Bisq vs RoboSats

Bisq is a decentralized, open‑source desktop app created by Manfred Karrer for buying and selling bitcoin directly with other people. It routes all traffic over Tor, uses a built‑in non‑custodial wallet and has no sign‑ups or KYC. Trades span many national currencies and payment rails, and the project is funded and governed through a community DAO with the BSQ token rather than a company.

What separates Bisq is its security and incentive design for fiat‑to‑BTC P2P. Each trade locks both sides’ refundable security deposits in a 2‑of‑2 multisig escrow. Account‑age and signing rules gradually raise per‑trade limits to reduce chargeback risk, and a small amount of bitcoin is required up front to cover fees and deposits. Trading fees are transparent and lower if paid in BSQ. It’s desktop‑first by design; the mobile app is for notifications.

User feedback highlights Bisq’s strengths in privacy, censorship resistance and self‑custody, along with clear, step‑by‑step trade flows and a multi‑stage dispute process if things go wrong.

The trade‑offs are thinner liquidity depending on region, wider spreads than convenience brokers, the need to already have a little bitcoin, and settlement times tied to the chosen fiat method and counterparties’ availability. Some users note that disputes can take time, and that desktop performance varies by setup.

Bisq’s target audience is privacy‑minded bitcoiners and anyone who needs a resilient, non‑custodial fiat ramp. The roadmap is to keep the marketplace permissionless while improving UX and resilience: Bisq 2 introduces a simpler “Bisq Easy” path alongside the familiar multisig protocol, support for multiple privacy networks, and optional use of Liquid for faster, lower‑fee settlement.

RoboSats is a privacy‑first, Lightning‑native peer‑to‑peer exchange for buying and selling bitcoin with fiat. It is open‑source, requires no registration or KYC, and runs primarily over Tor (with I2P and an Android app available). Each trade uses a one‑time “robot” identity tied to a secret token you control, and all peer chat is end‑to‑end encrypted with PGP. The flow is simple: make or take an order, both sides lock small Lightning bonds, the seller locks a Lightning hold‑invoice escrow, fiat moves, then sats are released.

What separates RoboSats is how deeply privacy and safety are built into the mechanics rather than bolted on. One‑trade identities reduce linkability across orders, PGP‑sealed chat prevents metadata leakage, and Lightning hold invoices act as both escrow and fidelity bonds to discourage cancellations and fraud. Pricing is transparent and market‑relative, fees are low at 0.2% split between maker and taker, and optional on‑chain payouts are handled via swaps. Clear best‑practice guides help users pick lower‑risk fiat rails and avoid chargeback traps.

The ideal audience is anyone who wants fast, low‑fee, no‑KYC bitcoin for modest amounts and is comfortable using Tor and a compatible Lightning wallet. Trade sizes are tuned to what routes reliably on Lightning today, which suits frequent smaller buys and sells. The UI is straightforward once you learn the token/robot model, and the documentation walks through wallet compatibility, order timing, disputes, and payment‑method hygiene to keep trades quick and clean.

RoboSats’ vision is to keep P2P bitcoin simple, private, and resilient, with a path toward a federated network of coordinators sharing a unified order book to reduce single‑operator risk while preserving the familiar UX.