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Two kinds of bitcoin and crypto exchange platforms exist within the cryptocurrency ecosystem – regular exchanges and their peer-to-peer counterparts.
All transactions (fiat-to-crypto, crypto-to-crypto, crypto-to-fiat) are powered by order books on regular bitcoin exchanges. The platform’s algorithm anonymously matches buyers and sellers based on the value of buy/sell orders.
The story is different for peer-to-peer bitcoin exchanges. Unlike the usual crypto trading platforms, transacting parties on peer-to-peer platforms connect directly and fulfill trading deals.
This is a general overview of regular and peer-to-peer bitcoin exchange platforms, but the two are different on a few more levels. Let’s examine the differences one by one.
Time Required To Complete Trades
The greatest advantage associated with usual bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges is time. Since buyers and sellers interact through order books, transactions happen in a jiffy.
On the other hand, it takes quite some time to complete trades on peer-to-peer bitcoin exchanges. Why? Because transfers happen only after peers ensure complete satisfaction wrt genuity of their transacting counterparts.
Also, transactions (involving both fiat money and cryptocurrencies) are considered complete when peers receive the agreed funds in their respective accounts.
Information Of Trading Counterpart
Regular bitcoin exchanges by their very design provide anonymity to traders. So, transacting parties don’t get to know anything about their peers except the order value.
Although, we at WazirX have successfully kept the peer-to-peer nature of cryptocurrency transactions by developing the world’s first P2P engine. Also, traders can seek peers in the official WazirX Discuss Telegram group to fulfill their crypto-USDT trades.
Trading on a peer-to-peer bitcoin exchange begins with an ‘exchange’ of personal information between traders. Peers share name, location, bitcoin/crypto wallet addresses to initiate transactions.
Sometimes, traders even conduct face-to-face meetings to ascertain the source of funds, past crypto trading experience, etc. Few platforms have chat functionalities to help trading peers clarify things before executing transactions.
Other Differences
Besides the above there are few more points of distinction between regular and peer-to-peer bitcoin exchanges.
Trading on usual crypto exchange platforms happens based on digital asset prices generated through the value of trades in order books. On the contrary, users of peer-to-peer platforms can set their own rates to execute a deal.
Very few understand the functionality of peer-to-peer trading platforms. The customer journey can be long and tiring for a new user.
Whereas, with regular bitcoin exchanges, it’s just a matter of setting up an account and finishing a few steps to become eligible for trading.
Trading on peer-to-peer bitcoin exchanges can involve a substantial number of fraudulent incidents as there is no KYC procedure involved.
Dispute resolution could take longer times, with some disputes remaining unresolved. Users are responsible for the security of their funds.
In an incident of fraud or malicious activity, regular bitcoin exchanges can help restore funds, and track the source of the attack/theft due to appropriate KYC/AML procedures.
We try and do our bit in keeping cryptocurrency and fiat funds of users safe. And how?
By performing regular security audits to ensure that the platform is secure enough to buy and trade crypto assets.
To open an account on WazirX check out this link.
Also you can download the app and Start Trading Now!
Android App – WazirX – Buy Sell Bitcoin & Other Cryptocurrencies
iOS App – WazirX
Frequently Asked Questions
What Type Of Currency Is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a type of digital currency or cryptocurrency. In January 2009, Bitcoin was established. It's based on Satoshi Nakamoto's ideas, which he laid out in a whitepaper. The name of the individual or people who invented the technology remains unknown.
Is Bitcoin And Cryptocurrency The Same Thing?
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that was designed to facilitate cross-border transactions, eliminate government control over transactions, and streamline the entire process without third-party intermediaries. The absence of intermediaries has resulted in a significant reduction in transaction costs. Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, created the first cryptocurrency in 2008. It began as open-source software for money transfers. Since then, plenty of cryptocurrencies have emerged, with some focusing on specific fields.
How Much Is 1 Bitcoin Worth Today?
Check out the current price of Bitcoin on the WazirX exchange. Bitcoin's value is primarily determined by its supply and demand in the market. Other elements have an impact on its worth. Its intrinsic value can also be calculated by calculating the average marginal cost of producing a Bitcoin at any given time, based on the block reward, electricity price, mining hardware energy efficiency, and mining difficulty.
Is Bitcoin A Good Investment For The Future?
Some investors are afraid of the risks or devastation, but others are very eager to pursue the possibility of profit from a Bitcoin investment. A Bitcoin investment is similar to stock investing, except it can be more volatile.
What Is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that may be purchased, traded, and traded without intermediary like a bank. Bitcoin is built on the blockchain, which is a distributed digital ledger. Wei Dai suggested a new kind of money that relies on cryptography rather than a central authority to oversee its production and transactions on the cypherpunks mailing list in 1998. Bitcoin was the first application of that notion. In 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto sent out the first Bitcoin specification and proof of concept to a cryptography mailing group.
Is Bitcoin Legal In India?
In India, Bitcoin is not illegal. Because of cryptocurrency's rapid evolution, policymakers and regulators seemed to have recognized the chance to accept the new technology early. From the infamous 'RBI ban' in 2018 to reports of an impending bill banning cryptos in 2021 that has yet to develop, India has seen its fair share of ups and downs when it comes to Bitcoin regulation. Last year, the Supreme Court Of India approved the use of Bitcoin throughout the country. According to the Supreme Court, the existence of Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency is unregulated but not unlawful.
What Are The Chances Of Bitcoin Crashing?
Two Yale University economists (Yukun Liu and Aleh Tsyvinski) produced research titled "Risks and Returns of Cryptocurrency" in 2018. They looked at the possibility of Bitcoin crashing to zero in a single day. The authors discovered that the chances of an undefined tragedy crashing Bitcoin to zero ranged from 0 percent to 1.3 percent and was around 0.4 percent at the time of publishing, using Bitcoin's history returns to determine its risk-neutral disaster probability. Others claim that because Bitcoin has no intrinsic value, it will inevitably crash to zero. On the other hand, Bitcoin advocates argue that the currency is backed by customer confidence and mathematics.
What Is Bitcoin Used For?
Bitcoin was created as a means of sending money over the internet. The digital currency was designed to be a non-centralized alternative payment system that could be used in the same way as traditional currencies. Bitcoin is being used by an increasing number of businesses and individuals. This includes establishments such as restaurants, apartments, and law firms.
How Many Bitcoins Are There?
There are 18,730,931.25 Bitcoins in circulation as of June 2021. The total number of Bitcoins that would ever be there is just 21 million. On average, 144 blocks are mined every day, with 6.25 Bitcoins per block. The average number of new Bitcoins mined every day is 900, calculated by multiplying 144 by 6.25.
How Can I Convert Bitcoins To Cash?
Bitcoin may be converted to cash in various ways, including crypto exchanges, Bitcoin ATMs, Bitcoin Debit Cards, and Peer to Peer Transactions. You may do this by using Bitcoin exchanges like WazirX. You may also sell Bitcoin for cash faster and more anonymously through a peer-to-peer marketplace.
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency is not a legal tender and is currently unregulated. Kindly ensure that you undertake sufficient risk assessment when trading cryptocurrencies as they are often subject to high price volatility. The information provided in this section doesn't represent any investment advice or WazirX's official position. WazirX reserves the right in its sole discretion to amend or change this blog post at any time and for any reasons without prior notice.
