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What are the Differences Between Peer-to-Peer and Regular Bitcoin Exchanges?

By August 28, 2020May 9th, 20233 minute read

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.

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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

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Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Bitcoins Will Ever Be Created?

The source code of Bitcoin stipulates that it must have a restricted and finite quantity. As a result, only 21 million Bitcoins will ever be generated. These Bitcoins are added to the Bitcoin supply at a predetermined rate of one block every ten minutes on average. The supply of Bitcoins will be depleted once miners have unlocked this number of Bitcoins. It's possible, however, that the protocol for Bitcoin will be altered to allow for a higher supply.

How To Create Bitcoin Account?

Firstly, Go to the WazirX website and sign up. Then, a verification mail will be sent to you. The link sent via verification mail would be available only for a few seconds so make sure you click on the link sent to you as soon as possible, and it will verify your email address successfully. The next step is to set up security, so select the most suitable option for you. After you have set up the security, you will get a choice to either proceed further with or without completing the KYC procedure. After that, you will be directed to the Funds and Transfer page, where you could start depositing Bitcoins to your wallet. You can also deposit INR and then use it to buy Bitcoin for your WazirX Bitcoin wallet.

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.

How Does Bitcoin Technology Work?

The blockchain is the foundation of Bitcoin. It is a decentralized, distributed ledger that tracks the provenance of digital assets. The data on a blockchain can't be changed by design, making it a real disruptor in industries like payments, cybersecurity, and healthcare.

How To Make Bitcoin?

Bitcoin mining is not just the process of putting new Bitcoins into circulation, but it is also an essential part of the blockchain ledger's upkeep and development. It is carried out with the assistance of highly advanced computers that answer challenging computational math problems. Miners are rewarded for their efforts as auditors. They are in charge of ensuring that Bitcoin transactions are legitimate. Satoshi Nakamoto, who is the founder of Bitcoin, innovated this standard for keeping Bitcoin users ethical. Miners help to prevent the "double-spending problem" by confirming transactions.

How Does Bitcoin Work?

The blockchain, a distributed digital ledger, is what Bitcoin is based on. As the name suggests, blockchain is a linked database made up of blocks that store information about each transaction, such as the date and time, total amount, buyer and seller, and a unique identifier for each exchange. Entries are linked in chronological order to form a digital blockchain. Entries are linked in chronological order to form a digital blockchain. Blockchain is decentralized, which means any central authority does not control it.

What Is Bitcoin And How Does It Work?

Bitcoin is decentralized digital money that may be bought, sold, and exchanged without an intermediary such as a bank. Bitcoin is based on a blockchain that is considered to be a distributed digital ledger. As the name suggests, blockchain is a linked database made up of blocks that store information about each transaction, such as the date and time, total amount, buyer and seller, and a unique identifier for each exchange. Entries are linked in chronological order to form a digital blockchain

What Is The Meaning Of Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency that was first introduced in January 2009. It is invented based on the key concepts and notions presented in a whitepaper by Satoshi Nakamoto, a mysterious and pseudonymous figure. The name of the individual or people who invented technology is yet unknown. Bitcoin promises reduced transaction fees than existing online payment methods, and a decentralized authority controls it, unlike government-issued currencies.

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 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.

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.
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