# Shopstr review: KYC policy, privacy and safety grades

> Shopstr is a marketplace. Its terms put it at KYC level 0 of 4: ID never required. NoKYC Score grades it 8.0/10 for privacy (strong) and 7.0/10 for safety (strong). In its favour: no account needed, no email needed and no phone number. No incidents are on record.

Source: NoKYC Score, "Shopstr review", reviewed 22 Oct 2026, https://nokycscore.com/service/shopstr

## Key facts
- **Category:** Marketplaces
- **KYC level:** 0 of 4: ID never required
- **Grades:** Privacy 8.0/10, Safety 7.0/10
- **Sign-up:** No account needed
- **Custody:** non-custodial
- **Fees:** No mandatory platform fee; sellers may set an optional donation rate
- **Jurisdiction:** Decentralised / none
- **Incidents on record:** 0
- **Last reviewed:** 22 Oct 2026
- **Official website:** https://shopstr.market

## What it is
Shopstr is a marketplace built on the Nostr protocol where anyone can list goods and be paid in Bitcoin. The site describes itself as free to use, with no KYC, self-custodial payments and open-source code. Sellers hold their own Nostr keys, so the site says a shop cannot be banned or frozen by a company, and user data is stored encrypted on relays the user chooses. Payments settle over Lightning or Cashu ecash directly between buyer and seller; the platform says it holds no funds and takes no mandatory fee, although sellers may set an optional donation rate. Its FAQ also covers signing in with an existing Nostr account and a pay-to-public-key escrow option.

## What the terms say about ID
Site states "No KYC" and "Self-custodial payments"; sign-in uses Nostr keys rather than an operator account.

## Features and warnings
- **Identity:** ID never required: yes; No account needed: yes; No email needed: yes; No phone number: yes
- **Payment:** Accepts Monero: not stated; Accepts Lightning: yes
- **Access:** Tor onion address: not stated; Works without JavaScript: not stated
- **Trust:** Escrow it cannot spend alone: not stated; Independent audit: not stated; Company named: not stated; 5+ years operating: not stated
- **Warnings:** May ask for ID: not in terms; Email required: not in terms; Phone number required: not in terms; Nobody accountable: not in terms

## Questions
### Does Shopstr require KYC?
Shopstr is rated KYC level 0 of 4 on this site: ID never required. Site states "No KYC" and "Self-custodial payments"; sign-in uses Nostr keys rather than an operator account.

### Is Shopstr safe to use?
Shopstr has a Safety grade of 7.0 out of 10 and a Privacy grade of 8.0 out of 10. No incidents are on record. Evidence level: documentation reviewed.

### Is Shopstr legit?
Shopstr is a working marketplace. Being real is not the same as being safe: its Safety grade here is 7.0 out of 10, built from custody, liquidity, track record and incidents.

### Is Shopstr 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 Shopstr.

### Do I need an account or email to use Shopstr?
No account needed.

### What fees does Shopstr charge?
No mandatory platform fee; sellers may set an optional donation rate. Fees were recorded from Shopstr's own pages and can change; check before you send.

### Does Shopstr have a Tor onion address?
No official onion address was found on Shopstr's own pages.

### Which cryptocurrencies does Shopstr support?
Shopstr supports BTC.

### Can I use Shopstr over Tor?
Shopstr does not publish an official onion address.

## Sources
- https://shopstr.market/
- https://shopstr.market/faq
- https://github.com/shopstr-eng/shopstr

How grades are calculated: https://nokycscore.com/methodology