getting-started-dao-traders.adoc

User Guide: Bisq DAO for Traders

This short guide will show you how to use BSQ to get up to 90% lower trading fees. Using BSQ also compensates Bisq’s contributors, making the Bisq network a sustainable free software project.

Bisq’s token is a bit different from most other exchange tokens: its primary reason to exist is to enable the decentralized operation and management of the Bisq network. That means no central wallets or accounts to accumulate funds, and and no legal entity or leadership team to control strategy. See more details in this doc or in these videos.

For you, as a trader, discounted trading fees are a practical result of this approach: the mechanisms above require that trading fees be paid in BSQ, so the software encourages traders to pay fees with BSQ by making them cheaper than plain BTC fees.

Let’s see how to take advantage of this.

Acquire BSQ

Although BSQ is technically bitcoin, it’s colored bitcoin that must be kept in a Bisq wallet, separate from plain bitcoin.

To help you do this, and to avoid mistakes, Bisq automatically generates a separate BSQ wallet for you with its own address prefixed with a 'B'—so you can be sure when you’re sending or receiving from a BSQ address.

Get Your BSQ Address

You can find your BSQ wallet address in DAO > BSQ wallet > Receive.

Where to find your BSQ wallet address.

Create BSQ Payment Account

To trade BSQ on Bisq, you need to set up an altcoin account using your BSQ address.

Note

What is instant trading? For altcoins, Bisq offers instant trading, which shortens the trade period to a maximum of 1 hour. Everything else about instant trades is the same as non-instant trades. Instant offers are marked as Altcoins Instant in the order book, and you can only accept those offers with an instant altcoins account. Non-instant payment accounts can only be used for non-instant offers.

We’re going to leave that box unchecked and make this one a regular non-instant account.

Set up BSQ payment account.

Make or Take a BSQ Offer

Now that you have a BSQ payment account configured, you can trade BSQ.

Simply pick an offer you like (or make an offer of your own) and complete the trade.

Pick a BSQ offer you like and make the trade.

Use BSQ to Pay Trading Fees

Once you’ve got some BSQ, you can use it to pay trading fees.

When you get to the Take offer screen where you confirm the trade amount, you’ll see a toggle for trading fees where you can select between BTC and BSQ trading fees.

Trading fee toggle.

Pick the option you like better and complete the trade!

Beyond Trading Fees

BSQ is also a core element of Bisq’s governance mechanism, allowing stakeholders like you to have a hand in crafting the strategy of the project through a voting process.

You can learn more about it in this doc and these videos.

We’ve also written a companion guide that walks you through a DAO voting process.

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