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P2P Exchanges Since 2014 Reviewed 22 Oct 2026

Bisq review

Open-source desktop P2P exchange for bitcoin with no registration

  • No account needed
  • Accepts Monero
  • Never holds your funds
  • Open source
  • Escrow it cannot spend alone
  • Accepts cash
ID never required KYC 0 Documentation reviewed
Visit bisq.network Report an incident Watch

Privacy

9.3/ 10

Excellent

Safety

8.0/ 10

Strong

Based on terms and documentation. No test transactions published yet. See the arithmetic

Bisq review in short

Bisq is a P2P exchange operating since 2014. Its terms put it at KYC level 0 of 4: ID never required. NoKYC Score grades it 9.3/10 for privacy (excellent) and 8.0/10 for safety (strong). In its favour: no account needed, no email needed and no phone number. One incident is on record, the latest from 1 May 2026.

Category
P2P Exchanges
KYC level
0 of 4: ID never required
Grades
Privacy 9.3/10, Safety 8.0/10
Sign-up
No account needed
Custody
non-custodial
Jurisdiction
Decentralised / none
Incidents on record
1
Last reviewed
22 Oct 2026
Cite this review

NoKYC Score, "Bisq review", reviewed 22 Oct 2026, https://nokycscore.com/service/bisq

Also available as plain text.

What Bisq is

Bisq is open-source peer-to-peer trading software for buying and selling bitcoin against national currencies and other cryptocurrencies. The official site states that no registration and no identity verification are required and that every Bisq node runs as a Tor hidden service by default. Trades in the original application are secured with deposits locked in multisignature escrow, and the project is governed through a DAO rather than a company. A newer application, Bisq 2 with the Bisq Easy protocol, is available alongside it. In May 2026 a trade-protocol flaw cost ten users about 11.6 BTC; the project reports that those users were reimbursed.

What Bisq offers, and what to watch

10 of 16 privacy and safety features, 0 warnings in its terms.

"Not stated" means its own pages do not say.

Identity

  • ID never required Yes The terms rule identity checks out, or the design makes them impossible.
  • No account needed Yes Usable without creating an account, or the account is only a random number.
  • No email needed Yes An email address is not required to sign up or use it.
  • No phone number Yes A phone number is never required.

Payment

  • Accepts Monero Yes Monero hides sender, receiver and amount, so the payment cannot be traced to you.
  • Accepts Lightning Not stated
  • Accepts cash Yes Cash by post or in person: no bank and no blockchain record.

Access

  • Tor onion address Not stated
  • Works without JavaScript Not stated

Trust

  • Never holds your funds Yes The operator never controls user funds, so it cannot freeze them.
  • Refund without ID Not stated
  • Escrow it cannot spend alone Yes Trades are protected by multisig or hold-invoice escrow.
  • Open source Yes The code that matters is public and can be inspected.
  • Independent audit Not stated
  • Company named Not stated
  • 5+ years operating Yes Has operated continuously for five years or more.

Warnings

  • May ask for ID Not in terms
  • Screens deposits Not in terms
  • Holds your funds Not in terms
  • Email required Not in terms
  • Phone number required Not in terms
  • Closed source Not in terms
  • Nobody accountable Not in terms

Does Bisq require KYC?

  1. 0
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4

KYC level 0: ID never required. The terms rule out identity checks, or the design makes them impossible.

Official site states "No registration required" and lists "No Identity Verification"; the software has no means of collecting ID.

Read the terms we assessed ↗

How the grades add up

Both grades start at 50 points and move by fixed, published amounts. Nothing is adjusted by hand. The total is divided by ten.

Privacy

9.3
  • Starting points 50
  • KYC level 0: ID never required +20
  • No registration +6
  • No email needed +3
  • No phone needed +1
  • Accepts Monero +4
  • Accepts cash +4
  • Open source +2
  • Non-custodial +3
  • Total, clamped to 0–100 93

Safety

8.0
  • Starting points 50
  • Open source +8
  • Non-custodial +12
  • Multisig or hold-invoice escrow +6
  • 5+ years operating +10
  • Trade-protocol flaw exploited; about 11.6 BTC taken from ten users, later reimbursed high · resolved paid · 175 days ago -6
  • Total, clamped to 0–100 80

Test ledger

Real transactions run by our editors. A badge without a ledger is an assertion; this is the proof.

No test transactions published yet

The grades above rest on Bisq’s terms and documentation. Tests will appear here with the date, route, amount band and result as they are run.

Incidents on record

high

Hack or exploit

Trade-protocol flaw exploited; about 11.6 BTC taken from ten users, later reimbursed

Bisq's post-mortem states that missing validation checks in the Bisq 1 trade protocol were exploited from 1 May 2026 by an attacker using a modified client, affecting altcoin trades only. Ten users lost a total of 11.59 BTC, and trading was halted through an emergency version requirement. According to a later project update, affected users were reimbursed with funds advanced by contributors, with the accounting still to be settled through the DAO.

Resolved, user paid out Source: bisq.network ↗

User reviews

Reviews never change a grade. Reviews with a transaction reference are marked.

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Alternatives to Bisq

All alternatives →

Haveno

Open-source protocol for non-custodial Monero trading over Tor

Privacy 9.2
Safety 7.3
Never KYC 0 Docs reviewed

Mostro

Open-source P2P bitcoin trading protocol over Nostr and Lightning hold invoices

Privacy 8.9
Safety 7.3
Never KYC 0 Docs reviewed

Peer

P2P fiat on/off-ramp settling through smart-contract escrow and payment-app proofs

Privacy 7.3
Safety 7.0
Not mentioned KYC 1 Docs reviewed

Vexl

Mobile app for finding bitcoin trades within your own social network

Privacy 6.1
Safety 7.0
Not mentioned KYC 1 Docs reviewed

Bisq vs HavenoBisq vs MostroBisq vs PeerBisq vs Vexl

Bisq: common questions

Does Bisq require KYC?

Bisq is rated KYC level 0 of 4 on this site: ID never required. Official site states "No registration required" and lists "No Identity Verification"; the software has no means of collecting ID.

Is Bisq safe to use?

Bisq has a Safety grade of 8.0 out of 10 and a Privacy grade of 9.3 out of 10. There is 1 incident on record, listed with sources on this page. Evidence level: documentation reviewed.

Is Bisq legit?

Bisq is a working P2P exchange that has operated since 2014. Being real is not the same as being safe: its Safety grade here is 8.0 out of 10, built from custody, liquidity, track record and incidents.

Is Bisq a scam?

NoKYC Score does not label services as scams; it records documented incidents with their sources and outcomes. Bisq has 1 incident on record, all resolved, the latest: "Trade-protocol flaw exploited; about 11.6 BTC taken from ten users, later reimbursed". Each is listed on this page with its source.

Do I need an account or email to use Bisq?

No account needed.

Does Bisq have a Tor onion address?

No official onion address was found on Bisq's own pages.

Which cryptocurrencies does Bisq support?

Bisq supports BTC, XMR, and fiat payments in EUR, USD.

Is Bisq custodial?

No. Bisq is non-custodial: the operator does not control user funds.

Can I use Bisq over Tor?

Bisq does not publish an official onion address.

Listing history

  • Listing added. Facts and KYC level set from the service's own terms and documentation.
  • Incident recorded: Trade-protocol flaw exploited; about 11.6 BTC taken from ten users, later reimbursed