Getting More Users on Bisq

Bisq is this cool way to trade Bitcoin for cash and stuff. They call themselves an "Exchange, Decentralized". It’s all computer-to-computer, so we dodge the control that regular exchanges put on us. Decentralization was the whole point of Bitcoin anyway. What other completely decentralized exchanges are out there?

Robosats is worth checking out. It has the lightning network, but make sure to use Tor or it’ll be a headache. The issue I see is that my currency doesn't have enough people on these exchanges. It feels like only folks from the US and Europe are benefiting.

Right? It's strange that decentralized exchanges aren't booming. People still flock to centralized ones even after all the warnings about custodial risks. Plus, with fewer users, the P2P trading experience can really suck due to limited ads and bad prices.

Hodl Hodl is another option similar to Bisq. Just throwing that out there.

There's Haveno too, but it's for Monero. Honestly, I don't think there are any truly decentralized exchanges besides that. You've got centralized options like Robosats and semi-decentralized ones like Peach, but they don't have the same ethos as Bisq.

I haven't tried either Bisq or Robosats. I downloaded them but couldn't use them since payment methods in my country aren't supported. Seems like it's mostly a US thing.

Sounds like you're right, Bisq is pretty US-centric.

For an exchange to be fully decentralized, it needs to be permissionless, trustless, have decentralized control, and maintain transparency. Plus, it should be privacy-friendly. It's better to use something like Bitcoin that holds these values.

Bisq can be accessed globally, but liquidity is a huge problem. I've been wanting to try it for ages, but the rates are just ridiculous. We seriously need more people to make it work.

Maybe some real-world testing would help. Appreciate your thoughts on this.

There are efforts to educate users about Bisq, showing them how to use it, but I can't find those campaigns anywhere.

Most people today don’t really care about decentralization or privacy. They just want to trade easily, so they stick to platforms like Binance or OKX because it’s convenient.

Bisq is solid for cash trades without KYC, but not everyone is on board with using it. The mobile version might be easier, but the rates can be worse than centralized exchanges.

Thanks for the info, everyone! I checked Bitcoin Core's size. Seems like it's about 70 MB, but Bisq is around 400 MB. That's quite a difference!

Installer sizes don’t tell the whole story though. When you run Bitcoin Core, it takes way more space. Size doesn’t equate to performance or demand.

You mentioned they serve different purposes though. Are we comparing wallets and exchanges?

People keep saying Bisq needs more users, but I hardly see anyone promoting it here. If you care about it, wear a Bisq signature and show your support instead of just complaining.

But what if we could have both? That would give people the choice between centralized and decentralized options.

Well, Bitcoin is Bitcoin. If you're swapping Bitcoin for altcoins, just use exchanges. No need to complicate things.

Totally agree. Bisq does decentralization right, but it’s all about perceived value.