What Is Bisq?

In the world of decentralized cryptocurrencies, there is a very serious centralization problem. It is uncanny how so many of us rely on third-party service providers in the form of centralized exchanges and brokers. This situation will have to change sooner or later, and the Bisq network may be the catalyst to drive this change. This open-source desktop solution for selling Bitcoin in a peer-to-peer and decentralized manner has a lot of potential.

Bisq is a Decentralized Exchange Tool

When it comes to buying or selling Bitcoin – or most other cryptocurrencies – there are plenty of methods available. One thing all of these methods have in common is how they take the decentralized aspect of these currencies away altogether. Using an exchange or broker is not the right way to buy or sell Bitcoin, nor has it ever been. Unfortunately, it is also the only reliable and accessible method for most people in the world today. Finding new and creative solutions to address these concerns is not all that easy.

Additionally, we have already seen a few projects and companies attempt to introduce decentralized peer-to-peer trading. None of these efforts have gained much traction, though, as it is very difficult to provide liquidity for such on-demand services. At the same time, there is no reason why such solutions could not replace typical cryptocurrency exchanges in the future, assuming they facilitate the buying and selling of Bitcoin and potentially altcoins with fiat currency.

This is where Bisq comes into the picture. This open-source desktop application focuses on letting people buy and sell Bitcoin in exchange for altcoins and national currencies alike. This may seem similar to LocalBitcoins, but it works slightly differently. On both platforms, one has to find other users to trade with after creating an offer or finding an existing one. However, with Bisq, there is no need for registration, no single point of failure, and it’s completely private.

Moreover, Bisq boasts some other impressive features, such as the fact that it does not hold onto user funds. Instead, the team uses decentralized arbitration tools and security deposits to protect traders at all times. All communication through Bisq is end-to-end encrypted over the Tor protocol, which is something a lot of people will appreciate. It is an interesting take on decentralized trading and seems to improve upon a few lingering issues similar projects have had.

As is usually the case with solutions like these, convincing the masses to use Bisq is a different story. Most people want convenience over security and decentralization. In fact, most novice cryptocurrency users couldn’t care less about how much information they must share with centralized cryptocurrency exchanges or their partners. It is a big problem in the world of decentralized currencies, but that doesn’t mean a concept such as Bisq can’t succeed. It will all depend on whether or not its users offer sufficient liquidity.

Because this app is open source, there will be vast improvements in the future as well. It seems some people are already working on adding even more currencies, as only Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Dash are supported as main trading markets right now. The number of active trades is still pretty low on Bisq, but things are not looking all that bad. Projects like these will eventually make cryptocurrencies “great again” because they focus on decentralization first and foremost.