This guide will be most useful to people who already own some bitcoin.
Maybe you dollar-cost average on Kraken; maybe you bought once on Coinbase years ago. Either way, as long as you’re withdrawing to a wallet you control, I wouldn’t try to dissuade you from continuing to use centralised exchanges.
There is, however, a case for diversifying.
Thanks to KYC (“know your customer”) regulation, centralised exchanges know your name, address, bank details, and purchase history. Perhaps they even required you to upload scans of your passport and a selfie photo to register, meaning they also know what you look like. Every sat you buy on a centralised exchange is permanently linked to your identity.
This guide is about buying bitcoin that isn’t.
Contents
Why bother with non-KYC bitcoin?
For me it’s both practical and ideological.
When you buy bitcoin on a regulated exchange, the data you hand over doesn’t stay in one place. It sits on a server somewhere and is occasionally leaked onto the internet. In the UK, exchanges now share your data directly with HMRC. This means it’s not enough to trust your chosen exchange. You also need to trust every third party and intermediary that they’re sharing your data with, including your government.
Consider any coins acquired via a centralised exchange as permanently tied to your real-world identity. If you later send, spend, or move those coins, chain analysis firms exist specifically to follow the trail - and their client list includes governments, law enforcement, and private companies.
None of this means you should stop using your preferred centralised exchange. I’m no purist; centralised exchanges are convenient and highly liquid. But there are good reasons to buy at least some of your bitcoin from other sources. Privacy around your own money is a reasonable thing to want, and Bitcoin is one of the few assets that makes it possible to save and transact without being surveilled.
Your options
There are more options than you might expect. Here’s a quick comparison of the main ones:
| Platform | Type | Model | Security deposit | Typical trade size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bisq | Desktop P2P (Tor) | 2-of-2 multisig escrow | ~15% BTC | Up to 0.0625 BTC |
| Bisq Easy (Bisq 2) | Desktop P2P (Tor) | Seller reputation system | No | Up to ~$600 |
| Peach Bitcoin | Mobile P2P | 2-of-2 multisig escrow | None | Up to ~CHF 1,000/day |
| RoboSats | Browser P2P (Tor) | Lightning hold invoices | ~3% Lightning bond | Up to 0.04 BTC |
| Vexl | Mobile social P2P | In-person / trusted network | None | Any (peer-agreed) |
A short tour of each:
- Bisq is the most battle-tested option. It’s a decentralised network that’s been running since 2016, accessible via a desktop application using Tor. The trade protocol uses 2-of-2 multisig escrow, and both buyer & seller post a security deposit on each trade. It’s a good choice for more experienced users making large buys, but the security deposit means you need some bitcoin to start. I explain the differences between Bisq and Bisq Easy in my full guide to buying on Bisq 👈
- Peach Bitcoin is the easiest and most accessible option in this list. It’s a peer-to-peer platform you can access via mobile app on iOS or Android. It also uses 2-of-2 multisig escrow but requires no security deposit from the buyer, making it accessible if you’re starting from zero. Trade sizes are smaller and liquidity is regional (strong in Europe).
- RoboSats is a browser-based exchange accessed via Tor, where the security model is a small Lightning hold-invoice “bond” rather than an on-chain deposit. It’s clever, fast, and doesn’t require an app install - but trades are capped at ~0.04 BTC and liquidity can be patchy outside peak hours, and in Europe more generally.
- Vexl is the odd one out: a mobile-first social network for finding people in your extended contact circle who’ll trade with you, typically in person. There’s no protocol-level escrow - you’re trusting the person - but if there are bitcoiners in your social network, it’s a fantastic option for cash buys. Much like Peach, iOS users will need to install it using Test Flight.
For a comprehensive, regularly updated comparison of no-KYC services beyond those I list here, kycnot.me is excellent.
Which is right for you?
There’s no single answer, but here’s roughly how I’d think about it:
- You already own some bitcoin, are not in a rush, and want to make large buys: try Bisq. The security deposit pays for itself in liquidity and trade size, particularly for Europeans.
- You’re starting from zero, or you want to make regular buys on-the-go: Peach is a great option, particularly if you’re newer to P2P trading and don’t mind a slightly larger markup in exchange for a quick trade.
- You know other bitcoiners or prefer trading face-to-face: by all means try Vexl! Alternatively attend a meetup, or contact a bitcoiner you know, and just buy privately that way.
You’re not locked into one choice. In fact, I’d recommend familiarising yourself with at least two options.
The freedom to choose
Much of the language around financial privacy has been deliberately poisoned. The framing is always the same: if you want privacy, you must have something to hide.
No. I exercise my right to buy and sell with my own money without being spied on. That’s it.
Bitcoin offers something genuinely unusual: a way to save money that doesn’t require anyone’s permission. No bank can freeze it. No exchange can lock your account because an algorithm flagged a transaction. No data breach can expose your entire financial history. But only if you actually use it that way. Bitcoin bought on a KYC exchange, left on that exchange, and sold on that exchange is just a bank account with extra steps.
Buying some of your bitcoin peer-to-peer lets you exercise a choice while that choice still exists.
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