Bisq Decentralized Exchange

Hey Fellow IoTechs!

Does anyone here use Bisq for buying BTC? If yes, what are the pros and cons?

Thanks in advance!

I haven’t used Bisq in a while, but years back I could never get a trade to go through. The pro is a non KYC gateway to trades. The biggest issue is liquidity; when I tried to use it there were no sell offers to enact on.

To be private, you would have to use money orders or prepaid giftcards. And then you have to trust the protocol.

Best of luck!

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thanks mr_e! Exploring some different options.

What do you think of Bitcoin IRAs? Especially the Roth, for those who qualify, as a way of investing in BTC and alts and minimizing TX fees and taxes? Also as a way of diversifying digital investments in addition to holding some currency as a single sig on one’s own hardware wallets.

I am no expert on finances, and I know little about traditional IRAs, but here are a few of my concerns with crypto IRA options:

The first would be fees (not transaction fees, but “service fees” charged by the IRA company). Being a fairly new industry, crypto IRAs can charge higher fees than standard IRAs; I have seen some options with fees of 15% to purchase digital assets with your capitol. While contributions from existing IRAs (401k, Roth, etc) are tax-free, withdrawals are taxable. Most options I have seen do not allow personal access to spending assets until a taxable withdrawal is made.

The second tacks on the first point; the crypto IRA market is quite new. Even with experience in traditional finance, there are nuances that are present in crypto not ever before seen in traditional finance. Most IRA companies started in “legacy” finance, so their understanding of markets may or may not lend well towards crypto.

Lastly, the fact that these account are controlled by central companies is a step backwards in my opinion. Decentralization is a huge narrative in the crypto space, and these IRAs are far from it.

All these points are why I believe Defi within smart contract chains seems to be a better answer as far as low (possibly 0) taxes, yet the TX fees are the only thing to worry about. Having a good plan of what Defi tactics to use can ensure the fewest transactions take place.

Ethereum has many money markets that YOU personally can maintain. WOW!

If you haven’t already, check out the Defi 101 and 201 courses at the Academy.

Again, keep in mind these are my opinions and may be formed on incomplete information, but should mostly hold true.