P2P trading (peer-to-peer trading)

With P2P trading, you buy or sell bitcoin directly with another person rather than with a company, paying by bank transfer or in cash, for example. Decentralised software such as Bisq requires no registration and no KYCGlossaryKYC (Know Your Customer)The obligation of regulated providers to identify you before the business relationship starts and to ask, for example, about its purpose and, where necessary, the source of your money. In Germany, the legal basis is the Money Laundering Act (GwG).On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 3 – Buying Bitcoin →In the glossary →× check.^[1]

How trades are secured

Many P2P programs use a kind of escrow: the seller’s bitcoin sit in a multisigGlossaryMultisig (multi-signature)A wallet in which several keys jointly control the bitcoin – for example 2 of 3. If one key is lost or stolen, the bitcoin stays safe. In return, setting it up and backing it up is considerably more demanding.On the learning path: Stage 6 · Step 4 – Inheritance & emergency plan →In the glossary →× address and only go to the buyer once the seller confirms that the payment has arrived. In classic BisqProvider · ExchangeBisqDecentralised open-source exchange for person-to-person trading – no account, no identity check, no custody.No licence – open-source software without an operating company · reviewed Sept 2026Costs: Bisq 1: 0.15% maker / 1.15% taker in BTC; Bisq Easy: no trading fee … (as of Sept 2026)On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 1 – Ways to get Bitcoin →Our profile →Official website ↗×, both sides also put up a security deposit; Bisq itself never holds funds.^[1],[2] Not every platform works this way: in Bisq Easy, the buyer pays first and relies on the seller’s reputation.^[3]

Pros and cons

Your identity isn’t stored with any exchange, and the bitcoin go straight into your own wallet. In return, you take on more effort and risk:

• Fraud by the counterparty, such as fake payment receipts or payments that are reversed.
• Price: sellers often charge a premium over the market price.
• Tax still applies without KYC: keep your purchase records yourself, otherwise it will be hard to prove your gain or, in Germany, the holding periodGlossaryHolding period (speculation period)In Germany, the gain from selling privately held bitcoin is tax-free if more than one year passes between purchase and sale (§ 23 EStG, as of September 2026). Each purchase has its own holding period.On the learning path: Stage 6 · Step 3 – Bitcoin & tax →In the glossary →×.
• Law: the line is trading as a business. According to BaFin, Germany’s financial regulator, anyone who offers the exchange on an ongoing basis and for profit needs authorisation under the EU’s MiCA regulation (as of September 2026).^[4]

For your first purchase, a regulated provider is usually simpler. Platforms, process and checklist: Peer-to-peer & Bitcoin without KYC.