Formerly known as Bitsquare, Bisq is a peer-to-peer client for cryptocurrency exchanges. The main selling point of Bisq is that it’s a decentralized client rather than a website, and as such is extremely difficult to shut down in the event of a crackdown by a regulatory agency. In a world where centralized cryptocurrency exchanges are still not ubiquitous, bleeding-edge technology such as this is still very much in its infancy, and limited in use.
5.9
Score5.9
Score Android
Score iPhone
Location
Currencies
LanguagesEN
Buy with
Fees1%
AltcoinsYes
Margin tradingNo (Exchange does not support margin trading)
Trust scoreC
Beginner friendlyNo (Exchange is complex and difficult for beginners)
Stability3. Much (Exchange is stable, but it has a downtime in the high stakes)
FiatNo (The Exchange does not support Fiat currency like USD, EUR, etc ...)
APIYes (API is available for public to use)
Rest APIYes (The Exchange has Rest API support)
WebsocketNo (The Exchange does not have Websocket)
Mobile appNo (Exchange does not have a mobile app)
Credit cardNo (Exchange does not support credit cards)
ReferralNo (Exchange does not offer an affiliate program)
Two factor authentificationYes (The Exchange supports two factor authentication)
LendingNo (Exchange does not support lending)
Stop limitNo (Exchange does not support stop limit)
US licenceNo (Exchange don't have US licence for Money transmitter)
PGP supportNo (Exchange does not have PGP encryption)Let’s start off with this Bisq exchange review by explaining its most important feature – this cryptocurrency exchange is not a company, but a decentralized autonomous organization or, simply, DAO. It is a set of small code snippets featured in the underlying blockchain, forming an organization with distributed consensus and without the central point of failure. This fact governs the existence of some of Bisq’s key features – instant access, privacy and security. Furthermore, due to the fact that it is being community-developed and all of its source codes are publicly available to anyone, lack of transparency is out of the question. Anyone with some coding skill can review it and decide whether it’s trustworthy – and judging by the response of Bisq app users, it sure is.
On the other hand, slightly different operating concept might be a bit overwhelming for newcomers, as it bypasses the traditional bank system as a mediator. Furthermore, due to its core concept and customer base that is still growing, rather slow processing of transactions and low volumes are things that will surely be fixed with increased adoption. Also, due to its nature, it might not satisfy the more advanced day traders. However, given the fact that this community-driven application is still in early beta stage (latest release bears the mark 0.6), it is to expect that the final product will be of top quality. Even now, it is an excellent idea backed by professional and dedicated people who have come up with some very interesting features. Everything is explained in great detail in this exchange’s whitepaper, a link to which can be found on the website main page. But if you don’t want to get all technical, this review is the perfect way to do your research. Read on and see which cryptocurrency trading conditions you have to meet in order to start trading on Bisq trading interface.
Manuals for Bisq
When talking about trading conditions, it’s safe to say that the requirements are pretty low for both fiat currencies and any supported crypto coin. Trade limit varies on the selected fund transfer method, and it ranges from 0.25 BTC for bank-processed methods up to 1 BTC for cryptocurrencies used as deposit method. The selected method also denotes the total time needed for processing transactions. Some transaction methods offer nearly instant processing, while international options such as SEPA may take a couple of days before acquiring all clearances. As for the Bisq fees, they differ based on whether the user is offering coins, or attempting to acquire them. Basically, the average fee won’t go higher than the 0.2% of the amount that is being traded. Here we must emphasize that fees are applied for both creator and buyer of the certain offer. This is implemented in order to cover mandatory Bisq fees tied to the blockchain technology – transaction and mining fees, so that the order can be fully processed.
One more key difference between Bisq trading and traditional cryptocurrency exchange is the need for Bisq app to keep the offers available for other users. In other words, if you’ve created a specific offer where you attempt to sell, let’s say, 0.1 BTC, you’ll have to keep your computer connected to the Internet constantly until the moment someone picks up your order. If you do go offline, your order is removed from the market, but is placed again once you reconnect. This might be impractical for some users, but is mandatory due to the platform’s design. Bear in mind that, once the whole transaction procedure is completed, you don’t need to keep your computer online anymore. And one more thing before we move on – you can place offers with percentage-based prices of the selected Bisq crypto assets that change according to the average cryptocurrency prices on CoinMarketCap. That way, you’ll always have the best price, and will be able to sell your currency faster. After completing the trade, you just have to pull your crypto back to the corresponding cryptocurrency wallet, and you’re done – no hustle with banks, no lengthy approval procedures. Sounds interesting, right? We’ll teach you much more in the next paragraph of this review, so just keep reading!
Security rating of Bisq
After learning about Bisq trading interface and accompanying payment methods, it’s time to learn a thing or two about a very important feature – security. Since the cryptocurrency market is on a constant rise, with more and more funds being invested globally with each passing day, security and privacy of personal data is of outmost importance. Fortunately, due to the exquisite features embedded in the Bisq app, as well as due to the smart fundamental planning, trading with Bisq will keep your funds and data completely secure. Here’s why.
Since Bisq serves merely as a mediator between two parties that wish to exchange goods (in other words, cryptocurrencies), users are always in full control of both fiat and Bisq crypto assets. Trading application will never store any information about you or the amount of your funds, therefore it will only be present on the currency’s underlying blockchain. In order to commence trades, both parties are required to make a security deposit in case of any potential problems, thus making frauds extremely expensive and unprofitable. Furthermore, all funds and deposits that are included in trades are secured in multisig escrows that require verification of at least two network nodes. This, accompanied with the dispute handling based on decentralized, human-arbitrary system, ensures the ultimate safety of Bisq trading environment. We’ll be explaining concepts of arbitrators and security deposits later on in the article, but let’s first focus on privacy methods implemented in this cryptocurrency exchange.
The main thing that ensures privacy of each user is that no identity verification requirements are present. This means that, unlike other cryptocurrency trading platforms, here you won’t be asked to provide copies of your ID documents or other sensitive information. Furthermore, since it doesn’t have any central database, but rather a distributed one that is synced across all network nodes, stealing information or injecting false one in the system becomes virtually impossible. Since all changes on the network have to be verified by all participating nodes, imposters are easy to detect and exile from the network – that way, Bisq trading network keeps itself safe from attacks. Due to the fact that the project is built on top of Tor network, a top-class anonymous communication protocol, your actions will be invisible to others, regardless if you’re trading on Bisq Bitcoin, Ethereum or any other market. And finally, due to the fact that each transaction is encrypted, it can’t be hacked at all. As you can see, Bisq Bitcoin and all other markets are fully safe and secure, so trading here will surely be a joy. Now, let’s make a brief analysis of the platform’s unique features that will make you even more interested in this cryptocurrency exchange platform!
Review of Bisq
Bisq (formerly known as BitSquare) is a decentralized, peer-to-peer crypto-currency exchange. While this sounds good from the idealistic perspective of not allowing potentially dishonest exchanges to access your Bitcoin, it carries a few flaws with it. The speed of transactions is very slow, when compared to the more mainstream platforms, which can be easily explained by the way Bisq works. In tern, this leads to relatively low volumes and even order-placement activity. One can argue this is simply a product aimed at people willing to exchange cash for cryptocurrencies (without trading actively). The counter argument for that will be, that in order to realize the full benefits of this project, one would have to already be familiar with the world of crypto. While we like the idea behind this exchange, we would like to see what improvements can be made to it, before recommending it.
