Avoid trading crypto in real person. You can see this now on Binance.

[Marvelman]

There are risks, no doubt.  But steering clear of it completely seems kinda extreme.  There's ways to play it safer if you wanna meet up for a trade. 

For starters, pick spots with a buncha people around.  Public places with tons of foot traffic keeps things less shady and  bringing a buddy or two makes sense too.  More eyes watching out is smart. Schedule meets during the day when you can see better.  When it's light out, public areas tend to be chillier.  Oh, and let someone know the plan - where you're heading and when you think youll be back.  Just a basic precaution.   

So yeah, with some smart moves, in-person crypto trading doesn't have to be so risky.  You can take steps to avoid problems going down.

[Hypnosis00]

I usually use P2P trading in Binance and I have never encountered being asked for KYC and Maybe this is possible because I'd look into those buyers that have a high positive response from their previous performance and offer a fair price.

But talking about physical trade, for me, It was not a safe choice for anyone knowing that there were a lot of people who were too hungry for money, we're putting ourselves at risk as well. The best option is to use the platform for at least there is accountability for it once the transaction fails.

[BitDane]

This has just began on Binance and this is what will be happening on other exchanges.

We can see recently how robbers attacked bitcoin and other crypto users and this is becoming common. These are two recent ones:

Swedish Bitcoiners targeted by armed criminals
Binance Client Executives Kidnapped, Forced to Empty Crypto Wallet

You can now trade bitcoin and other crypto with other local traders on Binance and you will meet at a particular place that both of you talked about.

This is just not different from KYC if you trade with bad person. Avoid such physical trading.

Face to face trading is really risky no matter what kind of currency or trade we are dealing.  There are bad people who exploit this kind of system and do harm to the people who wanted to trade their items or currency  face to face. 

This is not only limited to Bitcoin  but also to those other transaction that involves a huge sum of money.  there are even news of people missing after they meet up with the buyer of their cars or other expensive stuff.

I always believe that it is safer if we can avoid meeting up with the other party and just use reputable escrow or third party mediator for the transaction.  What is anonymity if our personal security is at risk. We should always prioritize our own safety than anything else.

I think these are signs for us to keep avoiding centralizing exchanges because of trust issues. It cannot be possible for me to have money and still have no rest of mind because of where I saved or kept my money. I will be using exchanges for just buying crypto and selling them to fiat, but keeping my bitcoin will always be done in my Electrum wallet.

Same here, I would rather choose the P2P method of Binance than meeting up with stranger to make a P2P transaction.  But of course, our cryptocurrency that we intend to hold should not be stashed on exchanges, because they are not made for stashing our coins.  Besides it is always better to have our cryptocurrency stashed to an address that we have full control.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

Yea, personally, for me, I don't even like the idea of doing cryptocurrency-related deals with strangers in that manner, unless for someone that I have known so well, or better yet, I can carry on the trade without meeting with the person face-to-face. This is to protect my identity from the person I am trading with, because if I reveal my face, it's just the same thing as the KYC that everyone is trying to avoid on CEX. This issue of those binace clients who got kidnapped might not have resulted from a physical P2P transaction, but because of someone who actually knows him very well and knows how much he is worth to afford, because the money they collected from that guy is too much, he probably would just have told them he had only some small amount, but instead they made him lose that huge amount because they actually know he has up to that amount.

[hatshepsut93]

This is just not different from KYC if you trade with bad person. Avoid such physical trading.

This is actually the opposite of KYC because it's p2p trading and you can easily remain anonymous. It's quite a different risk even though it looks similar, because with KYC your information is at risk, and the information may later lead to attacks, but with physical meeting you are immediately at risk.

[tech30338]

This has just began on Binance and this is what will be happening on other exchanges.

We can see recently how robbers attacked bitcoin and other crypto users and this is becoming common. These are two recent ones:

Swedish Bitcoiners targeted by armed criminals
Binance Client Executives Kidnapped, Forced to Empty Crypto Wallet

You can now trade bitcoin and other crypto with other local traders on Binance and you will meet at a particular place that both of you talked about.

This is just not different from KYC if you trade with bad person. Avoid such physical trading.

Meeting them in a place or at your home is not a great idea at all, I heard news before where they get into his house and take all his crypto, since you have no choice, my suggestion is to use the features of the exchange to sell your crypto since dealing with them in person can go wrong, don't think about the small fee's that will be charge, instead think of the convenience and safety of your money and family in the first place, since during this days some people will do anything for money , even taking lives for it.

[goldkingcoiner]

This has just began on Binance and this is what will be happening on other exchanges.

We can see recently how robbers attacked bitcoin and other crypto users and this is becoming common. These are two recent ones:

Swedish Bitcoiners targeted by armed criminals
Binance Client Executives Kidnapped, Forced to Empty Crypto Wallet

You can now trade bitcoin and other crypto with other local traders on Binance and you will meet at a particular place that both of you talked about.

This is just not different from KYC if you trade with bad person. Avoid such physical trading.

The problem here is not that you should avoid trading crypto in real person but rather trade crypto in real in a place where you won't be dragged away against your will. Don't use your real name and don't give anyone info about yourself. Hire security if you have to.

AND

Do not flaunt your wealth. I cannot express how dumb a person would have to be to tell strangers about their millions of dollars worth of crypto. If someone threatens your life, then obviously chances are that you will give them your keys. So why give anyone the chance to know if you're worth stealing from?

I really don't get some people.

[Myleschetty]

This has just began on Binance and this is what will be happening on other exchanges.

We can see recently how robbers attacked bitcoin and other crypto users and this is becoming common. These are two recent ones:

Swedish Bitcoiners targeted by armed criminals
Binance Client Executives Kidnapped, Forced to Empty Crypto Wallet

You can now trade bitcoin and other crypto with other local traders on Binance and you will meet at a particular place that both of you talked about.

This is just not different from KYC if you trade with bad person. Avoid such physical trading.

If exclude the KYC aspects, this form of trading (physical crypto trading) is used by only naive crypto investors who don't think very well about their physical danger if look into the danger that's associated with it and it's totally different from what crypto presented.

[SamReomo]

I highly agree with OP and I also believe that one should avoid in person trading at any cost. Although, Binance as added it as a way to trade with people who belong to same location where you live but such approach if very risky especially for those area where crime rate is high.

I think it's way better to go with the traditional p2p route where someone can send money to someone else via a bank account or digital bank payments as that one is quite good as compare to in person trading. There should be a caution that "In person trading is a risky thing and one should avoid it at any cost."

P2p trading on Binance is safe for most people who live in areas where crime rate is low, and even in countries where crime rate is higher people can still do online p2p trading without much worries. However, cash trading is quite risky and can be very harmful for the ones who blindly go with that route of trading.

[BlackBoss_]

I highly agree with OP and I also believe that one should avoid in person trading at any cost. Although, Binance as added it as a way to trade with people who belong to same location where you live but such approach if very risky especially for those area where crime rate is high.

Trading "In Person" is one of many trading types on P2P trading platforms. It is risky, first for your privacy, anonymity; second for your safety. You can fall in a bad trade "in person" with a bad trade partner. The trade can be set up to rob your coins or worse you will be kidnapped, killed, whatever by criminals.

I think it's way better to go with the traditional p2p route where someone can send money to someone else via a bank account or digital bank payments as that one is quite good as compare to in person trading. There should be a caution that "In person trading is a risky thing and one should avoid it at any cost."

If things include trade can be done online, through Internet, through middle man and Escrow, let's do it.

It is safer to have Escrow for a trade and if you don't have to meet in person to complete the trade, it's good for both safety (life), privacy and anonymity. Those P2P trading platforms are built to provide safe trading for people.

P2p trading on Binance is safe for most people who live in areas where crime rate is low, and even in countries where crime rate is higher people can still do online p2p trading without much worries. However, cash trading is quite risky and can be very harmful for the ones who blindly go with that route of trading.

I am not sure about it. They require KYC like many exchanges but does KYC reduce criminal activities on those platforms?

The answer is it fails to do it to protect their customers.

Why KYC is extremely dangerous -- and useless?

[Dimitri94]

Crime always occurs because there is a money motive in it. I think if I had to sell bitcoins to someone offline then I would sell small amounts of bitcoins, because it is too dangerous. For large amounts, maybe online trading is better, and if we use a trusted exchange it is also safe

If there is money there is a possibility of being attacked by terrorists. Be it Bitcoin or fiat money, this can be the case. However, terrorists are more attracted to crypto users because of the potential for large sums of money. There is no alternative to raising awareness personally to avoid any such untoward incident. Offline Bitcoin transactions is completely risky. Maybe this is a trap through which a Bitcoin seller can be a victim by those terrorists. Online platforms must be used for Bitcoin transactions and it is completely safe and secure. It is safe to use Binance's P2P service to avoid such problems.

[icalical]

This is actually the first time I heard that people are meeting in real life to trade crypto. That's really bad decision, I don't know how they own crypto but they choose to trade by meeting in real life. They could use P2P trading platform, they could use DEX, it's even worse than Centralized Exchange, they expose their identity and meeting stranger.

I know people are buying many things meeting in real life, but with crypto you get many options to trade without the needs to exposing your-self, why take the risk?

[Amphenomenon]

This was not a bad idea but the way things turned out  shows that nothing can be 100% save, online if you are not cautious your privacy will be compromised and same in physically.
Even if you choose an open view environment for the physical meeting nothing is stopping these criminals from stalking you home and then your life will be more at risk than the online because if you are really cautious of your privacy online and except these exchanges sell or lost your data your identity won't be at risk and the only thing there would be a tendency for you to lost is your money but physical meeting is not just or money but your life, the life of others around you and other important properties.
In as much as I'm paranoid of online p2p, I don't want to try the physical meeting

[Coyster]

Bro, the security measures are quite good but don't forget that there are many ways to kill a bird. You can take all these precaution, meet at a place, and successfully exchange your funds. And these robbers will trail you home to know your address, and then pay you a visit another day at your home to drain your wallets.

Remember that you can be robbed anywhere too, you can withdraw cash from an ATM machine and immediately get robbed or followed back to your home, you can step right out of a bank and robbers would be waiting to follow you home, there are a million and one ways you can get robbed. There are quite a lot of Bitcoiners who have had face to face trades without encountering any problem, so let us not make it sound like a trap when one opts to do face to face trades.

That being said, you must be careful and do your own due diligence. Do not trade a large sum in Bitcoin when doing in person trades and do not use addresses that hodl a large balance, trade in a public place, come with a friend, hang around with your friend in a different location before heading home, and the chances of anything going wrong will be slim to none.

[Abu-Naim]

There are risks, no doubt.  But steering clear of it completely seems kinda extreme.  There's ways to play it safer if you wanna meet up for a trade. 

For starters, pick spots with a buncha people around.  Public places with tons of foot traffic keeps things less shady and  bringing a buddy or two makes sense too.  More eyes watching out is smart. Schedule meets during the day when you can see better.  When it's light out, public areas tend to be chillier.  Oh, and let someone know the plan - where you're heading and when you think youll be back.  Just a basic precaution.   

So yeah, with some smart moves, in-person crypto trading doesn't have to be so risky.  You can take steps to avoid problems going down.

All these cautions just because I want to trade cryptocurrency with a vendor through exchange? This is too much mate and it is not safe at all, in d=fact it will cost some money if you really want to see person in a public place, and your privacy is not there anymore. The best thing is to keep doing the normal p2p trading in the exchange and maintain your privacy with your fellow trader. Or if possible avoid KYC exchanges and trade in none KYC exchanges.

[PrivacyG]

I would refrain from more than just trading Cryptocurrencies in real person.  I would stop publicly posting Tweets about Cryptocurrencies.  Any body who is looking for a target will think that if you are strongly invested in Bitcoin on Twitter you must have some of your own as well.  These are tough times because Bitcoiners like me who are Privacy oriented have fewer and fewer options.  So real person meetings are on the list even if more dangerous than other ways of exchange.

Even family should be kept distant unless you have close to 100 percent trust in them.  You never know who targets you next out of jealousy either.

Inflation and how Cryptocurrency members portray themselves on the Internet do not help.  Robbers think any body interested in Bitcoin is automatically rich enough to be worth targeting.

It is very simple nowadays.  There are tools helping you localize places from pictures only.  You post pictures of yourself next to your dear wife in your lovely house and some weird guy locates you and you become a target only because you keep telling people how to get rich.  Keep it to yourself.  Better than getting tied up by a stranger and threatened with your own knives, is it not.

[Rikafip]

This is actually the first time I heard that people are meeting in real life to trade crypto. That's really bad decision, I don't know how they own crypto but they choose to trade by meeting in real life. They could use P2P trading platform, they could use DEX, it's even worse than Centralized Exchange, they expose their identity and meeting stranger.

The things I won't see here...people claiming that real life P2P trade is worse than using centralized exchange.

I don't know where you guys live, but over here in Croatia (EU) its pretty common and safe to do live P2P trades as long as your are using common sense like not buying/selling large amounts with the total stranger or meeting in a dark alley in a dodgy part of town. Me and quite a lot of my friends did bunch of those trades and I never heard anyone having any issues whatsoever.

[_act_]

Just because someone got attacked during trade doesn't mean that buying/selling bitcoin in person is bad. Problem is that people are not using common sense and are not careful enough when doing that, which sometimes end uo them getting robbed. Using that logic many things you do in real life shouldn't be done just because someone somwehere got robbed/attacked.

Do you not think that doing physical P2P trading might been abused by robbers? Example of what I am talking about is to physically be attacked, but not only that. The other reason which was the reason I referred to as KYC is that some bad actors can see this as an opportunity to know who is trading on an exchange. They will not attack during the trading but give attackers information about the bitcoin trader so that they can attack him at his house. I can not trade bitcoin physically.

[Stalker22]

Just because someone got attacked during trade doesn't mean that buying/selling bitcoin in person is bad. Problem is that people are not using common sense and are not careful enough when doing that, which sometimes end uo them getting robbed. Using that logic many things you do in real life shouldn't be done just because someone somwehere got robbed/attacked.

Do you not think that doing physical P2P trading might been abused by scammers? Example of what I am talking about is to physically be attached, but not only that.

Unfortunately, every form of P2P transactions opens the door to potential abuse by scammers.  Thats just the way it is when people exchange goods in person.  It is not only about the threat of violence or theft but all kinds of fraud too.   However, using secure online platforms helps but its not foolproof.  Hacks, rug pulls, data leaks - those things can still happen and  and there is always some risk of plain old scams.  Good news is, there seem to be way less reports of people getting attacked in person versus getting scammed online.

The other reason which was the reason I referred to as KYC is that some bad actors can see this as an opportunity to know who is trading on an exchange. They will not attack during the trading but give attackers information about the bitcoin trader so that they can attack him at his house. I can not trade bitcoin physically.

Online KYC verification always involve some risk.  Just look at what happened with Ledger's database getting hacked and customers personal info leaked, and related attacks.  So, nothing new or special.  Actually its a lot easier to use fake data and burner phones for P2P trades compared to centralized exchanges.

[SatoPrincess]

It’s very risk especially if you’re trading a huge amount. Let’s say you use Binance p2p and you opt for the f2f option, you and the seller/buyer decide on a meeting point (preferably a public spot to avoid being mugged), both parties meet, transaction goes smoothly and you both go your separate ways.

The cons of f2f transactions are;
- You have lost your anonymity
- You stand the risk of being tailed on your way home. And this is going to be really easy if you live in a small city.

The Pros - Zero