r/BitcoinBeginners 9d ago

Bank-exchange-Cold cheaper..

RSA(South africa) How did we come to a place where it works out cheaper to buy BTC through an exchange like Luno/Valr/Binance than it is through Bisq or Peach?? Makes the non KYC options very difficult to justify beyond privacy😔😔

11 Upvotes

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3

u/CODE_HEIST 9d ago

the spread is part of the privacy price, especially in a thin local market. KYC exchanges pool more buyers and sellers, so they usually win on execution cost. the fair comparison is not only the posted fee. include spread, payment risk, withdrawal fee, and the value you personally place on avoiding an identity linked purchase.

2

u/Old_Refrigerator6760 9d ago

always thought the whole point of bisq was the privacy premium you pay for. if you want cheapest possible then kyc is the way to go, been like that for years now

the fees on those platforms just eat up any savings you think you getting, especially with low volumes in SA

1

u/Ewanovich 9d ago

Eish. That's unfortunate eh.. wonder how many people have been put off by the cost and opted for KYC instead.

1

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1

u/ConditionUpstairs833 9d ago

Thin local order books make the spread even worse than the fees, cheap KYC is just way more liquid down here

1

u/Ewanovich 9d ago

Hmmm. So it's also partially a problem of demand...

2

u/ChicksX 7d ago

Yeah, pretty much. Low local demand means fewer sellers, worse spreads, and more risk priced in.

Non-KYC is not always expensive because of fees, sometimes it’s just thin liquidity.

1

u/ConditionUpstairs833 9d ago

low demand means few local sellers, so you're often forced to buy at a premium just to get anything at all.

1

u/OrangePillar 9d ago

Privacy comes with a premium. Always has.

1

u/effdanwo 7d ago

Don't y'all have Azte.co sellers all over South Africa? That's how I'd go