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By Mat Di Salvo
Peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange LocalBitcoins. Image: Shutterstock
LocalBitcoins, one of the oldest and best-known Bitcoin exchanges, is closing after a decade of service, with the peer-to-peer platform citing the “ongoing very cold crypto-winter” as the reason for stopping operations.
The marketplace, which launched in 2012, allows users from 189 countries to trade Bitcoin by matching buyers with sellers and holding the cryptocurrency in escrow until both parties confirm the transaction—assuring no funny business with dodgy traders.
But now with it shutting up shop, what other P2P exchanges can you use? A P2P service means that the two parties interact directly with each other on their own terms without the need for third-party involvement.
Although LocalBitcoins is remarkably efficient and easy-to-use, other platforms exist. The following platforms provide a similar service that will allow you to interact directly with buyers or sellers to get a good price for your sats (or other digital assets.)
The world’s biggest crypto exchange has a P2P section where users can buy or sell a number of cryptocurrencies—including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and Binance Coin. Just like LocalBitcoins, the prices of the assets are labeled lowest to highest and users can interact directly with sellers from over 40 countries.
The service is very easy to use and quick—just like when spot trading on the platform, and the service offers more payment methods than LocalBitcoins (though it lacks some of what LocalBitcoins offers, such as PayPal.)
Paxful is one of the most popular P2P Bitcoin exchanges. The platform offers over 350 ways to buy and sell Bitcoin, and offers users a Bitcoin wallet.
The exchange also allows buyers and sellers to choose the location they want to shop in, the amount they want to spend, and if they want to make a transaction using another cryptocurrency (LocalBitcoins does not allow users to use cryptocurrency to buy Bitcoin.)
Users can buy Bitcoin using a number of digital assets on Paxful's P2P platform.
Paxful’s platform currently offers Bitcoin and stablecoins Tether and USD Coin and sign-uping up to the website is quick and easy.
Like Binance, Singapore-based Huobi is another giant cryptocurrency exchange which also offers a P2P service. And just like LocalBitcoins, it’s not complicated for even beginners to use.
The platform lists an impressive number of payment methods—including, surprisingly, some banks which have said they don’t allow customers to buy or sell crypto. But note that a trader using the P2P service must use the same details which match their Huobi account details.
Bisq is a private, open-source P2P platform that allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin—and only Bitcoin—using fiat currency without know your customer (KYC) procedures. That means you don’t have to hand over personally identifiable information, such as your name and address, before making a trade.
You have to download Bisq's desktop app to get started.
For those wanting complete decentralization, this is the platform: Most cryptocurrency trading platforms now require documentation to sign up, especially if fiat money is involved.
Deposits are held in multisig wallets—meaning the wallet is secured by various private keys, not just one—to protect buyers and sellers. User data is not stored anywhere but traders have to download the desktop app to use it.
Seychelles-based crypto exchange OKX also has a P2P service where users can buy and sell Bitcoin, Tether, Ethereum, USD Coin, and some other digital assets in their local currency.
Like other services on this list, OKX offers lots of payment methods and users are able to search through the long-list of currencies to find the best offers.
But users can only use fiat currency to make or receive payments—not crypto.
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