P2P OTC Exchanges (e.g., Bisq, HodlHodl, LocalCoinSwap, etc.)
There are a number of person-to-person (P2P) over-the-counter (OTC) exchanges where Bitcoins can be bought and/or sold — with cash (💵), or online using a bank account or other payment method.
- Bisq client (💵) [NO KYC]← Non custodial. Uses Tor, automatically
- HodlHodl (💵, ⚡) [NO KYC]← Non custodial. Not available in the U.S.
- LocalCryptos (💵) [NO KYC]← Non custodial
- LocalCoinSwap (💵) [OPTIONAL KYC (i.e., your listing, your terms)]
- Local Lightning (💵, ⚡) [NO KYC]
- AgoraDesk (💵) [NO KYC]
- Counter.Network (💵) [OPTIONAL KYC]
- Wall Of Coins (💵) [NO KYC]
- Payfair (💵) [NO KYC]
- BuyCrypto.Today [NO KYC]
- BitQuick [NO KYC (when trx amount is under $400)]
- Remitano [NO KYC for Seller (only Buyer must KYC)]
- Totalcoin mobile app [NO KYC (other than phone number verification)]
- Mycelium Local Trader mobile app [Map] (💵) [NO KYC]
- CryptoMap.me (💵) [NO KYC]
- LocalBitcoins [KYC]← No more 💵 (in-person, cash trading)
- Paxful (💵) [KYC]
- Huobi OTC
- OTCBTC
- CGem/CryptoGem
- LiberalCoins
- CoinCola
- Giottus [KYC]
- WazirX [KYC]
- Bitzlato
- BuyCoins [KYC]
- SwapN>Go
- r/Cash4Cash ← Take seriously the risks and recommendations in the General Information PSA
- r/GiftCardExchange ← Take seriously the risks and recommendations in the GSX Safe Trading Guide
- r/BitMarket ← Take seriously the risks and recommendations in the GSX Safe Trading Guide
- BitHalo software [NO KYC]
- OpenBazaar (💵) [NO KYC]← Non custodial
Altcoin-only P2P Trading exchanges
- LocalMonero (💵) [NO KYC] ← “No Javascript” mode for use with Tor
- Dether (💵) [NO KYC]
- Local BCash (💵) [NO KYC]
- Ethfinex Trustless OTC
- Hubi
- KuCoin OTC
- Coinected
Aggregator/Search and Helper Sites
- ExchangeRates.Pro Real-time price comparison
Note: If you use one of the above P2P OTC trade “matchmaking” services, please trade with caution and do your own due diligence.
This list does not include exchanges not in English (e.g., 58Coin), deserted or defunct marketplaces (e.g., Cancoin), not-yet launched (e.g., OTCBoss, Zismo.io), ones that operate only through dark markets, or online-only DEX/decentralized exchanges.
Also, there are a number of variants that don’t fit the P2P OTC exchanges category:
- Physical stores (e.g., BitKonan’s Bitcoin Store Split and Zagreb, Croatia, House of Nakamoto Vienna, Austria, and IBEX / BuyBitcoin.London London, U.K.) and Trading spaces (e.g., Crypto Plug Inglewood, CA)
- Online stores (e.g., Rebiton [NO-KYC], CoinCorner [💳] [NO-KYC when £900 or less], CEX.io, Coinify, Jubiter, Bittylicious, BitIreland, Kuna.io Money, LiteBit.eu, Conio.com App, CryptoVoucher.io, GetSatoshi.org (⚡), BitQuick QuickBuy [NO KYC], Cash App and CoinMama)
- Gift card exchanges (e.g., CardCoins for paying with a non-reloadable, prepaid GIFT card (VISA/Mastercard/AMEX/Discover), Redeem, CryptoVoucher.io for paying with gift cards for numerous brands, and BitOf for paying with Amazon UK gift cards)
- Vouchers (e.g., Azteco, FastBitcoins, LibertyX and Rise Wallet)
- Vending (e.g., Bitcoin ATMs, Coinstar and SBB/Swiss Railway ticketing)
- Bill/Invoice swap services (e.g., Purse.io, Lamium, and PiixPay)
- OTC Trading Desks (e.g., dozens including Cumberland, SigOne, etc.)
Categories of P2P OTC
Even within the P2P OTC Exchanges category there are sub-categories: (Credit goes to Dave F of OTCBoss for describing the different categories and attributes.)
KYC’d OTC — P2P marketplaces (website, w/ escrow)
Impure OTC — P2P marketplaces (website, w/ escrow)
DEX/Decentralized P2P Exchanges (no website, mostly crypto-to-crypto)
- Bisq (buy/sell bitcoin using fiat or altcoin/token)
- Openbazaar
Pure OTC — Global P2P network of brokers (no website)
- OTCBoss (Technically P2P, but initially will be just B2B/Broker-to-broker)
Protect Your Privacy
One reason some people prefer to use a P2P OTC marketplace to buy and sell Bitcoin using cash (in-person/face-to-face) is to protect their privacy. But that’s just part of the solution. The following provide more information on how to protect your privacy when using Bitcoin:
Some of the sources for compiling the list of P2P OTC Exchanges:
[Update: Added in March 2019: Bitzlato, Payfair, TotalCoin, SwapN>Go, and Dether. April 2019: FastBitcoins, BitNob, Local Lightning, r/Cash4Cash and r/GiftCardExchange. May 2019: r/BitMarket, Bittylicious, BuyCrypto.Today, BitIreland, CryptoVoucher.io, and CoinCola. June 2019: BitHalo, OTCBTC, and KuCoin. July 2019: Counter.Network. August 2019: Coinected, and CryptoMap.me. September 2019: BuyCoins. October 2019: AgoraDesk. Removed MoonTrade. November 2019: Local Cryptos, and removed Local Ethereum.]
Additions, corrections, and other feedback welcome and can be submitted via e-mail, or in the corresponding post on Reddit.
