If you’re looking for P2P crypto trading platform, this list is for you.
Do note that this list isn’t about anonymity. Hence, some of these exchanges may require KYC verification. Of course, I’ve also included quite a few non-KYC/anonymous exchanges as well.
Do note that legitimacy and trust is always a factor with P2P. Hence, even though these are the best P2P Bitcoin exchanges, always pay extra attention when vetting the buyer/seller.
Let’s get started then?
How to Choose The Best P2P Bitcoin Exchanges?
So, how exactly should you choose your P2P exchanges? What should you look for? Here’s a short list that should help you:
- User base & reputation: I’ve only included the largest (in terms of user-base) and most well-established exchanges on this list. Everything here has been vetted by millions of users over half a decade.
- Non-custodial accounts: I prioritize exchanges that give me control of my funds. Do note that I do make exceptions if the exchange has proven its worth over the years.
- KYC requirements: While it’s not a priority, I try to opt for non-KYC exchanges. Again, exceptions are made as this list is about the best Bitcoin P2P exchanges not anonymous exchanges.
- Fees: Of course, only the most economic (not the cheapest, but the logically priced exchanges in terms of a feature:price ratio) are included.
- Withdrawal limits: If an exchange imposes restrictions on your withdrawal amount, it’s not a good exchange, is it?
- Headquarters: This is important as it decides how anonymous, secure and private your exchange can be.
- Buyer/seller-transparency: The exchange must display extensive details about the users. This should generally include total trades, trading partners, age on the platform, success/failure rate, disputes etc.
Noones
Website: https://noones.com
- KYC: Mandatory
- Limits: $700/trade with lvl.1 verification
- Payment modes: 500+
- Fee: 0.5%-1%
- Custody: Centralized
Noones has its pros and cons. Its biggest flaw is its “KYC-demanding” nature. Well, not exactly KYC but you must verify your phone number in order to use the platform. It also isn’t a “non-custodial” exchange. So, yes, the platform does have access to your funds.
But, if you can look past these obstacles, it’s one of the fastest growing Bitcoin P2P exchanges in the industry. Obviously, there must be reasons.
For starters, you pay buy/sell Cryptocurrencies using nearly 500 payment modes. The fee is to be paid only by the seller, it’s free for the buyer. Even for the sellers, the fee just 0.5%-1% (except for Gift cards).
Deposits are completely free. External transfers aren’t free but the fee ranges from $2.5 to $10.00 depending on your amount.
At level 1 verification, you can trade up to $700.00 in a single trade. The lifetime net withdrawal possible on this level is $10,000.
It also has an in-built “coin swap” that lets you swap between 4 Cryptocurrencies instantly.
LocalCoinSwap
Website: https://localcoinswap.com/
- KYC: Not required
- Payment modes: 300+
- Fee: Free
- Custody: Partially (for Bitcoin and some other Crypto) non-custodial.
- HQ: Hong Kong
You’ll love LocalCoinSwap if you need a Bitcoin exchange that’s also anonymous. You heard that right, absolutely no verification or identification is demanded by LCS. It’s even a non-custodial exchange so you’re in control of your funds. Whatever funds are not non-custodial are stored in a cold wallet anyway.
As for payments, over 300 ways to pay for or sell your Cryptocurrencies are available. Cash, multiple online payment modes, gift cards, bank cards, bank transfers are to name just a few.
Of course you can verify a trader’s entire history before making a trade. This ensures chances of you falling for a scammer are minimized.
Just like Noones, it too has an in-built coin swap that lets you exchange your coins for other Cryptocurrencies on t he platform.
One of its primary USPs is that it’s a 100% free Bitcoin P2P exchange. Yes, neither the buyer nor the seller pay any fee for trades.
Finally, the exchange is based out of Hong Kong. A pretty friendly country in terms of digital privacy eh?
Paxful
Website: https://www.paxful.com
- KYC: Optional (Phone verification mandatory)
- Limits: $1000.00 without ID verification
- User base: 10 million+ users
- Payment modes: 350+
- Fee: Free for buyers/ sellers pay 1% (or 5% for gift cards)
- Withdrawals: Free up to $1000.00/month.
- HQ: New York
- Custody: Custodial
Paxful is the best P2P Crypto exchange for more than one reasons. For starters, it does allow you to trade/withdraw funds without mandatory KYC.
Sure, it has its limits. You can only trade up to $1000 in a year without KYC, but hey, you can always have multiple accounts, eh? You’ll still need a valid phone number to trade on Paxful (yes, even <$1000.00).
Do note that some countries have a mandatory KYC policy and if you’re from one of those countries, you must be ID-verified.
The second reason that makes Paxful one of the best P2P exchanges is its user-base. With over 10 million users, you’ll always have someone to trade with.
The third reason being it supports over 350 modes of payments. You’ll run out of funds before you’ll run out of ways to pay! Nearly everything imaginable to the human brain, including cash, online payments, gift cards, gold and even CARS are some of the ways you can pay!
Paxful also doesn’t charge buyers! You only pay whatever the seller’s asking price is. The seller on the other hand pays a fee depending on the mode of payment. It’s mostly 1% across all modes except for Gift cards which are charged at 5%.
Bitcoin withdrawals to internal (Paxful) wallets are free up to $1000.00/month. For amounts >$1000.00, a 1% fee is charged. All external withdrawals are charged, it’s 0.00008 for amounts less than $9.99. For amounts <$9.99 the fee is 0.00016 and for $20.00+ withdrawals it’s 0.0004BTC/withdrawal.
Do note that the fee would differ for other Cryptocurrencies. It’s based out of New York. Not my favorite location for crypto but hey we’re talking about the best P2P exchanges, not anonymous ones.
You can use Paxful on the website, or download its official apps from the Playstore or Apple Store.
Buy and Sell Bitcoin With Paxful
HodlHodl
Website: https://hodlhodl.com
- KYC: Not required
- User base: 100,000+
- Payment modes: About 100
- Fee: 0.3% each for the buyer and the seller individually .
- HQ: Latvia
- Custody: Non-Custodial
HodlHodl is another P2P Bitcoin exchange that lets you buy/sell Bitcoins without any verification whatsoever. All you need is an e-mail and you’re set.
It’s based out of Latvia, an extremely favorable location as far as digital privacy and anonymity goes. Alike all P2P modes, it too has dozens of payment modes you can choose to pay the other party.
Do note that it’s Bitcoin-only, so you can not buy/sell other Cryptocurrencies on the platform.
One of the most important features is that its non-custodial and uses 2 of 3 multisig escrow wallets. In simpler words, the marketplace never has sole control of any funds in escrow. In fact, there’s no “wallet”.
Even the fee policy is unique. The total fee is 0.6% per trade and is split equally (0.3% per user) between the two parties (the buyer and the seller).
Trader profiles can be verified before a contract. It also has limits so that you don’t risk a lot of your capital with new users. The limits are expanded/removed as more trades are conducted by the user.
AgoraDesk
Website: https://agoradesk.com/
- KYC: Not required
- Payment modes: 100+
- Fee: Free (1% for ads)
- Withdrawal fee: Charged, depends on the Cryptocurrency
- HQ: N/A
- Custody: Non custodial
If we talk of AgoraDesk instantly after talking of LocalMonero, we must acknowledge their relation. Both the companies seem to be owned by the same entity/group. I say that because their interface is identical and the canary on LocalMonero also mentions AgoraDesk multiple times.
Alike LocalMonero, one of its biggest selling points is that it doesn’t have a mandatory KYC policy.
The one aspect where it differs from Localmonero is the fact that AgoraDesk allows you to buy/sell both Bitcoin as well as Monero.
Again, about 100 modes of payments are available, quite a few of those are completely anonymous.
Alike LocalMonero, there’s no fee for buying/selling unless you create an ad. The ad is charged at 1% of the trade amount.
Again, withdrawals are charged only when made to external wallets. The fee isn’t specific and is displayed in real-time on the withdrawal page depending on market prices.
Yes, the Tor as well as I2P websites are available for AgoraDesk as well. The trader history too is displayed with exactly the same details as LocalMonero.
Binance
Website: https://www.binance.com
- KYC: Required
- User base: Nearly 30 million users
- Payment modes: 400+
- Fee: Free
- Withdrawal fee: Charged, depends on the Cryptocurrency
- HQ: Hidden
- Custody: Custodial
I’m confident you’ve heard of Binance at least once if you’re in the Crypto space. Yes, it’s the biggest, largest Crypto exchange on the platform.
It’s still one of the best P2P Bitcoin exchanges despite being very different from the options discussed above.
Binance is a full-fledged spot exchange. It also offers futures and margin trading among many other things. P2P of course is just one of its many features.
The best thing about Binance is its user-base. In 2021, the company had an estimated user-base of nearly 28 million users! You’ll not find more users to trade with than on Binance anywhere else.
On the not-so-bright side, the company isn’t decentralized. So, you do not own the private keys to your Crypto. Although, with an exchange such as Binance, this isn’t a major concern.
Oh to top it all, there’s no fee for trading on its P2P platform. Binance to Binance withdrawals are free, for external wallets a fee does apply. This varies depending on the coin and network.
As for payment modes, like most P2P platforms, it has hundreds of ways you can pay the other party.
While it started out in Shanghai and later moved to Malta, its current Headquarter locations aren’t public knowledge. They actively denied disclosing the location of their primary HQ.
LocalMonero
Website: https://localmonero.co/
- KYC: Not required
- Payment modes: 100+
- Fee: Free (ads are charged at 1%)
- Withdrawal fee: Charged, depends on Cryptocurrencies
- HQ: N/A
- Custody: Non-custodial
Yes, it takes us back to the LocalBitcoin (RIP) nostalgia, I know.
And yes, the “Monero” in the name means you cannot trade other Cryptocurrencies here and it’s Monero-only.
The biggest USP that LocalMonero offers is its NO KYC policy! Yes, it’s 100% KYC-free. Given the current global take on Cryptocurrencies, this is extremely rare, isn’t it?
I love its trader transparency as it shows the no. of total trades and trading partners, time on platform, trade finalization time etc.
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This helps us judge a trader’s legitimacy and authenticity better, doesn’t it?
LocalMonero is free for both buyers and sellers. If you create an “advertisement” as a seller, it boosts your ad to potential buyers and then you’re charged 1% of the transaction.
Withdrawals are free as long as they’re to other LocalMonero wallets. For external wallets, a fee is charged depending on the real-time Monero network fee.
It’s accessible both on the Onion network and I2P which massively boosts your privacy and anonymity.
It does support over 100 different modes of payment you can use. Of course, these depend on the country you’re from.
The company is a bit too private and its exact Headquarters aren’t mentioned very often in the public or on its official channels.
It does have official apps for Android and iOS. You can also directly download the Android APK from the website. Even these apps are open source.
Bybit
Website: https://www.bybit.com/
- KYC: Mandatory for P2P trades
- Limits: Depends on KYC level
- User base: 10 million+ users
- Payment modes: 350+
- Fee: Free for both buyers and sellers
- Withdrawals: Charged for external withdrawals, fee depends on coins.
- HQ: Dubai.
- Bybit: Custodial
Bybit is another full-fledged exchange just like Binance. In fact, the interface too is similar to quite an extent. It to facilitates spot trades, instant Crypto buying and other features.
Do note that you’ll be required to complete Level1 KYC in order to trade on the P2P exchange. Level 1 includes your identification and a selfie.
P2P trading is free on Bybit for both the sellers as well as buyers. Internal withdrawals are free, external withdrawals are charged depending on the Cryptocurrency.
As for payment modes, over 350 of those are supported. The company is based out of Dubai, while not the best choice for Cryptocurrencies, it still is a great tax-free option.
The company boasts over 10 million registered users which facilitates the impressive liquidity in its P2P and other markets.
You can download official apps from both Playstore as well as the Apple store.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about the best P2P Bitcoin exchanges:
Which is the best P2P Bitcoin exchange?
Go with Paxful if you’re okay with submitting your KYC. AgoraDesk is the second-best option if you need an anonymous BTC exchange.
Is P2P crypto trading legal?
Certainly. As long as Cryptocurrencies are legal in your jurisdiction, P2P trades are legal.
Do you need to pay taxes on P2P crypto trades?
Taxes for P2P trades will depend on your specific jurisdiction and country as well.
Is P2P safe for Crypto?
Yes, it’s safe if you take care of a few things. For starters, only go with reputed exchanges such as the ones listed above. Secondly, always analyze a seller’s profile. Look at the total trade amount, and no. of trading partners. Also check disputes if they’re publicly displayed.
Is P2P crypto trading free?
Yes, on certain exchanges such as Binance and Bybit, P2P Crypto trades are 100% free.
Final Words:
Paxful Noones and Binance are the best options if you’re okay with divulging your identity. AgoraDesk is the best non-KYC, anonymous option.
Technically, every exchange on this list qualifies as the best Bitcoin P2P exchange. However, they all have their pros and cons.
In any case, I’ll ask you to always verify a trader’s history first. Also, always make a smaller first-trade, it’s better than risking larger amounts when trust hasn’t been established.
Also, if a trader asks for additional modes of communications such as Telegram, Whatsapp or anything else, abort! Simply go with another trader.
That’s about it folks. I hope you found the best Bitcoin P2P exchanges here. If you did, maybe share with a friend?
