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If you are interested in buying some Bitcoin but you would prefer to buy it without giving up your ID, SSN, name, address, etc and buy Bitcoins anonymously with cash, with a debit card or even vouchers then this guide is perfect for you!
If you are wondering can I buy BTC without ID? Then the answer is yes!
I looked into some of the other articles online that covered this topic but unfortunately, some of them list options that actually don’t permit this or are very out of date.
So I wanted to make sure there is an accurate and up to date list that provides people that are interested in ways how to buy BTC anonymously with some useful and up to date options.
Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency in the world so there is a huge interest from investors that want to invest in Bitcoin. But all of the sites and exchanges where you can buy Bitcoin today all want us to provide them with full identification details when we want to buy Bitcoin.
This is standard in the industry now to ask for full KYC information (Know Your Customer), which is an industry terminology enforced on companies dealing with finance and money. It is put in place to make sure that illicit funds can’t be ‘cleaned’.
But just because some investors would prefer to stay anonymous when buying Bitcoin doesn’t mean that they are criminals, or the money they want to buy with is coming from illegal activities.
I think it’s perfectly reasonable that people prefer to maintain their privacy and protect their data.
So for those of you that are looking into how you can buy Bitcoin without ID then I’ve done the research for you guys and listed here below 11 of the best ways to buy Bitcoin without identification verification.
IMPORTANT! This post is not for supporting any criminal or illegal activities. It is meant for people that value their privacy.
11 best ways to buy Bitcoin anonymously
Before we list the options we thought it would make sense to briefly inform the newcomers to this space that all transactions on Bitcoin can be traced.
You can follow all transactions and cryptocurrency wallets, meaning see transaction X go from account 1 to account 2. But that doesn’t mean you can see who owns account 1 or account 2.
Do you understand the difference? So yes Bitcoin transactions can be traced from various accounts, or wallets. But without someone knowing who owns account 1, or 2 you can’t trace it back to any specific person.
Buying Bitcoin with a card might not be 100% anonymous!
If you’re doing research into where to buy Bitcoin anonymously and you’re thinking about using your card. Then that could be traced back to you if the card is linked to you and your bank account.
- You might be able to find some top-up debit cards which you can get where they don’t require identification details. But all credit cards would be linked to you. Just so that you are aware of this fact!
So if you are looking for ways to buy Bitcoin anonymously with debit card then you need to get a pre-paid top up card that is not linked to you or any accounts linked to you.
Ok, let us explore the best options now.
1 ) LocalCryptos (buy Bitcoin with many payment methods)
This site which was previously called LocalEthereum and now LocalCryptos is a p2p marketplace for buyers and sellers to connect and trade Bitcoin and Ether.
You might have heard about LocalBitcoins which was the original site providing this online marketplace site for Bitcoin trading between people but now there is another site, LocalCryptos where you can buy Bitcoin without an ID.
At LocalBitcoins there is a mandatory identification verification process for all trades. But this doesn’t apply at LocalCryptos.
So if you wanted to buy BTC without ID then I think LocalCryptos is a great site to start at.
You can buy Bitcoin with a ton of different payment methods too!
You buy Bitcoin anonymously with a credit card, debit card, cash in person, bank transfer, Western Union, etc, etc.
You need to sign up for LocalCryptos to connect with a seller. You can either sign up with an email (you can create a new email account if you wanted to avoid using your regular account), or you could connect your existing cryptocurrency wallets to transact directly with that.
That means you can buy Bitcoin straight from your Ledger hardware device, or with 3rd party wallet interfaces like Metamask.
Use LocalCryptos to purchase from
2 ) Bitcoin ATMs (Buy Bitcoin with cash + card worldwide)
A little known fact amongst Bitcoin traders during this digital age is that there are tons of Bitcoin ATMs spread out around the globe.
And you can in fact buy Bitcoin without an ID up to a certain limit at some of these Bitcoin ATMs.
So you can check a map like this from Coinatmradar to find out if there are Bitcoin ATMs in your nearby area. And then after that, you can look into what brands and operators there are for these Bitcoin ATMs to find out if they require identification details when buying Bitcoin.
This can depend on operator, brand or jurisdiction (where you live).
So this question for buying Bitcoin anonymously using a Bitcoin ATM is a bit tricky to answer without knowing where you live. In the US it is standard for AML and KYC regulations to be in place so that there might not be too many options where you can buy BTC without an ID or SSN.
You can check out these sites to try and find local Bitcoin ATMs and then either contact the operators or head over to one and see how they work. Doesn’t hurt testing on out!
3 ) BitQuick (buy BTC with cash deposit – U.S only)
BitQuick is an online site where you can buy Bitcoin quickly and without an ID. This works up to a limit of $400.
Go through the buying process at Bitcoin and select the amount you want to buy for ($400 max limit for without giving an ID) and then you will see a list of options to choose from.
Select the one you like. And then the next step will give you the full instructions on how to buy BTC at BitQuick. And you will be able to pay for it via a cash deposit.
BitQuick only operates in the U.S, so if you live elsewhere you would need to use another option from this list.
4 ) LocalCoinSwap (Buy BTC worldwide with many payment methods)
This is another site similar to LocalCryptos that you could use to buy Bitcoin without the need to identify yourself.
So if you have no luck at LocalCryptos to find willing sellers then you could use LocalCoinSwap. It is up to you which site you’d use.
I would base my decision on the number of sellers available, the price offered by the sellers and my preferred payment method.
At LocalCoinSwap you can buy Bitcoin using a range of payment methods. From cash in person, cash deposit, vouchers, cards, etc.
You need to create an account with them to buy from other people. But again you can sign up using any email address.
5 ) Card Coins (buy BTC with gift cards – U.S only)
Now this is a site where you can purchase BTC with gift cards. This means that if you were either gifted a card by someone you could use this to buy BTC without identification details such as an SSN, identity card, or passport.
Or if you first bought a gift card somewhere without ID and then use Card Coins.
What you need in order to use Card Coins is “a valid U.S telephone number, cryptocurrency address and images of the card, packaging and the receipts you received when the card was purchased and activated. You will be required to write a handwritten note on the receipt”.
So look into this option if you can find options where you could buy a gift card without ID, maybe you could buy a gift card using a pre-paid debit card, or in cash from someone else?
Worth checking out online. You could, of course, buy gift cards using a credit card or debit card that you own if that’s fine with you.
Use Card Coins to buy Bitcoin anonymously with a gift card
6 ) FastBitcoins (Buy BTC in the UK without ID)
If you are based in the UK and you are looking for ways to buy BTC without the need for an ID then you can use FastBitcoins.com.
This is a site where you can buy Bitcoins without ID. You will first need to buy a FastBitcoins voucher. And then with the voucher you can visit the site to buy some BTC!
In order for you to buy a voucher head over to https://fastbitcoins.com/#locations and find the nearest FastBitcoins voucher reseller. It will be a shop somewhere in the UK (England and Wales). There also seems to be a few resellers in Canada and Latvia.
Use FastBitcoins to buy in the UK
7 ) Azteco (Buy BTC worldwide without ID)
Azteco is a site similar to FastBitcoins that lets you redeem Bitcoin vouchers online. So what you need to do in order to buy Bitcoin anonymously in the UK but also in Asia, the U.S, Africa and rest of Europe.
So the first step is to find an Azteco Bitcoin voucher reseller. And then you use this voucher online to redeem it for some BTC.
Head over to their website and scroll down to find local resellers of the Azteco vouchers.
Use Azteco to buy using vouchers
8 ) Paxful (Buy Bitcoin up to $1,500 without ID)
Another site which is an online marketplace between both c2c and b2c is Paxful. And here you can purchase BTC without id using various cash or bank deposit methods for example.
So Paxful is similar to LocalCryptos and LocalCoinSwap, and they have a limit of $1,500 that you can buy BTC for without verifying your identity.
So head over to Paxful and see if you can find any trusted resellers/vendors that offer BTC for the payment methods that you prefer.
Use Paxful to buy Bitcoin from other people
9 ) HodlHodl Buy Bitcoin without KYC)
Another site for the collection of p2p sites that connects buyers with sellers of BTC is HodlHodl. And they have no KYC requirements for their users.
This is because they don’t provide any escrow services that other p2p marketplaces do.
So there are no KYC requirements at all using HodlHodl, no upper limits of buying BTC without your ID. So I’d look into using HodlHodl for all anonymous BTC purchases.
So in this way, HodlHodl differs from Paxful, LocalCryptos and the others. So there is perhaps an additional risk in it not having the escrow function. But yet again it offers you to buy larger sums of BTC without providing them with your ID.
10 ) From a DEX (Decentralised Exchange)
Another option that you could use is to find a DEX and use it to trade another cryptocurrency for Bitcoin.
That means you need to first own some cryptocurrency that you want to trade for Bitcoin.
A DEX lets you connect your cryptocurrency wallet and then trade directly from your wallet with another user’s wallet. Or actually you trade using smart contracts that lets you deposit funds from your cryptocurrency wallet to a smart contracts address and then trade from this address to another address belonging to another user.
So using a DEX to buy Bitcoin without ID is possible, but then you need to first own some other cryptocurrency.
There are many different decentralised exchanges that you could use – find a list of them here at defi prime
11 ) Buy BTC from another person
Just a reminder that you can always buy BTC anonymously from another person and that you can perhaps find willing sellers of Bitcoin in other places.
It could be that there is someone that you know personally or a connection in your personal network that owns BTC and would be willing to sell to you!
So reach out to friends, check out if there are any sellers on online Bitcoin or crypto forums. You never know what you could find.
I’d urge caution when you want to buy Bitcoin from strangers without any escrow function in place.
Conclusion
Now we have listed several different options that you could use to buy Bitcoin without KYC and identifying yourself.
There are some upper limits for some of these sites and services. And some of them are completely free from KYC.
I want to make it completely clear that Go CryptoWise in no way supports criminal activities or illegal Bitcoin transactions. We provide this information for people that wish to secure their privacy and personal information.
The list here has been fully verified for 2020. This is an up to date list that we ourselves and I trust.
If you have a suggestion for additional mentions for the best way to buy Bitcoin anonymously then let us know so we can keep improving this list.
There are other services where you exchange one crypto for another that we have decided not to include. There are many of those that seem scammy or have very high fees.
If there is a good option that is not on this list then feel free to reach out to us and suggest it. And if you have any questions about how to use any of these sites to purchase anonymously then leave a comment and we will get back to you!
If you would prefer to buy Bitcoin using other methods and you don’t mind providing identification details and completing a KYC process then we have guides here for you.
Find other guides
- Best way to invest in crypto
- Bitcoin investing guide
- Best Litecoin wallets
- Buy IOTA guide
- Best Cardano wallets
Written by:
Per Englund – Founder of Go CryptoWise a cryptocurrency and tech fan that want to see better and smarter products and services that make our lives better and easier
Source: https://gocryptowise.com/blog/how-to-buy-bitcoin-anonymously-without-id/
