Open-source desktop P2P exchange for bitcoin with no registration
Privacy 9.3
Safety 8.0
P2P Exchanges Reviewed 22 Oct 2026
Mostro review
Open-source P2P bitcoin trading protocol over Nostr and Lightning hold invoices
- No account needed
- Never holds your funds
- Open source
- Accepts cash
- Accepts Lightning
- No email needed
ID never required KYC 0 Documentation reviewed
Privacy
8.9/ 10
Excellent
Safety
7.3/ 10
Strong
Based on terms and documentation. No test transactions published yet. See the arithmetic
Mostro review in short
Mostro is a P2P exchange. Its terms put it at KYC level 0 of 4: ID never required. NoKYC Score grades it 8.9/10 for privacy (excellent) and 7.3/10 for safety (strong). In its favour: no account needed, no email needed and no phone number. No incidents are on record.
- Category
- P2P Exchanges
- KYC level
- 0 of 4: ID never required
- Grades
- Privacy 8.9/10, Safety 7.3/10
- Sign-up
- No account needed
- Custody
- non-custodial
- Fees
- Set by each node operator; the FAQ gives about 0.3% each for buyer and seller as an example
- Limits
- Set by each node operator
- Incidents on record
- 0
- Last reviewed
- 22 Oct 2026
Cite this review
NoKYC Score, "Mostro review", reviewed 22 Oct 2026, https://nokycscore.com/service/mostro
Also available as plain text.
What Mostro is
Mostro is an open-source protocol for peer-to-peer bitcoin trading: independent node operators coordinate trades over Nostr, the seller's sats are locked in a Lightning hold invoice until the fiat payment is confirmed, and disputes go to the node's mediator. Its terms say no personal data is required to trade, no account is created, and Mostro never takes ownership of funds or keys. Identity is a key pair generated in the client and restored from a recovery phrase. Each node sets its own fees, supported currencies and dispute process, and there is no central or official node; clients include an Android app, a terminal interface and a command-line tool.
What Mostro offers, and what to watch
8 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 Not stated
- Accepts Lightning Yes Bitcoin Lightning payments: fast, cheap and more private than on-chain.
- 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 Not stated
- Open source Yes The code that matters is public and can be inspected.
- Independent audit Not stated
- Company named Not stated
- 5+ years operating Not stated
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 Mostro require KYC?
- 0 Never
- 1 Not mentioned
- 2 Rare
- 3 On risk flag
- 4 Mandatory
KYC level 0: ID never required. The terms rule out identity checks, or the design makes them impossible.
Terms section 5: 'no personal data is required to trade'; the software creates no account and trades settle between the two parties through Lightning hold invoices.
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
8.9- Starting points 50
- KYC level 0: ID never required +20
- No registration +6
- No email needed +3
- No phone needed +1
- Non-custodial +3
- Open source +2
- Self-hostable +3
- Accepts Lightning +1
- Total, clamped to 0–100 89
Safety
7.3- Starting points 50
- Non-custodial +12
- Open source +8
- Self-hostable +3
- Total, clamped to 0–100 73
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 Mostro’s terms and documentation. Tests will appear here with the date, route, amount band and result as they are run.
Incidents on record
No incidents are on record for Mostro. If you have a documented case, report it.
User reviews
Reviews never change a grade. Reviews with a transaction reference are marked.
No reviews yet.
Write a review
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Alternatives to Mostro
All alternatives → 
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Mostro: common questions
Does Mostro require KYC?
Mostro is rated KYC level 0 of 4 on this site: ID never required. Terms section 5: 'no personal data is required to trade'; the software creates no account and trades settle between the two parties through Lightning hold invoices.
Is Mostro safe to use?
Mostro has a Safety grade of 7.3 out of 10 and a Privacy grade of 8.9 out of 10. No incidents are on record. Evidence level: documentation reviewed.
Is Mostro legit?
Mostro is a working P2P exchange. Being real is not the same as being safe: its Safety grade here is 7.3 out of 10, built from custody, liquidity, track record and incidents.
Is Mostro a scam?
NoKYC Score does not label services as scams; it records documented incidents with their sources and outcomes. No incidents are on record for Mostro.
Do I need an account or email to use Mostro?
No account needed.
What fees does Mostro charge?
Set by each node operator; the FAQ gives about 0.3% each for buyer and seller as an example. Fees were recorded from Mostro's own pages and can change; check before you send.
What are Mostro's limits?
Set by each node operator.
Does Mostro have a Tor onion address?
No official onion address was found on Mostro's own pages.
Which cryptocurrencies does Mostro support?
Mostro supports BTC.
Is Mostro custodial?
No. Mostro is non-custodial: the operator does not control user funds.
Can I use Mostro over Tor?
Mostro does not publish an official onion address.
Listing history
- Listing added. Facts and KYC level set from the service's own terms and documentation.