If you’ve been in Bitcoin for a while you have probably heard people talking about “KYC” and “non-KYC” Bitcoin. What is this and if you want KYC free Bitcoin, how do you get it? This blogpost is a guide for Bitcoiners on the best way to buy Bitcoin “ethically”, that is without giving up your privacy by having to hand over your personal details and ID.
Article Contents and Quick Links
Key Takeaways
- There are viable options for everyone to buy Bitcoin "KYC-free", this means buying anonymously without handing over your identity and credentials.
- On the open global Bitcoin network, everyone has the same unrestricted access to all the peer to peer platforms. Each of these platforms have different trade offs and methodologies, the best way to learn these is to experiment for yourself.
- There is lots of liquidity in USD and EUR, the main challenge for Bitcoiners in smaller markets is finding liquidity and finding buyers who accept the payment methods you have access to. But buying in USD through services such as Wise & Revolut are excellent workarounds.
- For us there was one clear winner as the best way to buy KYC free Bitcoin: Robosats. No account setup or login required, easy to use, no technical barriers, multiple payment options and fast settlement on Lightning, it gets our vote.
What is non KYC Bitcoin?
Most people start their Bitcoin journey buying from an exchange like Coinbase or Binance. You sign up, provide all your personal information including your name, date of birth, driver license or passport, and only then are you ready to go. Even Bitcoin only exchanges like Swan and River require your ID. That’s all well and good when you're a noob, until you go a little further down the Rabbit Hole and start hearing people talking about “KYC” and all the evil associated with that.
KYC stands for “Know Your Customer” and is supposedly about “safety” but really it is about having as much information about you and your payment habits as possible.
If you’re this far into Bitcoin now, you are probably pro-privacy and pro-personal freedom, kind of along the lines of “I can spend my money on whatever I like and no-one needs to know about it”. Bitcoin is not most countries, we have personal privacy guaranteed to us in the Bill of Rights, so why do I have to give up all this personal information to buy it?
I’ll leave it to you to work out the ethics and morals of which of these practices is the illicit activity and whether you are doing the right thing or not by buying non-KYC Bitcoin. This guide aims to introduce and evaluate the most accessible options to buy “ethical” Bitcoin.
What this guide does not intend to do is provide a step by step guide through each method, there are some excellent guides online which we’ll link to so there’s no need to reinvent the wheel.
How do I buy non KYC Bitcoin?
All the methods we describe work on the same premise:
- You find someone who wants to sell Bitcoin. This could be through word of mouth or an online platform.
- You agree on a price. These platforms are all marketplaces, where buyers and sellers interact with each other to determine the price of Bitcoin for each transaction. There is no "fixed price" on any of these platforms.
- You pay them fiat currency. If you’re meeting your seller face to face, this involves you handing your fiat to them directly. If you’re not meeting face to face, this involves you transferring the money to the buyer via a money transfer app or service.
- After receiving your fiat, the Seller sends you your Bitcoin. This could be onchain or via Lightning.
Note: But hang on, I hear you say. If I’m sending money to the seller via Money Transfer services like Wise or Revolut, they have my ID so it’s not KYC free then is it?
Yes, your Money Transfer service or bank will have your details. But all they can see is that you sent some money to someone else, somewhere in the world. This transaction is not tied in any way to the Bitcoin, unless you’re unwise enough to write something like “Bitcoin Purchase” in the reference field! Just like buying something from someone on E-Bay, you’re paying for a good or service that is 100% legal (in most countries) so exercise your right to Privacy and keep a few details to yourself on this one.
What are my options for buying KYC free Bitcoin?
Here’s a quick summary of the services we tried for this article, click on the links to jump down to the details:
Comparing the best ways to buy non-KYC Bitcoin
| Privacy | Simplicity | Fees | Technical | Liquidity | Payment Methods | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Person | 5/5 | 5/5 | None | 0/5 | 2/5 | Cash |
| Azte.co | 5/5 (in person) ⅗ (online) | 4/5 | 3/5 | 1/5 | 3/5 | Whatever your vendor accepts. |
| HodlHodl | 4/5 | 4/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | Multiple. Wise, Revolut, Paypal etc. |
| Robosats | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | Multiple: Wise, bank deposit, Venmo, etc. |
| Bisq | 5/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | Multiple, as above. |
Stackrs Tip - Don’t write off buying Bitcoin Person to Person
Don’t underestimate the power of in person transactions. If you can find someone in real life who wants to sell you Bitcoin in person, this can actually be your most private option. We’ve found Bitcoiners visiting from overseas may want to sell some BTC for fiat to use while visiting your country, it’s a great win-win, you get some KYC free sats and they get some local cash without all the hassle.
The first time I had the opportunity to buy Bitcoin IRL from another Bitcoiner I was a bit surprised, “What do you mean you’re selling Bitcoin? Aren’t we supposed to Hodl to the death?” But then it happened again, and again. Bitcoin is money and sometimes people need to exchange money for physical goods and services, so if you can help a Bitcoiner turn their sats into Fiat for something they need, it’s a win-win, so give it a go.
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Buy KYC free Bitcoin in Person
What?! I hear you say. We’re digital natives, you’re not seriously expecting me to actually meet another person in real life to get some Magic Internet Money, you can’t be serious. Yes, this still happens and it is how members of your species have been exchanging goods and services since the dawn of time. Don’t write it off.
Find another human being who wants to sell you Bitcoin for dirty Fiat, agree on a price and make your exchange. It’s not that hard.
Once you’re involved in your local Bitcoin community, someone may ask you, or you may hear of someone who wants to sell Bitcoin. When it first happens you are kind of taken aback, hold on there soldier, I thought we were all Hodling to the death here?
Then you realize that there are some people who have been in Bitcoin for long enough to see a real appreciation in their coins and they actually use them to buy real world goods or services. Get used to it, and even better, take advantage of it.
Like everything in the world of Bitcoin, you are free to make your own choices and take responsibility for your own actions, so you need to figure out how to buy Bitcoin from a real person.
Overseas Bitcoiners visiting your area can be a great source of KYC-free sats, if they’ve got Bitcoin and they’re traveling they probably want some local fiat to use on their trip and you could well be in the market for some non KYC sats, a match made in heaven!
It’s a lot of fun to connect with Bitcoiners on Twitter or the Orange Pill App, show them the sites (including your local BTC friendly merchants), trade some sats for fiat and make friends in the process. If you're in an international gateway city, you are in a perfect spot for this, as most international visitors will travel through either on their way into or out of the country which gives you the perfect opportunity to meet fellow Bitcoiners and show them round. (and score some KYC free sats!)
In these kinds of exchanges, the easiest and most trustless way is probably to meet up in person, hand over the fiat and receive the Bitcoin exchange to a mobile wallet then and there. This has the added bonus of extra privacy for the buyer as there’s no legacy banking transaction involved at all.
Agree on a rate for the Fiat / BTC exchange by using any of the major exchanges (Coinmarketcap, Coingecko are all options) as a starting point and negotiate from there. This is the beauty of a peer to peer exchange in a free market, no-one other than the two participants in the transaction determine the price.
Advantages of Buying Bitcoin in Person
- Protect your online privacy, no digital footprint
- Meet other Bitcoiners
- No transaction fees
Disadvantages of Buying Bitcoin in Person
- Irregular, you don’t know when opportunities to buy will come up.
- Requires meeting physically and carrying cash, some people won’t like this.
- No predetermined market price, you have to work it out for yourselves ...
Buy KYC free Bitcoin on Azte.co
Azte.co offers a unique solution to the AML/KYC (anti money laundering / know your customer) requirements around selling a Digital Asset like Bitcoin, they don’t sell Bitcoin, instead they sell you a voucher which you can redeem for Bitcoin. Very clever.
There are Azte.co vendors all around the world, and you buy the voucher for the amount of sats you want and pay them in dirty fiat. They send (or give) you the voucher, which includes a QR code to redeem your sats, either on-chain or Lightning.
This is a clever approach to financial regulations in most countries, which treat Gift Vouchers differently than other financial products. As long as it works, who cares, right?
If there’s an Azte.co vendor with a physical location where you live, you can make the exchange in person and eliminate the need for a bank transaction which makes it very private. If you can’t meet your vendor face to face, then you’ll have to transfer the money to receive the voucher. This involves an element of trust, as you will have to send the fiat to the vendor before you receive your sats. You can also order your voucher over the telephone too! Azte.co vouchers are now available in Brazil to more than 125,000 retailers and is seen as an easy way to access Bitcoin for any amount.
Fees buying Bitcoin on Azte.co
Azte.co charge a 5% fee, which is usually broken down into a 3:2 split between the Vendor and Azte.co. Considering KYC free Bitcoin usually comes at a small premium, 5% is not too bad.
Advantages of buying Bitcoin via Azte.co
- If your vendor has good liquidity, you can buy on demand
- No transaction records if you buy face to face, protect your privacy fully
- Quick and easy, no account creation or waiting for offers to be accepted
- A great way to gift Bitcoin
Disadvantages of buying Bitcoin via Azte.co
- Involves trusting your vendor with your funds if you’re paying online
- You rely on your vendor having liquidity when you want to buy
- If you pay via bank transfer, your vendor does have your bank details so it's questionable whether it's truly "KYC free"
Find out more about Azte.co
Buy KYC free Bitcoin on Hodl Hodl
Hodl Hodl makes it pretty easy to buy KYC free Bitcoin from anywhere in the world, all you need is an email address. No ID or selfie with your thumb up your arse required.
Hodl Hodl have found an elegant way to circumvent regulations by never actually holding any money. Hodl Hodl works as an intermediary, putting buyers and sellers together but never receiving any money.
For a full walkthrough of Hodl Hodl, we recommend the BTC Sessions Video.
How to Buy KYC Free Bitcoin on Hodl Hodl:
- Create an account at HodlHodl.com with just an email address.
- Enter the marketplace, looking for the currency, minimum amount, and payment type that matches. Your best options are usually USD or EUR; they always have the most offers. However, even these currencies can sometimes have a very low number of offers in the market.
- Choose an offer that accepts a payment type you have. This may exclude Bitcoiners outside the US from options like Strike, Venmo, or CashApp. Wise and Revolut are popular. All our test buys used Wise, which worked fine. Some offers even accept Amazon Gift Cards, though at the time of our tests, we couldn't find an offer accepting this payment method.
- Accept an offer. Once you do, the seller transfers the Bitcoin to an on-chain multi-sig address controlled by both parties. This visibility allows you to verify the Bitcoin transfer on-chain before making your payment.
- Send your payment to the Seller using the agreed-upon method. HodlHodl offers a messaging interface for communication, showing which stage the process is at. One potential disadvantage is that on-chain transactions might require waiting for block confirmation. High fees can delay this. For instance, one of our test buys during high fees took 1.5 hours for block confirmation. This is an issue Hodl Hodl might want to address in the future, potentially by adding Lightning.
- Once the Seller confirms your fiat receipt, your BTC is released to your address. Using Wise, payments were confirmed in mere seconds.
In conclusion, Hodl Hodl was straightforward and efficient, with all purchases completed successfully.
If there's one potential disadvantage of buying through Hodl Hodl it would be the on-chain nature of all transactions. Due to this, buyers are at the mercy of block times and transaction fees. Waiting for an escrow transaction to be confirmed in a block can be time-consuming. While Hodl Hodl aims to calculate fees ensuring swift transaction confirmations, it's not always accurate. On one occasion, a 90-minute wait for our escrow transaction had me nearly canceling the whole thing due to it getting late. There are rumours of Hodl Hodl considering Lightning for payments, which could potentially solve this issue.
Despite Hodl Hodl listing many currencies, we didn't find significant liquidity in much outside the USD. Non US buyers might have to use services like Wise to convert to USD and make purchases.
Fees for buying Bitcoin on Hodl Hodl
Purchasing from outside the US can be costly, due to the conversion to USD. For instance, a USD100 purchase left us with USD86 in Bitcoin after accounting for Hodl Hodl and Bitcoin transaction fees, excluding FX fees for our own currency to USD conversion.
Example of fees on Hodl Hodl (from a test buy of USD100):
- Trading fee: 887 sats (USD$ 0.30)
- Bitcoin network fee: 4021 sats (USD$1.36)
- There might also be a partner fee for users of platforms linked to Hodl Hodl, like Trezor Suite.
- Additional FX fees for Fiat to USD conversion and transfer costs.
All services come with associated costs. It's up to the individual user to assess if buying KYC-free sats from Hodl Hodl is worth the associated expenses.
Advantages of buying Bitcoin on Hodl Hodl
- No ID required; only an email is needed.
- Access to various markets like USD, EUR, etc.
- Full on-chain visibility of your Bitcoin until its receipt.
Disadvantages of buying Bitcoin on Hodl Hodl
- High transaction fees during times of increased on-chain fees.
- Generally higher fees than other tested methods.
- Being a centralized company, it might face potential shutdowns by authorities.
Learn More about Hodl Hodl
Buy KYC free Bitcoin on Robosats
As we progressed through the various options to buy KYC free Bitcoin we found ourselves getting deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of decentralized freedom tech. Robosats is a very interesting platform, and if this was the first Bitcoin platform you ever encountered as a newbie to the space, it would be mind bender for sure.
What is Robosats?
Robosats is similar to Hodl Hodl in the sense that it’s an online marketplace putting buyers and sellers of Bitcoin together, but the tools and methodology used are very different. Even describing it pushes traditional vocab to the limits so the best way is to walk through the steps you take to buy KYC free Bitcoin on Robosats.
- Visit the Robosats website using their .onion address on the Tor browser.
- Create a one time “Robot” avatar for your trade. You will receive a key you can save to recreate the identity in the future, but it’s recommended to use a new identity for each trade. Your identity will receive a name like “GutsyAircraft102” or “Occupied Blood233” and a Robot avatar.
- Open up Market Place and review offers or post your own bid. Select your preferred options for fiat currency and payment method, this will filter the offers to match your criteria. NZD is an option here, but we never saw any offers.
- Before you can accept an offer you have to post a small amount of Bitcoin as a security bond. You’ll need a Lightning wallet with some sats in it to do this (E.g. Custodial options: Wallet of Satoshi, non-custodial options: Breez or Phoenix).
- Once you accept an offer (or have your bid accepted) you go through a similar process to Hodl Hodl, the buyer and seller are put together to proceed through each step of the process to where you send fiat to the seller using the agreed upon payment method.
- Once the seller receives your funds, your Bitcoin will be sent to you on the Lightning Network, so you need to have a Lightning wallet set up and ready to receive.
The best way to really understand Robosats is to try it for yourself, the second best way is to watch the BTC Sessions video on Robosats.
Buying Bitcoin in USD on Robosats
Robosats definitely felt more advanced and “out there” than the previous two methods. The one-time identities and robot avatars are cool, but how their security method works was a bit perplexing. You are required to post a bond in sats before the trade, but the amount you post is minimal, say just a couple of dollars to make a USD100 trade. The seller is required to lock up the entire amount in a Lightning Invoice before they can participate in the trade, and there’s a dispute process you can enter into if needed.
In terms of buying on Robosats from outside the US or EUR markets, other currencies are listed but we never saw much liquidity there at any time during our tests. So that means you need to convert to USD or EUR and buy in those markets. Payment methods were similar to those on Hodl Hodl, with Wise and Revolut seeming to have the best liquidity of the payment methods available.
Fees for buying Bitcoin on Robosats
The fees on Robosats were more reasonable than the other platforms we tried, here’s what you’ll pay:
- FX fees to convert your Fiat to USD using a service like Wise
- Transfer fees on Wise
- Robosats trade fee (eg. 0.175%)
- Lightning Network fee to receive to your wallet
- Any fees your wallet may charge to receive
Advantages of buying Bitcoin on Robosats
- Privacy. With no user accounts and access via the Tor network, your privacy is protected more here than the other methods we tested.
- Easy access. No logins required, just go to the Robosats website via their .onion address and you can make your first buy.
- Lightning withdrawals. Cheaper fees and the ability to consolidate your sats before moving to Cold Storage.
Disadvantages of buying Bitcoin on Robosats
- You need to have some Bitcoin on a Lightning wallet to buy on Robosats.
- Liquidity that matches your payment type and preferred currency can be low or limited.
Learn more about buying KYC free Bitcoin on Robosats
- Visit the Robosats Github page
- This is a link to the Robosats Github page where you can find the .onion address. For privacy, do not connect to Robosats via clearnet, use Tor.
- Watch the BTC Session video on Robosats ...
Buy KYC free Bitcoin on Bisq
The name Bisq comes from the old “Bitcoin Square”, a peer to peer marketplace from the early Bitcoin days, and it is an accurate representation of what Bisq does in the digital space. Another step down the decentralized FOSS rabbit hole, Bisq is an Open Source application you download to your own computer (after verifying the source code and signatures first of course) and run locally, which connects you to their global marketplace of Bitcoin buyers and sellers.
When you take a step back and think about how Bisq and other decentralized applications work, you really appreciate how much of a paradigm shift this all is. This is a network of people around the world downloading and running Open Source software to connect and exchange value, without performing any identity checks or vetting. You also appreciate how hard it is for some people to understand and even better, how hard it is going to be for anyone to try and stop it.
Bisq is nothing more than software which you’ve downloaded from the internet, there’s no company or organization running this, just open source developers working on code. You download the code and run the application, which happens to create a marketplace of buyers and sellers of Bitcoin. If you find a seller with whom you agree to a transaction with, you arrange a transaction of fiat currency between the two of you to settle the deal. This happens outside of Bisq, with no link to the interaction on Bisq visible anywhere.
Buying Bitcoin on Bisq
Bisq is the most technical of all the peer to peer options we tried, downloading and getting the application to work was quite simple, but we got lost when we tried to connect it to a node. There were instructions to update the bitcoin.conf file, which felt a bit too serious to me so I stopped there. I could see the buy and sell offers on the application, and the purchase process looked similar to Hodl Hodl or Robosats in the steps involved and payment methods.
But we didn’t actually complete a test transaction, as I didn’t want to do it connecting to an unknown node. Bisq supports the same payment methods and currencies as the other methods we tested and steps in as an arbitrator if there’s a dispute.
One interesting element of Bisq is that there is a token (BSQ), which to many in the Bitcoin world is a huge red flag and the sign of a project to be avoided. The token can be used to pay transaction fees, and offers discounted fees for anyone who uses it. But it is a crypto currency (a shitcoin!) and is tradable on exchanges, so some would say this clouds the incentives of the project developers. But seriously, what could go wrong with a token issued by an online exchange platform used to pay trading fees? (Anyone remember FTT token?)
Fees for buying Bitcoin on Bisq
The fees on Bisq were moderate, similar to those on Hodl Hodl, more than Robosats. You can reduce your trading fee by paying in the BSQ token.
- 0.7% fee to take an offer
- Bitcoin network fees (mining fees)
- FX and transfer fees on your chosen payment method
So although we didn’t actually test Bisq with a purchase, here’s our summary:
Advantages of buying Bitcoin on Bisq
- Fully decentralized platform with no central point of failure.
- No ID or even an email address required.
Disadvantages of buying Bitcoin on Bisq
- Technically advanced option, not for beginners or non-technical people.
- It has a token, which to some Bitcoiners makes them “Shitcoiners”.
Find out more about Bisq
Summary
The great thing about Bitcoin is that it is one global, permissionless market which anyone can participate in just as easily as anyone else in the world with access to the internet. That means when a new Peer-to-Peer platform is released onto the Marketplace, Bitcoiners anywhere in the world can get on board right away.
But where it gets a little trickier if your're outside the US is with currency and payment methods. Most of these platforms will accept offers in any currency or payment method, it’s just about critical mass. As the saying goes, Liquidity begets Liquidity, the biggest pools of liquidity will continue to grow. And in terms of currencies, that means the USD is still king, and that’s not too hard to deal with if you have access to a service like Wise.
The same issue exists around payment methods, most sellers of Bitcoin are in the US or Europe and they use payment platforms like Strike, Cash App or Venmo, which users outside the US won't be able to access..
But luckily enough there are services available here like Wise and Revolut which make it easy to keep a USD or EUR balance and transfer fiat to sellers of KYC free sats on these platforms.
So if you’re keen to experiment with KYC-free sats, give the above options a try and let us know what you think.