Cryptocurrencies were designed as a means of transacting on a peer-to-peer basis without the involvement of any intermediaries. It was a beautiful concept, one that promised the advent of a digital era, a free economy running parallel to the traditional one like a river of freedom and digital liberty. My, my, how times have changed. Cryptocurrencies have since evolved, or devolved, into a means of making money through a very simple concept called trading. Many would go so far as to call this activity nothing short of speculation, but the fact remains that cryptocurrencies are not the utilities they were designed to be, their original purpose lost, the dream of a peer-to-peer economy – shattered.
What actually happened was the gradual and unstoppable onset of centralization – the bane of the concept that stood at the roots of blockchain technologies. As beautiful as decentralization sounds, it is not a viable system in any setting, since it negates the concept of responsibility – a critical component of society which is always on the lookout for guilt and a body to accuse in case something goes awry. Human greed, for money or for accountability, will always lead to centralization, with the most cunning and capital-endowed leading the charge into the ranks of power.
Few now ask “what is decentralization?”, since the concept has lost ground to the main purpose of cryptocurrencies in the modern world – trading. Indeed, the most common question now being asked online is “what is p2p trading?” The short answer to what is p2p trading in cryptocurrency terms is a far cry to the original purpose of digital assets – a clear and uninterrupted exchange of value between two parties to a transaction without the involvement of any intermediaries.
P2P trading is not just an exchange, it is a very profitable activity that users can rely on as they seek alternative means of generating income. The cryptocurrency market is brimming with opportunities in this regard and few can bypass the allure of actually partaking in p2p trading to sell cryptocurrency for a profit.
Peer-to-Peer Trading as a Market
The concept of p2p trading emerged with the rise of such concepts as a peer-to-peer exchange at the onset of the cryptocurrency industry. Back then, most newcomers would read through the concept and say “more information, please”. That is how it started and the line of thought ascended to profit in a rather clear cut flow of actions:
- Discovery of crypto assets;
- Uncovering of p2p trading as a concept;
- Purchase of their first crypto assets;
- Trading for a profit;
- Addiction and increase of portfolios.
P2P trading has evolved considerably since its nascence of the crypto industry, with the likes of the escrow service of the Binance p2p exchange emerging to the forefront. As payment confirmation becomes instantaneous in the p2p domain, many are flocking to it in hopes of making profits quickly. The transaction fees on most leading platforms favor mass orders, thus making the activity affordable even for entrants with low amounts of capital.
If the exchange is taken from the seller’s point of view, then the operation is quite simple. Naturally, one should not expect any super profits, as they don’t yield x27 on a single transaction, or ever. However, the buyer and the seller are on equal terms and the platform acts as an intermediary. The platform that offers escrow services is most often preferred, since it adds security to the transaction and guarantees its execution. The exchange takes place only between users and on their own terms.
Users on the p2p platform of choice receive their funds nearly instantly and can be sure that the exchange rate applied is in their favor. The fees Binance charges for transactions with the use of its native BNB token become even lower. The market price for commissions is usually in the region of around 1-2%. But many users still ask the question “does a p2p exchange need KY?” The answer is that most actually do request KYC, unless they are decentralized and do not abide by any legal frameworks.
The price of a cryptocurrency on a p2p exchange is set only by the seller and the buyer. The buy / sell operation is therefore a matter of individual matching. To use p2p services, users will still need to open an account. It is also more secure to have a non-custodial wallet attached to make sure the platform’s breach will not affect the user’s funds.
Key Takeaways
When it comes to the options of making money on the cryptocurrency market, one has to remember that if they have a certain amount of digital assets, they can always trade them on a p2p basis. This not only provides a certain degree of freedom in terms of setting prices, but can also yield a good amount of profit. Some professional traders rely on p2p trading platforms for their arbitrage trading practices and can often make hefty profits, considering that they trade across dozens of platforms simultaneously. As such, p2p trading is a good alternative to direct exchange trading.
