Bisq
Bisq is a decentralized bitcoin exchange. It is a desktop application that aims at providing a secure, private, and censorship-resistant way of exchanging bitcoin for national currencies and other cryptocurrencies over the internet.
Difficulty: Easy
Attention: This guide is only valid for Bisq v1.x.x. Bisq v2.x.x radically changes its operation in terms of the network and many steps in the guide may not match and may not be valid or necessary
Requirements
Introduction
The guide will show you how to:
Configure BTC Core allowing Bisq to run its SPV wallet
Install Bisq on your personal computer
Connect Bisq to your Bitcoin Core own node in your local network or via remote Tor and depending on your OS personal computer
Securely set up Bisq
Preparations
Configure Bitcoin Core
To connect Bisq from your personal computer in your local network, with the user
admin
, comment, or delete thebind=127.0.0.1
line of thebitcoin.conf
file. Save and exit
Add
peerbloomfilters=1
to activate bloom filters and whitelist our P2P connection
Obtain your Bitcoin Core onion
address
onion
addressWith the
admin
orbitcoin
user, run the following command and make a copy of the .onion address and port (e.g. here,123...abc.onion:8333
)
Example of expected output:
Configure Firewall
Configure the firewall to allow incoming requests to Bitcoin Core from anywhere
Installation
Download Bisq on your personal computer using the appropriate binary for your OS
Verify the downloaded binary following Bisq guidelines
Once you've verified the integrity of the downloaded Bisq binary, install it on your personal computer but do NOT launch Bisq yet!
Connect Bisq to your node
For Linux and MacOS, we will start Bisq for the first time using the command line to force it to connect to your Bitcoin node only.
On your personal computer where you installed Bisq, depending on your OS
For Linux:
Open a command line terminal, we will start Bisq with two flags that will force it to connect to our node only. Bisq should connect to your node on the startup
From the local network connection, replace 192.168.X.X:8333
it with your node IP address.
From the remote connection, replace 123...abc.onion:8333
with your Bitcoin Core .onion address you obtained above
Wait a few minutes until Bisq is up to date with the current state of the blockchain and go back to "Settings" > "Network info" to check that only your own node local IP address or onion address is listed in the first table
Check that the "Bitcoin network peers" counter at the bottom right of the window is equal to 1
For MacOS:
Open a command line terminal, we will start Bisq with two flags that will force it to connect to our node only
From the local network connection, replace
192.168.X.X:8333
with your node IP address
From the remote connection, replace
123...abc.onion:8333
with your own Bitcoin Core .onion address that you obtained above
Wait a few minutes until Bisq is up to date with the current state of the blockchain and go back to "Settings" > "Network info" to check that only your own node local IP address or onion address is listed in the first table
Check that the "Bitcoin network peers" counter at the bottom right of the window is equal to 1
For Windows, Bisq is automatically opened using the GUI, we can't start Bisq the first time using the command line to force it to connect to your Bitcoin node only, so it will connect to several remote Bitcoin nodes via Tor, don't worry, we are going to change fastly this configuration:
Start Bisq using the GUI icon
Click on the "Settings" > "Network info" tab
In the "Bitcoin Network" section, click on "Use custom Bitcoin Core nodes"
In the box just below, paste your node IP address (
192.168.X.X
) or Bitcoin Core node.onion
address(e.g: 123...abc.onion:8333)
that you obtained above, depending if you are connecting locally or remotely via TorCheck/uncheck "Use Tor for Bitcoin network" under Settings > Network, depending if you are connecting locally or remotely via Tor
Click on any other tab at the top. Bisq will ask you to shutdown the program to make your change effective
Click "Shutdown"
Start Bisq again using the GUI icon
Wait a few minutes until Bisq is up to date with the current state of the blockchain and go back to "Settings" > "Network info" to check that only your own node local IP address or onion address is listed in the first table
Check that the "Bitcoin network peers" counter at the bottom right of the window is equal to 1
Congrats! Bisq is now connected to your node
Configuration
This section will highlight key configuration options focusing on privacy and security only.
For the national currency account and trading configuration options, please refer to the Bisq website and wiki
Bitcoin Explorer
Click on "Settings" > "Preferences"
Click on the three dots in the "Bitcoin Explorer" section
Use the following information:
Name: Choose a name (e.g.,
RaMiX
)Transaction URL:
https://ramix.local:4000/tx/
(replace ramix.local with your node IP address if required)Address URL:
https://ramix.local:4000/address/
(replace ramix.local with your node IP address if required)
Click "Save"
Wallet seed
Click on the "Account" tab
Click on "Wallet seed"
Read the pop-up message carefully. Once read, click on "I understand"
Read carefully the new warning window that appears and click on "Yes and don't ask me again'
Carefully copy the seed words and wallet date on a paper backup (NOT on any computer)
Read the "Information" section to understand the importance of the seed words and wallet date
Backup
Still in the "Account" tab, now click on "Backup"
Click on "Select a backup location" and select a folder where your Bisq data will be backed up
Click on "Backup now (backup is not encrypted)"
Wallet password
Still in the "Account" tab, click on "Wallet password"
Set a strong unique password (e.g., using your password manager) and click on "Set password"
In the pop-up window that just appeared, read the information and then click "Set password, I already made a backup". Once done, close the confirmation window
Congrats! You're now ready to start buying and selling Bitcoin on Bisq securely and privately
Upgrade
Bisq will let you know when a new update is available. Follow the instructions on their announcement to download, verify, and install the update.
Uninstall
Uninstall FW configuration
Delete the firewall rules with the comment 'allow BTC Core from anywhere' identifying the number of the rule
Delete the rule with the correct number and confirm with "yes"
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