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Basics
What is P2P trading?
In P2P (Peer-to-Peer) trading, the users directly buy or sell cryptocurrencies from each other on a P2P platform, exchange, or marketplace. This is one of the most common ways users can buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency. A P2P platform serves as the trade facilitator by providing a platform for buyers and sellers to broadcast their offers. At the same time, it can ensure the safety and timely delivery of digital assets during trade execution. P2P trading is also in line with Bitcoin's founder Satoshi Nakamoto's idea of Bitcoin being a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Originally, it allowed you to trade directly with another party without using centralized exchanges. The exchange could occur in person or online communities where buyers and sellers meet.
What is P2Pcoins.io?
P2Pcoins.io is a global P2P Bitcoin, Monero, and Ethereum trading platform allowing users to trade directly with each other. It doesn't hold users' funds, instead, funds are locked in a multisig escrow, minimizing risks and reducing trading time. Because P2Pcoins.io does not hold any funds (neither Bitcoin nor fiat) it is not subject to complex compliance procedures. All trades happen directly between user's crypto addresses.
How does P2Pcoins.io work?
On P2Pcoins.io all trades occur directly between buyers and sellers, without a middleman involved. When a trade is created between two users, P2Pcoins generates a unique escrow address protected by Shamir;s secret sharing (SSS) where each party holds its share, encrypted by their own password. The share is a part of a secret. This secret is needed to access coins in escrow and can be constructed only from at least 2 out of 3 shares. Shares are distributed this way: One to the seller, One to the buyer, and one to P2Pcoins.io. No party can access the coins with only one share. The seller then sends the coins to an escrow address and when the coins are locked, the buyer sends the fiat to the seller. The seller then confirms receiving fiat and unlocks coins from escrow. The buyer then receives coins directly to his personal address.
How do I start trading?
Register with email, username and password and you are good to go!
How much does it cost to use P2Pcoins.io?
There is a trading fee of 1% for standard users and 0.5% for premium accounts.
What cryptocurrencies are available at P2Pcoins.io?
We support: Bitcoin, Monero and Ethereum
Can I trade crypto-to-crypto?
Yes, you can select another crypto as payment method.
Offers
What is an offer?
An offer is a proposal to buy or sell Bitcoin/Monero/Ethereum. To open a trade, users need to accept someone's offer.
How can I create my own offer?
To create your own offer click on "create offer" on the offers page and follow the instructions.
How many offers can I create?
You can create an unlimited amount of offers, but standard users can have a maximum of 5 active offers at a time.
What is the difference between fixed and dynamic price?
Dynamic price is fetched every few minutes and is equal to the current exchange rate of the coin. Fixed price is set by you and never changes.
What is the margin?
Dynamic prices usually have a margin set to some small number. This number represents the percentage that is added or subtracted from the current exchange rate.
Are there limits to the price?
The maximum price limit is set to 3x the current exchange rate.
What are the "Working hours"?
Working hours are a timeframe when the offer is active. Users can set their own working hours. If the offer is outside of working hours, it will be visible in the offers list but it is not possible to open a trade on that offer.
Why did my offer become inactive?
If the user is inactive for more than 10 days, their offers will be deactivated automatically.
Can I make my offer private?
Yes, this offer is not visible in the offers list, but is accessible via direct link.
What does minimum block confirmations mean?
This is the minimum amount of confirmations on blockchain for the trade to be confirmed and go through. Default value is 1.
Trades
How many trades can I create?
You can open up to 5 trades at a time. If you have 5 ongoing trades, you cannot open more, but if you have an active offer, another party can open a trade with you.
What is the minimum amount of coins I can buy or sell?
For each coin, the minimum amount is set to 50 USD and its equivalent in every currency.
How much is the release transaction fee?
We are using the current optimal transaction fee for the transaction being confirmed in the next block.
What is the contract password?
To ensure security, a contract password is used to encrypt the users secret share for each trade. This password is different from the login password and users should not use the same for both to avoid any security risk. You set this password once and it will be required before every trade as well as when finalizing the trade. Forgetting this password may lead to the loss of funds. Keep it safe.
What are the different trade statuses and what do they mean?
1. Open - Trade was opened by the user 2. Accepted - Trade was accepted by both parties 3. Unconfirmed - Seller sent coins to escrow and trade is waiting for enough confirmations 4. Confirmed - Coins are locked in escrow 5. Paid - The buyer sent fiat to the seller 6. Finished - Trade finished with success 6. Disputed - Trade was disputed 6. Resolved - Dispute was resolved 7. Cancelled, cancelled-refunded, cancelled-unconfirmed - The trade was cancelled
How and when can I cancel a trade
There are restrictions to cancelling a contract in each stage to protect both parties. 1. Open - both parties anytime 2. Accepted - Buyer: after 30 minutes. Seller: any time 3. Unconfirmed - Buyer: after 2 hours. Seller: any time 4. Confirmed - Buyer: after 2 hours. Seller: after 2 hours 5. Paid - None
What happens if the trade is cancelled?
If the trade was cancelled before escrow was funded, no action is needed. If the trade was cancelled while the escrow was being funded or after the funds were locked, the seller is able to refund them. The funds are refunded to the address set in the profile.
What happens if the seller sent the wrong amount to the escrow address?
As soon as we detect the transaction, the trade will be cancelled and the seller will be able to refund the coins.
What is the release address?
If you are buying bitcoin, monero or ethereum, the coins you buy go directly to your personal address. This is the address where you want to received your newly bought coins. The release address can be changed before each trade. If you are selling some coins and you fund the escrow, sometimes the buyer becomes unresponsive or the trade gets cancelled for some reason. In that case, you can refund your coins and they get refunded to the release address set in your settings page.
Can I change my release address while I`m engaged in a trade?
Yes, but only new trades will use the new address.
What should I do if the contract status is disputed?
In case of a dispute, you will be contacted over the trade chat by our support team. Please follow the instruction of our team.
How are disputes resolved?
After all of the required information has been received and analyzed, the support manager will decide whether to allow a refund of coins back to the seller, or to allow the buyer to release the coins to his own address address. During the dispute process, the coins remain locked in escrow.
Account
How can I share my reputation from other P2P trading platforms?
We have a guide ready for you at https://medium.com/@p2pcoins.io/reputation-transfer-guide-5617b41c6205
Can I block another user?
Yes. Blocked users will not be able to see your profile, your offers and you cannot open trades with each other.
What are the reviews and user rating?
After each trade, users can leave a review for each other. A user can leave only one review about another user and this review can be edited anytime. The average rating is then displayed on the user's profile. Bad rating may suggest that the user is trying to scam other traders.
Can I delete my account?
Yes, you can delete your profile in Settings page. Note that your account will be permanently deleted and you will not be able to restore it.
What does it mean if the account was banned?
If we detect scamming activity, we will promptly ban the malicious account. This account is no longer active.
Referrals
What is the referral program?
With referral program, you can invite users through your referral link and earn up to 60% of the trading fee, if they successfuly finish the trade.
How can I invite new users?
In your profile settings, inside "Referral" card, you can find a link that you can share with people or on social media. There is also more detailed information about the program and about your earnings.
How is referral reward calculated?
Standart reward is 30% from fee for the user that registered by you. If you bring both users that are engaging in one trade, standart reward is 60% from one users fee. Therefore if the trade has the value of 2000€, and you referred both users, your reward is 12€
How do I get paid?
After an user you have invited, finishes a trade, reward is deducted and send diretcly to your BTC/XMR/ETH address, that you have set in your profile as receiving address.
What about TX fees?
To be able to pay a referee, transactions on Bitcoin Blockchain requires more outputs, therefore are more costly. The buyer is not covering these additional fees, but the referees does. We are deducting 40 vbytes worth of SATS from each referee and they are used to pay additional cost of the transaction. If these fees are more than referral earnings (for example if the blockchain fees are very high) referrees are not paid. This situation, where we are unable to release referral earnings can happend also if the difference between the cost of transaction and fee is below the Bitcoin dust treshold.
Privacy and Security
How secure is trading on P2Pcoins.io?
Keeping you and your funds safe is our priority. We value privacy and security. We don't hold any of your private information, just your username and email. We do not have access to your funds, but in the case of a dispute, we help you to get your coins or fiat.
Can I trade without completing Identity Verification?
Yes.
As a P2P trader, how am I protected?
All trades are protected by escrow. The seller needs to fund the protected address and you can verify, even on third party blockchain services, if the address received the funds. Once there are enough confirmations, the coins are locked. If there is an issue with the trade, you can contact our support team or open a dispute.
Are you holding my funds?
No, we do not have direct access to your funds. We hold one of the keys needed to unlock coins in case of a dispute.