P2P Bitcoin Trading

Nostr enables decentralized peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading through NIP-69, allowing users to buy and sell Bitcoin for fiat currencies without centralized exchanges.

The Fragmentation Problem

Today's P2P Bitcoin market is siloed:

Platform	Visibility	Problem
Robosats	Robosats users only	Miss buyers on other platforms
lnp2pbot	Telegram users only	Limited discovery
Mostro	Mostro users only	Fragmented liquidity
Peach	Peach app only	Separate order book

A seller posting a discount offer on one platform might miss eager buyers on another. NIP-69 fixes this by creating an open, interoperable order format.

How NIP-69 Works

NIP-69 defines a standard event format (kind 38383) for P2P trade orders:

Order Event Structure

{
  "kind": 38383,
  "pubkey": "maker_pubkey",
  "content": "encrypted_trade_details",
  "tags": [
    ["d", "order_id"],
    ["k", "sell"],
    ["f", "EUR"],
    ["s", "pending"],
    ["amt", "100000-500000"],
    ["fa", "100-500"],
    ["pm", "revolut", "sepa"],
    ["premium", "-2"],
    ["network", "lightning"],
    ["expiration", "1704067200"]
  ]
}

Key Tags

Tag	Description	Example
`k`	Order kind (buy/sell)	`sell`
`f`	Fiat currency	`EUR`, `USD`
`s`	Status	`pending`, `active`
`amt`	Sats amount (range)	`100000-500000`
`fa`	Fiat amount (range)	`100-500`
`pm`	Payment methods	`revolut`, `sepa`
`premium`	Price premium %	`-2` (2% discount)
`network`	Settlement network	`lightning`, `onchain`

The Trade Flow

The key insight: aggregators don't handle trades - they just surface orders. Actual trade execution happens through the originating platform's escrow system.

Aggregators

p2psats.app

p2psats aggregates NIP-69 orders from four platform relays:

Relays:

wss://relay.mostro.network
wss://relay.lnp2pbot.com
wss://nostr.robosats.org
wss://relay.peachbitcoin.com

Features:

Unified order book across ~140 fiat currencies
Depth charts with Yadio reference pricing
Spread/mid-price analysis
Cross-platform arbitrage detection
Custom alerts (side/currency/amount/premium)
Notifications via email or NIP-17 DMs
NIP-07 or magic link authentication
No custody, no fees, no account required

Example Alert:

"Notify me when there's a sell order in EUR under +3% premium for ≥100k sats"

When a matching order hits a relay, you get pinged instantly.

Building Your Own

Since NIP-69 is an open spec, anyone can build aggregators:

// Subscribe to P2P orders
const filter = {
  kinds: [38383],
  "#f": ["EUR"],  // Filter by fiat currency
  "#k": ["sell"], // Only sell orders
  since: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) - 86400 // Last 24h
};

pool.subscribeMany(relays, [filter], {
  onevent(event) {
    const premium = event.tags.find(t => t[0] === 'premium')?.[1];
    if (parseFloat(premium) < 3) {
      notify("Good deal found!");
    }
  }
});

P2P Platforms on Nostr

Mostro

Nostr-native P2P exchange:

Built entirely on Nostr (NIP-59 GiftWrap for privacy)
Lightning hold invoice escrow
Built-in dispute resolution
mostro.network

RoboSats

Privacy-focused P2P:

Tor-based with federation
Maintains robosats-nostr-sync scraper
Also aggregates HodlHodl and Peach orders to Nostr
robosats.com

lnp2pBot

Telegram-based trading:

Bot-mediated via @lnp2pBot
Lightning hold invoice escrow
No registration or KYC
lnp2pbot.com

Peach Bitcoin

Mobile P2P app:

iOS and Android native
No KYC required
GroupHug batched transactions
peachbitcoin.com

Trust Model

Aggregators are trustless - they never touch funds or route orders. They just read public events and notify you.

Platforms handle escrow - each platform has its own escrow mechanism (usually Lightning HODL invoices) and reputation system.

Privacy Considerations

Order Privacy

Order content can be encrypted (platform-specific)
Aggregators only see public order metadata
Trade negotiation happens via encrypted DMs (NIP-17)

Identity

Can trade pseudonymously (just an npub)
NIP-07 sign-in exposes no email/password
Reputation tied to npub, portable across platforms

Getting Started

As a Trader

Choose a platform - Mostro, Robosats, or lnp2pbot
Set up alerts - Use p2psats for cross-platform visibility
Start small - Build reputation with small trades
Use Lightning - Faster settlements, lower fees

As a Developer

Study NIP-69 - Full specification
Subscribe to relays - wss://relay.mostro.network, etc.
Parse order events - Extract tags, filter by criteria
Build UX - Alerts, aggregation, analytics

Comparison with Centralized Exchanges

Aspect	CEX	NIP-69 P2P
KYC	Required	Optional
Custody	Exchange holds funds	Self-custody until trade
Fees	0.1-0.5% + withdrawal	Platform-specific (often lower)
Privacy	Full identity	Pseudonymous
Censorship	Account can be frozen	Permissionless
Liquidity	High	Growing

The Fragmentation Problem​

How NIP-69 Works​

Order Event Structure​

Key Tags​

The Trade Flow​

Aggregators​

p2psats.app​

Building Your Own​

P2P Platforms on Nostr​

Mostro​

RoboSats​

lnp2pBot​

Peach Bitcoin​

Trust Model​

Privacy Considerations​

Order Privacy​

Identity​

Getting Started​

As a Trader​

As a Developer​

Comparison with Centralized Exchanges​

See Also​