Every crypto user faces the same dilemma with wearying regularity: convert currency in a few clicks via a P2P service, or spare your nerves but spend ages trudging to an offline exchange?
ForkLog decided to stop guessing and asked representatives of «Питупи» and World Exchange what to choose—and how not to lose anything in the process.
Security
ForkLog: I worry about my safety. I can’t decide what is better: a “physical” exchange or P2P? On the one hand, it is scary to drive around the streets with a bag of cash; on the other, what if I send money to a P2P trader and he disappears?
«Питупи»: Offline exchanges and P2P are two completely different spheres. They cannot be compared, let alone determine which is better. Offline is convenient when you want to exchange a large amount. In a P2P exchange, bank cards are involved; they will not withstand million transfers and will be blocked. P2P is suitable when it is about small amounts or when there is no opportunity to come to an offline exchange.
Both options are practically risk-free. In P2P you are protected by the exchange, which acts as the guarantor of the deal, and if you yourself do not make mistakes, you will not lose money. In the case of “physical” exchanges, the deal is conducted offline, which reduces risks. Driving around the city with a large sum of money is safe, at least in large cities.
For sums from 1 million roubles I would advise using offline exchanges. From 100,000 to 1 million it is convenient to convert both through an exchange and through P2P. Up to 100,000 I would advise using P2P.
World Exchange: Today the crime rate is low. Wrongdoers understand that it is almost impossible to hide and remain unnoticed. Cities are studded with cameras with facial-recognition functions. This is one of the reasons not to worry about safety.
If no one knows what is in your backpack, you should not worry. If you want to make an exchange for a large amount, you can order cash collection; it guarantees the protection of funds.
ForkLog: How often are users scammed in your business? How can they tell that nothing good awaits them under a particular sign?
«Питупи»: There are many scammers, but that does not mean you should not use P2P. There are fraudsters everywhere; you just need to follow the exchange’s rules and use common sense, and then no scammer will be able to take your money.
World Exchange: There used to be more such cases; now we hear about this extremely rarely. Thanks to ForkLog people can find reliable information and choose a proven and reliable crypto exchange. For example, World Exchange!
Speed
ForkLog: I urgently need to buy stablecoins to invest in a promising memecoin from a certain Latin American president. The chart is shooting up; there is no time. How best to get coveted liquidity into my wallet—via P2P or an exchange office?
«Питупи»: A P2P deal takes five to ten minutes; that is, from the moment you decide to buy cryptocurrency to crediting it will be on average seven minutes—it is very fast.
In the case of an offline exchange you will need at least an hour, often more. Therefore, when you need to buy or sell crypto quickly, it is clearly worth choosing P2P.
World Exchange: The choice is obvious: of course a crypto exchange office. There are several reasons. First, exchanges have the best rate. Second, there are no limits and no risks linked to the seller’s reputation that can lead to a card being blocked. Third, offline gives you the opportunity to exchange the entire amount at once without additional proof of funds transfer, as usually happens. Fourth, for a user who has never worked with P2P it will be quite difficult to understand all the mechanisms of the service. Fifth, there is a high risk of falling for scammers, of whom there are now very many in P2P.
I don’t know about other crypto exchanges, but with our regular clients we can, if necessary, send cryptocurrency in advance. That way you can top up liquidity faster than via P2P and even faster than through an exchange.
Reliability
ForkLog: I sold my grandmother’s flat and want to convert all the proceeds into the cherished bitcoin. Which route should I take—an exchange office or P2P? Won’t a tax officer’s red light start flashing if I make a bank transfer?
«Питупи»: For transfers the tax service or any other bodies will not do anything to you. The only thing you risk is a card block, but that usually happens with constant large transfers.
ForkLog: What legal problems could you and your clients face? Won’t tight-lipped people in balaclavas show up?
«Питупи»: Any offline exchange or P2P exchange does not violate the current laws of the Russian Federation. Therefore, there is nothing illegal in either format.
But if dirty money ends up in the deal, there is a risk of having problems with law enforcement, who will interrogate you and summon you as a witness or even a suspect if you knowingly worked with illegal funds.
The risk of unwittingly receiving dirty money exists in both formats, but it is higher in P2P.
World Exchange: I can’t speak for everyone, but we comply with all regulatory legal acts and, accordingly, have no problems with the law. You will definitely not see people in balaclavas with us. We are also very much waiting for a licence from our state. As to how things are with P2P, I think you can guess.
ForkLog: Why use exchange offices and P2P at all when there is a pretty and reliable exchange trusted by millions of people? There, surely, everything will go as it should?
World Exchange: Our crypto exchange office is also pretty and reliable, and in addition we have an individual approach to each client. We can, for example, agree on the time of the deal—at an exchange this is impossible. We have couriers who can go to the specified place at the appointed time. With us you can agree on individual terms of cooperation.
«Питупи»: Buying crypto without leaving home with a Russian card on exchanges is impossible due to sanctions, so you either use the P2P section on an exchange, or Russian platforms like Garantex or ABCEX. Essentially, these exchanges are exchange offices, just very large ones.
A final question
ForkLog: Late evening. A fluorescent lamp hums steadily in the office. In a mug that says Crypto Boss, a golden crust of instant coffee has dried. The door opens; in walks a little man in a leather jacket—either a child biker or a performer from the troupe “Shine of Little Stars”. He has a big chequered bag. He busily climbs onto a stool, opens the bag, takes out big bundles of crisp “bank of jokes” novelty banknotes, and then asks to exchange them 1:1 for a memecoin in a mysterious testnet. What do you do?
World Exchange: I nod, take the bundle, put it on the scales. The weight corresponds to the face value, but the rate is unstable: today 1:0.99, tomorrow it may be 1:1.01. Let’s better create a smart contract and raffle all this wealth in a DAO.
ForkLog: You receive a letter asking for a non-standard service: every day at a strictly specified time, small amounts in USDT must arrive in a wallet. The list of amounts and times of transfers will appear in your mailbox at the beginning of each week at 00:01. After a few months you begin to notice strange patterns—the credit time repeats, but all the amounts are different. You also notice that after each credit a minor event occurs whose probability is extremely small: you meet an acquaintance you have not seen for 15 years; on the way home you come across four identical cats in a row; a courier mistakenly brings you a pumpkin pie you were thinking about in the morning. What will you do?
«Питупи»: I will probably think that it is either a coincidence and the extremely unlikely events are not connected with the crediting of USDT, or someone is just messing with me. But in both cases I will not pay attention.
In general, at the stage of being asked for a non-standard service I would already have refused, since I always skip proposals with something incomprehensible. As a rule, it is some kind of scam.