How to Buy Bitcoin Without Disclosing Your Identity

Privacy preservation is one of cryptocurrency’s defining characteristics. Digital assets such as bitcoin provide a far higher degree of anonymity and surety than traditional online payment methods such as credit card or Paypal. There’s just one problem: buying bitcoin without disclosing your most intimate details isn’t easy. The following options, which don’t require KYC, are better bets for privacy connoisseurs.

Buy Your Bitcoin, Keep Your Privacy

Buying bitcoin in a discrete fashion was relatively easy in BTC’s early days. Sites like Localbitcoins.com required no KYC, and the lax regulatory environment enabled crypto exchanges in many countries to operate with impunity. Those days have long gone, and while the cryptocurrency landscape today is better in many ways, in certain areas it is arguably worse. KYC is a prime example. You can purchase a plane ticket with less questions than you can buy your first fraction of a bitcoin. Thankfully a few outposts, beyond the reach of US-dominated enforcers, remain.

Bisq

Hodl Hodl

Localbitcoins

Localbitcoins.com (LBC) was the original P2P exchange, and it retains a high volume of users, enabling BTC to be bought and sold in a matter of minutes. It remains the world’s go-to peer-to-peer exchange for purchasing bitcoin core. Earlier this year, LBC updated its terms of service to require additional identification for traders who exchange a significant volume of coins. Furthermore, LBC does require basic levels of trust to facilitate trading; a mobile number or email address for example, although these things are easily spoofed for those who desire maximum privacy. LBC’s greatest function, from a privacy perspective, however, is its ability to facilitate cash transactions in person. Once you’ve met and established trust with an LBC trader, subsequent transactions can be conducted in confidence and in privacy, without broadcasting your desire to buy bitcoin to the world.

Openbazaar

Online marketplace Openbazaar (OB) is a portal for buying all sorts of goods, from apparel to recreational drugs. It’s also a great place to buy cryptocurrency with no questions asked. After downloading the OB client, users are able to integrate their preferred BCH, BTC, or ZEC wallet and start trading. OB’s commitment to privacy and desire to support the principles upon which cryptocurrency was founded make it a popular choice with individuals who wish to purchase bitcoin without being forced to answer 100 questions.