What is Peer-to-Peer Trading?

P2P trading is the act of buying and selling cryptocurrencies directly between users, without a third party or intermediary. When you buy or sell cryptocurrencies using a traditional exchange, you don’t get to transact directly with the counterparty. Instead, you use charts and other market aggregators to determine the optimal time to buy, sell, or hold cryptocurrencies. The exchange organizes the transaction on your behalf, and the market price determines your final price at the time of transaction.

P2P trading gives you more control over who buys your cryptocurrencies and who you buy from, the pricing and settlement time. While P2P trading gives users finer control over the process, it is vital to note that peer-to-peer transactions carry some risks when there is no third party to broker the deal. This is where an exchange like Binance P2P becomes essential for risk-conscious users.

How Does a P2P Exchange Work?

Some people compare a P2P exchange to marketplaces like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, because P2P exchanges connect crypto buyers and sellers. Buyers and sellers can browse crypto ads or post ads of their own. P2P exchanges can also provide a layer of protection for everyone involved in the transaction, by implementing a feedback or rating system. Picture this: You meet someone on Twitter who is interested in buying Bitcoin—and you happen to have some Bitcoin to sell. Twitter is not a P2P platform, so it is difficult to establish trust. What happens when the buyer gets the Bitcoin but doesn’t send the payment? What happens when the buyer sends a lower payment amount than expected? Fraud is the biggest risk of conducting P2P trades without an exchange.

Binance P2P can protect both buyers and sellers to safeguard transactions and reduce the risk of fraud. In addition to a public rating system, Binance P2P uses escrow to secure the cryptocurrencies or fiat until both parties have confirmed the transaction. For example, if you are selling Bitcoin for fiat, the buyer will send the funds to Binance’s escrow. Once you send the Bitcoin and the transaction is confirmed, Binance will subsequently credit you and the buyer, ensuring a safe and secure transaction. If either party is unhappy with the transaction, they can file an appeal to resolve the issue between counterparties, or have Binance Customer Support step in.

Advantages of P2P Exchanges

1. Global Marketplace

One advantage of using a local P2P Bitcoin exchange is that it gives you access to a global market of cryptocurrency buyers and sellers. Binance P2P is accessible in over 180 countries. You can buy and sell cryptocurrencies with people across the globe in a few seconds.

2. Multiple Payment Methods

When you trade on traditional exchanges, you may not get as many payment options compared to P2P exchanges like Binance. Binance has over 150 payment methods available, including in-person cash payment—which can be useful for those who prefer face-to-face transactions or those without access to a bank account.

3. Zero Trading Fees

While traditional cryptocurrency exchanges attract a fixed fee or percentage per trade, Binance P2P allows traders to connect and perform transactions with zero fees. Not all P2P exchanges offer this feature, so be sure to check the terms and conditions when choosing a peer-to-peer exchange.

4. Secured Transactions Using Escrow

As stated above, Binance has an escrow service to protect buyers and sellers. When opting to secure a transaction with escrow, funds are held by Binance and only released when the terms of the deal are met by both parties involved. Binance P2P transactions must be completed within a certain timeframe: If either party cannot meet the terms of the deal, the cryptocurrencies or fiat will be returned to your wallet.

Disadvantages of P2P Exchanges

1. Slower Trading Speeds

While P2P transactions can be conducted near-instantly once both parties have confirmed the transaction, one party might delay the transaction for various reasons. With traditional trading, you don’t need to wait for the buyer or seller to confirm before you can move on from the transaction. With P2P, the buyer or seller can change their minds halfway through the transaction and decide to end it.

2. Low Liquidity

P2P exchanges are still relatively new and have lower liquidity than centralized exchanges. For this reason, larger traders who need to complete major transactions may prefer to use OTC (over-the-counter) trades or buy/sell using the standard exchange.

How do I Protect Myself Against P2P Fraud?

The first step to protect yourself against fraud is to use a reliable P2P exchange like Binance. However, you still need to be careful when selling Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies on Binance P2P. Learn how you can avoid common scams and trade safely.

Can P2P Trading Be More Profitable?

Binance P2P users can browse crypto listings to buy Bitcoin at the lowest available price, or post an ad selling crypto at a desired price.

Making Money Trading Bitcoin by Offering Convenience

P2P exchanges have more flexible payment options than regular centralized exchanges. To take advantage of this, post buyer-friendly ads and take more flexible payment options for your cryptocurrencies. The more fluid you are about the payment methods you accept, the quicker you will likely make a sale.

Do You Need to Understand Technical Analysis to Profit?

While traditional exchanges feature advanced charting interfaces and complicated order books, peer-to-peer exchanges are relatively simple. Users only need to understand basic concepts like profit, loss and demand and supply. For example, if you buy one Bitcoin for $40,000 and you sell it for $40,500 on a P2P exchange, your profit would be $500. Easy, right?

Can You Make Money from Bitcoin in a Bear Market?

Advanced P2P Bitcoin traders know they can make money from Bitcoin in a bear market as much as a bull market. Traders earn their money by selling Bitcoin on P2P exchanges at a higher price than they buy it. You can also decide to buy, hold, and sell once the bull market returns.

Can You Make Passive Income From Bitcoin Trading?

In short: Yes, you can. One of the best ways to make passive income is to use products the Binance Savings and wait for it to generate interest. Binance Savings offers flexible and locked savings for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with attractive interest rates.

Culled From: Binance

Jim Ovia is one of the icons of the Nigerian banking sector. He is the founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s largest and most profitable banks. Zenith bank has a market capitalization in excess of N600bn. Here are some business lessons from Jim.

1. Follow your instinct

In 1990, the year Jim applied for a banking licence, there were 2 categories available. One for merchant banks ($1.6m equity) and one for commercial banks ($4m equity). His gut told him to go for the more expensive, complicated route – the commercial banking licence, and this gave birth to Zenith Bank. If he didn’t apply for that commercial banking licence, Zenith bank as we know it, wouldn’t exist today.

2. Learn the art of negotiation

When Jim applied for a banking licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 1990, the standing rule was that applicants must have 20 years of banking experience to qualify for a licence. Jim had only 10 years of banking experience at that time. He was, however, able to convince the  CBN team to grant the licence by informing them that his 10 years of experience were in top-rated banks (subsidiaries of American banks), known for their high-quality training and structure and that he was eminently qualified to run a bank. He made a compelling argument and negotiated well. He was granted the licence.

3. Seek out new ways of doing things

Jim knew the importance of branding and saw to it that each branch of Zenith bank looked the same, making them easily recognizable. At that time, it was a completely new concept in the sector, which several banks started doing a couple of years later.

4. To succeed in business, you must cultivate a deep hunger to do well

In the early days of Zenith Bank, Jim would go home with a report of all the day’s transactions and working past midnight, he would go over all the customers’ names so he could call and thank them the next day. This earned the bank a lot of incremental business leading to its success.

5. Empower those who work for you

Jim empowered his staff by mentoring them, attending their social gatherings, empathizing with them over their family matters. He also sent them for various trainings and conferences (locally and internationally), making them better and more productive employees.

6. See the future ahead, know when to exit a business

Jim had to sell Visafone, his telecommunication company, to MTN Nigeria because of his business philosophy, “Be a market leader, not a follower.” Although at that time, he didn’t sell businesses but acquired them, the fact that MTN was the largest telecommunications company in Nigeria while Visafone was one of the smallest and given the importance of scale in the business, when MTN made a decent offer, he sold the business to them at a  profit.

7. Home is a source of support outside the office

According to Jim, one must derive authentic pleasure both in the workplace and at home, but should not create barriers between both of them.

Source: Nairametrics

You’ve made major strides in getting your money situation together. Perhaps you’ve started a rainy-day fund or made a dent in your student loans. Good for you! Luckily, things can get even better. With a few small tweaks, your finances can go from good to golden. Here are a handful of ways you can be an even more savvy and responsible spender:

1. CREATE A BUDGET.

Creating a budget is a timeless money tip, but it’s an important one nonetheless. Whether you prefer to use an old-school method such as a spreadsheet, or a money management app to jot down and track your monthly expenses, a budget is crucial to living within your means. You’ll want to include both recurring expenses that don’t change every month and one-off expenses.

Making a budget and sticking to it are two separate things, so leave yourself a bit of room to fine-tune your new plan as you start using it. Good budgets are living, breathing things that will adapt to your situation. Check on your budget every so often to see if it’s working for you. You may find that you need to move a few things around, but a good budget can always be tweaked to fit your needs and lifestyle.

2. CHECK YOURSELF.

Once you’ve got your budget nailed down, keep a close eye on where you’re spending each month. Monitoring your spending will help you see where your money is going. It will also show you when and where you tend to spend too much. Going over budget commonly happens on vacation, when entertaining out-of-town visitors, and during the holidays.

Use a money management app or log in to your accounts to see what tends to spark overspending for you. This self-examination can shed light on where you could spend less. In turn, you can then make modifications and take action. For instance, if eating out is taking its toll on your wallet, commit to packing your lunch at home, or plan out a week’s worth of budget-friendly dinners.

3. SET ALERTS.

Setting notifications will keep you from going over your budget. You can set an alert on your credit card if you spend more than a certain amount, or each time you use your card. This comes in particularly handy if you’re sharing accounts with a partner and have agreed to run purchases higher than a certain limit with each other. While you’re at it, set up payment alerts for all your major recurring expenses so you won’t incur any late fees by forgetting a payment.

4. USE YOUR CREDIT CARD FOR EVERYDAY PURCHASES.

Take advantage of your credit card for recurring, everyday purchases such as for groceries, personal items, or gas. You’ll be able to track these purchases much more easily than you would be able to with cash, and you’ll be able to earn rewards like cash back. By signing up for a Discover card, they’ll automatically match all the cashback you earn at the end of your first year as a cardmember.*

5. OWN UP TO OVERSPENDING.

We all occasionally make a splurge that maybe we shouldn’t have. While you’d much rather pretend that you didn’t spend half of your paycheck during a night out with friends, shrugging it off won’t do you any good. Instead, face it. Forgive yourself, and make a vow to be more judicious with your spending next time around.

6. CREATE A 30-DAY WAIT LIST.

In our age of modern convenience, it’s easy to confuse “want” with “need.” To avoid impulse buying non-essentials or indulging in a pricey retail trip, create a list of things you want to buy. Then wait 30 days and see if it’s something you still want. Waiting a bit will give you time to decide whether a buy is necessary or worth it.

Culled From> Mentalfloss