Bisq is an open project for buying and selling bitcoin directly between people. Instead of an exchange account where a company holds your money, you use an application connected to other participants. This arrangement is called peer-to-peer. The software helps you find an offer and complete a trade, while ordinary money goes to the other person through a method such as a bank transfer. There is no central exchange custodian, but checking payments and following the agreed process remain your responsibility.
Imagine buying bitcoin with euros from someone you have never met. What ensures you receive the coins after paying? Bisq offers different answers. In Bisq 1, both participants put up a bitcoin security deposit, and the coins for sale are locked under shared conditions. Bisq Easy, available in the Bisq 2 application, lets buyers start without a deposit: they pay first and choose a seller partly on reputation, meaning an established track record. This is more than a different interface. Before accepting an offer, you need to know which process you are using and what happens if the other person stops cooperating. [1] [5]
In Bisq 1, the bitcoin for sale and both participants’ deposits are locked using 2-of-2 multisig. This arrangement requires both buyer and seller to sign an ordinary payout. After a properly completed trade, each gets their deposit back; it is not a fee paid to Bisq. Breaking the rules can, however, cost part or all of a deposit, depending on how a dispute is resolved. A buyer therefore needs some bitcoin before buying more, including funds for related network fees. A wallet balance marked Locked is committed to a trade. Holding your own key does not let you withdraw it freely on your own. [2] [7]
When selling through Bisq 1, you may receive an “I’ve paid” message and a screenshot of a banking app. Neither is a received payment. The seller should check their own account, the actual credit and whether the payer’s name, account and payment method match the agreement. Only then should they confirm receipt; discrepancies call for mediation. Buyers likewise mark a payment as sent only after actually sending it. Once a trade starts, neither party can simply rewrite its payment terms. If a bank blocks a transfer, for example, a proposed change needs to be discussed in the trade chat or through mediation. The other person need not accept a different account or method. [3]
The traders first try to resolve the problem in Bisq’s chat. If that is not enough, a mediator reviews the evidence and proposes how the funds should be divided. In Bisq 1, this person has no third multisig key and cannot carry out the proposal alone. An ordinary dispute settlement needs both traders to accept and sign it. Last-resort arbitration follows a different route: a transaction prepared earlier can be published only after a time delay, sending the locked funds to designated project addresses; reimbursement is then handled separately. This is no instant refund button. Keeping records, replying promptly and preserving the application’s trade state all matter. [4]
For a first small purchase, needing bitcoin for a deposit can itself be an obstacle. Bisq Easy removes that requirement and charges no trading fee. A seller may still build costs into a higher offer price, and the chosen transfer method may have costs. The buyer sends ordinary money first and receives bitcoin afterward. Reputation helps assess a seller, but cannot cryptographically force them to deliver the promised coins. This is why the model is intended for small trades, rather than providing equally strong security without collateral. A mediator may help if something goes wrong, and a fraudulent profile may be banned. Neither measure can retroactively fund the missing collateral for that trade. [5]
Bisq uses Tor, a network that makes it harder to link network communication to your internet address, and stores application data on your device. That is useful, but a bank transfer still passes through a bank and may reveal your name or account number to the recipient. On Bisq Easy, someone may obtain those details and then abandon the trade. Bitcoin transactions also remain visible on the public blockchain. No central registration therefore does not mean anonymity from everyone. Keeping conversations in the relevant trade’s chat helps preserve evidence; moving to an unrelated messenger makes it harder to trace what happened if a dispute follows. [1] [5]
A Seed Phrase, the wallet’s recovery words, helps recover keys. It does not contain the full history of an unfinished trade. Bisq 1 therefore needs a backup of the entire application data directory, including payment accounts, ongoing trades and disputes. Exporting accounts alone leaves out information needed to preserve account age and signatures, which document their history. A wallet password does not encrypt that entire directory, so the backup also needs protection as a collection of sensitive information. Restoring keys in another wallet is not a substitute for restoring the application. Subsequent spending can disrupt open trades or destroy the BSQ token attached to particular bitcoin outputs if those outputs are spent as ordinary bitcoin. [6] [7]
The distinction between the two application series matters when downloading, too. Bisq 2 v2.1.12 is a historical example: it fixed reputation security, required an update for continued trading and warned about Intel and Apple Silicon installer packages being mixed up during in-app downloads. Bisq 1 v1.10.7 instead addressed corrupted data from an earlier release in the DAO, the project’s governance system. These version numbers are not recommendations to install those older releases. Check the current release for the relevant series and processor type. Checking the installer’s PGP/GPG signature against a properly verified public key helps establish that the file came from its publisher and was not altered; it does not guarantee bug-free software. [8] [9] [10]
For the clearest picture, read this entry together with Self-custody, Multisig, Bitcoin Privacy, Peach Bitcoin. The reverse links also lead from Peach Bitcoin.