
Using Bisq
The best way to get started with Bisq is to read through the getting started guide on the website.
Bisq
Getting started. Great documentation.
Download and install the software, back up your keys, create a payment account (ie, your fiat payment rail), make a trade.
Note, in order to make a trade for the first time, you will need some bitcoin to get started. This acts as a security deposit. If you don't already have some, consider buying $250-300 worth of bitcoin from someone at your local meetup. The other option is to use Bisq Easy, which has a $600USD limit and requires no security deposit.
People often get tripped up by having to add a fiat payment rail which obviously has KYC information attached to it. The difference is, there is no third party entity that is recording your name, address, identity and amounts you've purchased/sold on a central database. Sure, the seller will know who you are, but that's where it stops. The trade is conducted peer to peer, not peer to intermediary (who have all the record keeping requirements).
The downsides
The downside to using Bisq is liquidity. You may not find the amounts you're after, you may not find the right counter-party willing to trade on your terms. You will generally find more offers when the price of bitcoin is moving significantly up or significantly down.
When purchasing Bitcoin on Bisq, you may have to pay a premium. I recommend paying up to a 4% premium when purchasing.
Another downside to using Bisq is the possibility of having your bank account or payment method shut down for suspicious activity or transfers. The risk is small, but it can happen. You may wish to consider opening up a Revolut account to open yourself up to global trading partners.
Quick Notes
- The FAQ is a great resource to answer questions.
- Read the payment methods Wiki to see what's convenient for you
- Be as prompt as you can. Make transfers within the specified time. Use the mobile app to set alerts.
- Keep a good reputation.
- Back up your private keys / seed phrase.
Conclusion
I support the work of decentralised peer to peer exchanges such as Bisq. They act as an alternative to buying and selling bitcoin without using centralised exchanges. I would encourage you to buy and sell bitcoin the way it was meant to - peer to peer.
