Bisq review: is it a safe exchange or scam? (09.2024)
What do we know about Bisq? According to the data we possess, it appears to be a quite reputable, well established, promising exchange service. It's a p2p marketplace successfully operating for about 10 years and 2 months. Bisq supports some of the popular crypto. Bisq operator is just an ordinary limited company without any licenses, etc., whereas it appears to be a legitimate business model in their jurisdiction.
Clients from
all the
255
countries & territories
are welcome here,
together with your home country: United States!
P2P Marketplace serves the US and allows registrations from
all the
56
states.
Unfortunately we couldn't yet collect enough data about the order processing speed from the actual customers,
maybe you know how fast Bisq processes the orders? If you do, please
share the knowledge!
Thanks a lot!
Specific types of orders may require identity verification
So, what's our opinion so far? Based on the information we currently hold, Bisq should be a pretty safe site to swap Bitcoins; a satisfying exchange, particularly popular among the clients! Let's appraise everything in details...
Overview: is Bisq safe?
Bisq operates as the P2P Marketplace. A project had started up in July 2014.
Bisq was founded by Manfred Karrer.
The platform requires a windows application to operate, you can't buy or sell cryptocurrency there without installing one,
So what we'll decide, how safe is Bisq?
Bisq wasn't rated yet. What does it mean, is it secure to use this p2p marketplace? Despite bisq isn't yet fully listed and has no rating @ ExchangeRates.Pro, it doesn't mean it's a scam website , is a bad p2p marketplace, whatever. We are very careful with new additions to our listing and (among all other procedures) postpone the decision until we receive at least a few reports from real users that we can verify.This make take rather a long time; we already have 37 well-examined websites in our listing, nevertheless, we never rush to add more. With 10,613 ways to buy and sell BTC worldwide, including 49 local ones for United States and USD, why urge? For now, we can already state that although it's a bit early to make conclusions, Bisq most likely will be included in our approved services list (if we don't receive any negative reviews of course). Let's keep an eye on it! 72/100, the proposed rating for the bisq.network so far says that we assume it's relatively safe to exchange with Bisq as the score counsels. Now let's break down our assumed rating for BISQ, how it was calculated:
Research: best alternative to Bisq
By reason of we can't (yet?) endorse the bisq.network, you may feel safer choosing the website we've already appraised and checked in full. Therefore we took the liberty to research the market and suggest a viable, well-known, 100% trusted alternative exchange platform. How we did it? Let's explain! Makes sense to start from figuring out what exactly we are looking for:
A glance at the service specifics confirms that Bisq employs the business model of a P2P Marketplace; Bisq started the business in July 2014. An entity is in the business for 10 years and 2 months and gained some popularity on the market. Please note that it's just a super-small snapshot of what we've discovered, details about the business model are available in the "what we already know about bisq" section. Considering all the abovementioned, we were looking for another p2p marketplace allowing registrations from United States with a flawless reputation and the best rating and found a perfect match: Bitpapa! Let's figure out what makes it the safest choice:
BITPAPA is also a P2P Marketplace; Bitpapa IC FZC LLC. (dba Bitpapa) had started doing the business in May 2020. The legal entity is established in the United Arab Emirates and the principal office is located in the Ajman media City Free Economic Zone. Registration address of Bitpapa is A-0059-652 - Flamingo Villas. It is a maybe not the most recognized, but well established, exchange platform (p2p marketplace) that supports 5 cryptocurrencies and tokens: you can buy and sell crypto using 24 national currencies (88 payment systems and banks are supported) or exchange one digital currency into another here. Besides the crypto-exchange, bitpapa.com also provides other crypto-related services, for example, Mobile wallet. This is what we value the most about this great exchange service:
- Although the entity holds no special licenses, etc. it fully complies with the local regulation
- The exchange runs the business for a long time; project was started 4 years and 3 months ago
- The platform supports 5 cryptocurrencies and 24 fiat ones (totally 88 payment systems / banks are available). Apart from buying, selling and exchanging cryptocurrencies, there are other services available: Mobile wallet
- Bitpapa accepts the registrations from 255 countries; customers from United States can use the services
So, let's conclude: the best alternative to Bisq is
Bitpapa. We know fairly much about this P2P Marketplace and other similar services, please continue reading!Bisq fees, limits, verification, etc.
Even though we still consider if we should add BISQ to the list of approved exchange platforms and are in process of gathering and evaluating the information, we've already collected some data worth sharing. The business appears like a reputable p2p marketplace running without serious issues from Jul 2014. Despite the fact that the Bisq operational entity holds no licenses, etc, it looks like a legitimate business model, compliant with their home country laws and regulation.
Bisq is a P2P marketplace where the people can buy|sell from each other, like a "eBay for crypto". These services hold users' funds and typically require more trust, please keep that in mind using the platform!
Fees & Limits at Bisq
Since Bisq is a Peer-to-Peer marketplace, every seller is free to set the fee he wishes. So the fee depends on the offer and can be virtually any amount, although most of the dealers charge very reasonable fees. It's a free market, after all! Just browse the offers to check the costs for your country, currency and bank or payment system you like! As for the limits for buying and withdrawal, the scheme of operations the P2P markets use is based on every seller setting particular terms of the trade with him/her. Hence we can't determine minimal and maximal amounts bisq.network allows for buying and selling, it radically varies from dealer to dealer. You are welcome to check yourself!
Bisq account verification
The p2p marketplace may ask the customers to complete the user identification process (account verification) when certain conditions are met. Notwithstanding the fact that the Company is not currently regulated in the home jurisdiction, it has some obligations to the enforcements, etc. It's not possible to run an exchange paying no attention to the anti-money laundering legislation, etc. Given that the platform is a peer-to-peer market, each buyer or seller determines whatever terms they feel the need during the ad creation. Hence, specific dealers require some KYC, others — don't. The rules of every dealer are shown on the ad description page, you'll see everything before accepting an offer.
As for the estimation how long does it takes to verify an account at Bisq on average: we must apologize, our platform still haven't collected enough feedback from the real users of a p2p marketplace. By any chance, if you know how fast bisq.network is with an account verification, kindly let us know too. We really appreciate your commitment!
Supported countries
The website allows the user registrations from 255 countries. Actually it appears that absolutely all the countries and territories are supported by bisq.network, it has no blacklisted geographies and no geo-restrictions!
Does Bisq allow the users from United States (US)?
That's right, it does! bisq.network permits the registrations from the United States! P2P Marketplace grants access to the customers from all the existing 56 states, territories, and commonwealths of the U.S.A..
American residents and the U.S. citizens are welcome to convert various crypto currencies offered by the p2p marketplace.
Ops, sorry! Can't get an access to the data regarding the US operations of Bisq. While we are fixing that, please explore the exchange's website; there's a list of payment systems supported, etc.
Customers' testimonials
We still hadn't received any reviews of bisq.network we could verify. We'd love to know what our valued visitors think of this website; based on that we'll decide should we approve the P2P Marketplace or not. If you've already tried this service or know someone who did we are counting on you! What do you think about this exchange? Please share your experience, your thoughts... even just a few words testimonial is a great help!
FAQ about Bisq
Does Bisq holds my funds?
Yes, it does. Although you can always withdraw the funds to your e-currency wallet "by default" Bisq holds your balance at it's own hot storage wallet. Funds are kept on the escrow accounts, this is how P2P markets operates; but it's much safer to store your funds at other place.
Is Bisq a good p2p marketplace?
We believe it is! We can say so based on the score the exchange got at our platform. The details are explained in this review and we break down a score in the overview section.
Is Bisq licensed? Does it hold e-money license?
It is not, although seems that such business model complies with the regulation in Bisq home country.
Is Bisq a ripoff?
Bisq is certainly not a rip-off; our analysis confirms that it's rather a trustworthy exchange. Read more in our conclusion: is Bisq a legit exchange or scam
is Bisq a legit exchange?
Our research confirms that Bisq is a legitimate exchange; we consider listing the p2p marketplace among the recommended exchanges. Our proposed rating score is 72 | 100, feel free to read more about what does it means and how the scoring is calculated.
Can I trust Bisq with my money?
It appears that the crypto-users trust Bisq for a number of reasons, read why we preliminary assess the 72/100 result for the exchange. As far as we know, the community trusts p2p marketplace so you likely won't regret believing them. And remember, whatever service you use, it never hurts to test it with a smaller amount first!
Is Bisq instant?
Exchange with Bisq is not instant, although as far as we know, the p2p marketplace operators execute all the orders in minutes; it feels almost like a fully automated service.
Bisq vs other exchanges
In case you prefer to deal with a p2p marketplace that was already fully checked and rated by our reviewers, algorithms, and the actual clientele, we took the liberty to compile a list of alternative sites you may use instead of Bisq. There are similar exchanges providing more or less the same services; let's see what else is available right away and compare it to the reviewed business! Besides, we found platforms having similar rating that are popular in United States particularly and North America in general. And by the way, if you are eager to pick an exchange basing on a rate and fees mostly, our price comparison platform always finds the most reasonable exchange rates in United States!
Bisq vs CEX
A comparison of the key features and the principal facts about CEX versus Bisq; just take a glance to decide if CEX will be the optimal choice for you or at least if it's worth checking our full study:
- CEX is a trading platform The way bisq.network website functions fits the p2p marketplace format, it's also an exchange, but has slightly different business model (feel free to read details about the difference between trading platform and p2p marketplace)
- CEX had launched the service July 2014 Bisq started the project July 2014.
- CEX has all the business licenses and permissions, required by law Bisq is registered as a standard limited liability company without any special licenses, whatever (CEX's business model makes it a better, safer choice for the customers).
- Other than providing the services of buying, selling and exchanging cryptocurrency, CEX provides some other exchange-related / financial services: Lending, Margin Trading, Faucets (small amounts of cryptos for free) and the Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity) Bisq arranges less services associated with the crypto exchange operations: it only swaps cryptocurrency, one to another.
- CEX allows users' registrations from 224 countries; and we are glad to say that the people from United States are welcome You are permitted to register at the Bisq being a resident of any of 255 countries; United States is granted with an access among all others (Bisq admits more countries and territories).
- When the client needs to pass through the KYC process at CEX, they usually ask to provide 3 documents and / or specific procedures: ID or Passport Verification, Phone Number Confirmation (SMS or a call), Selfie with ID in hands. In most of the cases, it takes about a day or two, as per the actual clientele survey results The process of Customer Identification at Bisq typically involves a few (varies case-by-case) individual procedures. (Bisq policies are generally less strict, so the clients supposedly spend reduced time and share fewer information while verifying themselves).
So, is CEX a better alternative to Bisq? Such a conclusion by any means can't be drawn by us instead of you, but we'll try to assist with the matter. In view of the lesser rating score Bisq achieved: 72 vs CEX rated 100, we honestly believe that CEX should do the job better than the reviewed p2p marketplace; certainly worth testing!
Like reading? In fact, there are more exchanges worth comparing to Bisq, such as:
Bisq vs Coinbase
A comparison of the key features and the principal facts about COINBASE versus Bisq; just take a glance to decide if Coinbase will be the optimal choice for you or at least if it's worth checking our full study:
- Coinbase is a e-wallet The way bisq.network website functions fits the p2p marketplace format, it's also an exchange, but has slightly different business model (feel free to read details about the difference between e-wallet and p2p marketplace)
- Coinbase had launched the service June 2012 Bisq started the project July 2014 (Coinbase is operating for 2 years and 0 months longer).
- Coinbase has all the business licenses and permissions, required by law Bisq is registered as a standard limited liability company without any special licenses, whatever (Coinbase's business model makes it a better, safer choice for the customers).
- Besides cryptocurrencies buying|selling, Coinbase provides some other exchange-related / financial services: ATM Cards, Merchant Services and the Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity) Bisq arranges less services associated with the crypto exchange operations: it only swaps cryptocurrency, one to another.
- Coinbase's customers are rewarded with the gifts Bisq neither presents gifts or offers a cashback (Bisq & Coinbase the two of them approach the users with nearly the same (nice!) offerings).
- Coinbase allows users' registrations from 39 countries; and we are glad to say that the people from United States are welcome You are permitted to register at the Bisq being a resident of any of 255 countries; United States is granted with an access among all others (Bisq admits more countries and territories).
- When the client needs to pass through the KYC process at Coinbase, they usually ask to provide 2 documents and / or specific procedures: ID or Passport Verification, Phone Number Confirmation (SMS or a call). In most of the cases, it takes about a day or two, as per the actual clientele survey results The process of Customer Identification at Bisq typically involves a few (varies case-by-case) individual procedures. (Bisq policies are generally less strict, so the clients supposedly spend reduced time and share fewer information while verifying themselves).
So, is Coinbase a better alternative to Bisq? Such a conclusion by any means can't be drawn by us instead of you, but we'll try to assist with the matter. In view of the lesser rating score Bisq achieved: 72 vs Coinbase rated 100, we honestly believe that COINBASE should do the job better than the reviewed p2p marketplace; certainly worth testing!
Like reading? In fact, there are more exchanges worth comparing to Bisq, such as:
Bisq vs TransCoin
A comparison of the key features and the principal facts about TRANSCOIN versus Bisq; just take a glance to decide if TransCoin will be the optimal choice for you or at least if it's worth checking our full study:
- TransCoin is a broker The way bisq.network website functions fits the p2p marketplace format, it's also an exchange, but has slightly different business model (feel free to read details about the difference between broker and p2p marketplace)
- TransCoin had launched the service May 2018 Bisq started the project July 2014 (Bisq operated 3 years and 10 months longer).
- TransCoin has all the business licenses and permissions, required by law Bisq is registered as a standard limited liability company without any special licenses, whatever (TransCoin's business model makes it a better, safer choice for the customers).
- TransCoin allows users' registrations from 255 countries; and we are glad to say that the people from United States are welcome You are permitted to register at the Bisq being a resident of any of 255 countries; United States is granted with an access among all others (Bisq & TransCoin authorize sign-ups from the same number of countries worldwide).
- When the client needs to pass through the KYC process at TransCoin, they usually ask to provide some (it depends on various factors) documents and / or specific procedures The process of Customer Identification at Bisq typically involves a few (varies case-by-case) individual procedures. (Bisq & TransCoin alike abide by the roughly analogous KYC policies requiring a user to complete almost identical stages during the verification).
So, is TransCoin a better alternative to Bisq? Such a conclusion by any means can't be drawn by us instead of you, but we'll try to assist with the matter. In view of the lesser rating score Bisq achieved: 72 vs TransCoin rated 100, we honestly believe that TRANSCOIN should do the job better than the reviewed p2p marketplace; certainly worth testing!
Like reading? In fact, there are more exchanges worth comparing to Bisq, such as:
Bisq vs Kraken
A comparison of the key features and the principal facts about KRAKEN versus Bisq; just take a glance to decide if Kraken will be the optimal choice for you or at least if it's worth checking our full study:
- Kraken is a trading platform The way bisq.network website functions fits the p2p marketplace format, it's also an exchange, but has slightly different business model (feel free to read details about the difference between trading platform and p2p marketplace)
- Kraken had launched the service July 2011 Bisq started the project July 2014 (Kraken is operating for 2 years and 11 months longer).
- Kraken has all the business licenses and permissions, required by law Bisq is registered as a standard limited liability company without any special licenses, whatever (Kraken's business model makes it a better, safer choice for the customers).
- Other than providing the services of buying, selling and exchanging cryptocurrency, Kraken provides some other exchange-related / financial services: Mobile wallet, OTC trading, Margin Trading, Futures Trading and the Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity) Bisq arranges less services associated with the crypto exchange operations: it only swaps cryptocurrency, one to another.
- Kraken allows users' registrations from 234 countries; and we are glad to say that the people from United States are welcome You are permitted to register at the Bisq being a resident of any of 255 countries; United States is granted with an access among all others (Bisq admits more countries and territories).
- When the client needs to pass through the KYC process at Kraken, they usually ask to provide 2 documents and / or specific procedures: ID or Passport Verification, current Address Confirmation (utility bill, bank or credit card statement, etc.). In most of the cases, it takes about a day or two, as per the actual clientele survey results The process of Customer Identification at Bisq typically involves a few (varies case-by-case) individual procedures. (Bisq policies are generally less strict, so the clients supposedly spend reduced time and share fewer information while verifying themselves).
So, is Kraken a better alternative to Bisq? Such a conclusion by any means can't be drawn by us instead of you, but we'll try to assist with the matter. In view of the lesser rating score Bisq achieved: 72 vs Kraken rated 100, we honestly believe that KRAKEN should do the job better than the reviewed p2p marketplace; certainly worth testing!
Like reading? In fact, there are more exchanges worth comparing to Bisq, such as:
Bisq vs EXMO
A comparison of the key features and the principal facts about EXMO versus Bisq; just take a glance to decide if EXMO will be the optimal choice for you or at least if it's worth checking our full study:
- EXMO is a trading platform The way bisq.network website functions fits the p2p marketplace format, it's also an exchange, but has slightly different business model (feel free to read details about the difference between trading platform and p2p marketplace)
- EXMO had launched the service May 2013 Bisq started the project July 2014 (EXMO is operating for 1 years and 1 months longer).
- EXMO has all the business licenses and permissions, required by law Bisq is registered as a standard limited liability company without any special licenses, whatever (EXMO's business model makes it a better, safer choice for the customers).
- Other than providing the services of buying, selling and exchanging cryptocurrency, EXMO provides some other exchange-related / financial services: Cash codes, OTC trading and the Margin Trading Bisq arranges less services associated with the crypto exchange operations: it only swaps cryptocurrency, one to another.
- EXMO allows users' registrations from 255 countries; and we are glad to say that the people from United States are welcome You are permitted to register at the Bisq being a resident of any of 255 countries; United States is granted with an access among all others (Bisq & EXMO authorize sign-ups from the same number of countries worldwide).
- When the client needs to pass through the KYC process at EXMO, they usually ask to provide 3 documents and / or specific procedures: ID or Passport Verification, current Address Confirmation (utility bill, bank or credit card statement, etc.), Selfie with ID in hands. In most of the cases, it takes about a day or two, as per the actual clientele survey results The process of Customer Identification at Bisq typically involves a few (varies case-by-case) individual procedures. (Bisq policies are generally less strict, so the clients supposedly spend reduced time and share fewer information while verifying themselves).
So, is EXMO a better alternative to Bisq? Such a conclusion by any means can't be drawn by us instead of you, but we'll try to assist with the matter. In view of the lesser rating score Bisq achieved: 72 vs EXMO rated 100, we honestly believe that EXMO should do the job better than the reviewed p2p marketplace; certainly worth testing!
Like reading? In fact, there are more exchanges worth comparing to Bisq, such as:
Conclusion: is Bisq legit or scam?
Seems it's time to finalize the report, to make a judgment call. Is Bisq a scam or is it a legitimate exchange? How secure the bisq.network website is? Can you trust Bisq with your money? And (in our case) the most frequently asked question: Why the p2p marketplace is not yet ranked at ExchangeRates.Pro? Let's start by answering the last question and, you'll see, the replies to the rest will follow. Can't wait? Help yourself jumping to the final verdict!
Why we hadn't yet ranked and fully listed BISQ and what does it mean?
The routine for adding a new exchange to ExchangeRates.Pro listing is rather a long process and it depends on few factors we don't control directly. Our approach to the process is «better be safe than sorry»; we already have 37 well-tested platforms providing similar to Bisq functionality. 22 different exchange websites of p2p marketplace type are among those and additionally, there are 4 peer-to-peer marketplaces. 10,613 exchange offers are available right away; these cover almost all the payment systems and local banks available in United States and North America for buying and selling BTC, cryptos, and tokens with US Dollar, EURos, whatever. Hence, we never hurry to add more websites until we are 100% sure we did everything we could to verify the data and test every service well ourselves. It takes time. Moreover, there are two circumstances that are out of our direct control:
- All the exchange services, particularly the p2p marketplace type ones are staying in the "pending approval" state until we collect at least a few reviews from the genuine customers, the ones we can actually verify. In addition, we monitor the clients' testimonials at the trusted review platforms, social networks, etc., and postpone the approval until we find enough evidence that the p2p marketplace has no unresolved complaints and there are enough convincing users recommendations.
- We receive the new applications daily. It consumes a lot of time to check each and every one; there's a large queue and we have to be selective when choosing which applications to process first.
Exceptions from these two rules may happen only in very rare extraordinary cases. As you can see, we move forward with listing new exchanges slowly, but as a consequence, only the best p2p marketplaces are getting approved. Although we can't endorse Bisq and hadn't rated it (in full) yet, we believe that it should get approval if we won't receive any complaints.
So is Bisq a legit exchange or a fraud?
Looking at the data we possess, it's clear that Bisq is not a scam, not a fraudulent website, etc., you name it. Even though we are not endorsing this p2p marketplace, it appears to be trustworthy and worth trying. Furthermore, it could become a nice addition to our listing, considering there won't be any complaints or accusations from the users. Try exchanging at Bisq yourself and don't forget to share your experience!
Alternative solution: how to find the best rate to exchange BTC & crypto in United States and North America
There is another way of finding the most worthy alternative to Bisq that will work best for you. What if instead of opposing the features of various exchanges we'll compare the terms of the specific offerings that all the marketplaces, brokers, dealers, and even individual exchangers provide? That's exactly what our platform does! We assist you in choosing the most appropriate deal considering:
- The fees and rates provided at the moment by 3 exchange websites of a "P2P Marketplace" type and 10,613 other offers.
- BTC/USD exchange rate at those ; the availability of service for the residents of United States.
- Which local banks & payment systems out of 154 serving US are the fastest, most convenient and cost-efficient personally for you.
- Amount you need to swap: say, the conditions for exchanging USD 1 will be significantly different from the terms of $58,802.0 conversion.
- And of course, you see the rating, users reviews (up-to-date 539 real clients testimonials), etc. for all the offers available!
Our platform could find 49 offers to buy, sell, exchange BTC available to users from United States, and 42 of these are for the US Dollar currency. There are totally 27 exchange services supporting US. Some of those are providing the access to USD|BTC market, including such types as e-wallet, P2P Marketplace, Trading Platform, etc. 5 exchanges has active offers for these currencies right now; you can buy/sell using 20 local and international payment systems & banks! The local dealers and exchanges are mentioning the support of 17 local banking institutions and the payment systems. According to the latest data we have, the lowest fee to purchase BTC with USD locally is available for Etana, that's a local payment system. The most popular domestic options for purchasing BTC @ US:
- Barter from Flutterwave | 50 ads
- GoBank Card | 34 ads
- MyVanilla Reloadable | 22 ads
- JCPenney | 13 ads
- Cash in Person | 5 ads
- Paypal | 5 ads
- Nike | 4 ads
- Cash App (Square) | 4 ads
- Other Gift Cards | 4 ads
- Visa & Mastercard | 3 ads
Our software couldn't get an access to the data what's available at bisq.network for the clients from United States, however we are sure that you'll find a worthy alternative on one of 36 exchange websites we compare the rates at! Check out what the local dealers and platforms are offering: currently there are 17 domestic banks supported. Besides, you may find something interesting browsing 10,613 offers available with 20 ways to pay internationally, either to neighboring countries in North America or to any other part of the world.