Crypto Academy | Season 3, Week 1 | Homework Task for @sapwood | Non-custodial P2P Marketplace (Localcryptos).

I am so excited to be partaking in the Season 3 crypto academy task. I have gone through the lectures for this week and its was quite understandable and detailed. I want to specially thank @sapwood for this great lecture, it was an interesting one. So this is my post for the assignment task but before i go in to it properly, i would like to explain a bit of what i understand about Non-custodian P2P Marketplace (Localcryptos)

First of all, **Non-custodian P2P Marketplace is a space for Peer to Peer trading where each trader is in control of his/her wallet and the activities of their assets. Now when we talk about **Non-custodian P2P Marketplace (Localcryptos), it is a platform that offers decentralized services to a trader by allowing them carry out transactions (buying/sell) amongst each other (P2P). This platform gives the trader the opportunity to create an account, decide on the terms and rules of the trading and at the same build a business.

Localcryptos offers traders a space to carry out a crypto to crypt trade or a crypto to fiat trade in which they have over 40 fiat currency options and four crypto assets ( BTC, LTC, DASH, ETH) that can be trade for those fiat currencies. Their services ranges from serving as an secured on-chain escrow to allowing traders trade crypto for cryptos and crypto for fiat and at the same traders are in control of their wallets and assets. So lets go in to the business of the day.

1. How to setup an Exchange niche (Non-custodian) on Localcryptos?

There are few steps that are required when setting up an exchange niche (non-custodian) on Localcryptos and i will be explaining those steps with screenshots.

• First of all, I will be using my mobile phone to carry out this set up, so i started by Going to localcryptos.com.

• Clicked on the three line on the left top of the front page which is the Menu. Here you will see the "Sign In'' Icon, which you have to click to take you to the next page.

• Next page, you will find the Lets Create One icon, click on it if its the first time visiting this website.

• Once you click on the "lets create one", the next page is where you have two options of signing in, either use an Email Address or an ETH address to carry out this action. Here i choosed the Email option and clicked on "Continue".

• That took me to the next page where i found a space for a Username, Email address and Password i went ahead to input the password twice. Just as i did in the screenshot. After that, i ticked the three boxes which involves that i agreed to their terms and conditions and also that i subscribed to the news letters and email.

• Then i clicked on the Create Account, inputted the Captcha and continued.

• The Account was Created Successfully but i had to go to my mail to verify my email, which i did.

• Immediately i verified my email, i was taken to the next interface which entails a declaration of if i reside in Australia or Not, so i choosed I declare that i do not reside in Australia.
  
• After that, i clicked on continue and my Account was ready for trading thats buying and selling.
  

2. Indicating My non-custodian wallets (BTC, ETH, LTC and DASH) on Localcryptos.

On the Localcryptos platform, there are only four crypto asset's wallet for BTC, ETH, LTC and DASH and these wallets can be seen when you click on the Wallet Icon from the menu bar on the front page. So i will be exploring the wallets and also listing the steps on how to access them.

• First click on the Wallet Icon on the top of the front page of localcryptos.com. You will find the front page that contains the four wallets for the cryptos.

• Opening each one of the wallets, you will find an address that can be used when you want to deposit any of the assets. You can also see an arrow facinv downwards thats allows you download and backup your private key.

How i Fund my LTC wallet on Localcryptos.

So for me to be able to sell on the Localcryptos P2P marketplace either as a **Market Maker or Market Taker, i have to fund my LTC wallet which is the crypto i am going to be exchange for fiat. So here is how i did that. I copied my LTC address which is use for depositing to do that.

The screenshot above just shows the deposit i just made and will be using for my exchange.

How to Secure my Keys.

Before i go into how i secure my keys, i will be showing how i export my private key and that i will be doing from my LTC wallet, this can be done from any of the wallets on the platform. So first of all, You can click on whichever wallet of your choice and click on the Export icon below the address, your private key will be revealed.

Now, talking about how to secure the key. It is very important to export and save this key offline because no one can access it except you. For me, i like to always print out my keys on a paper and keep them the save in a file where no one can possibly access it.

However, on the Localcryptos platform, there is room for backing up your wallet and i showed that in the screenshots below and also listed the steps of how to do that.

• First go to the localcryptos wallet page and scroll down below the page and click on the Back up your wallet Icon.
• This will take you to the next page where you will find Download Wallet Backup, click on it and your wallet is backed up.

Can you re-import the wallet of Localcryptos in other wallets (of different services)

Definitely, Yes, the localcryptos wallets can be re-imported to other crypto wallets as long as the destination wallet has room for that. You only need your private wallet key to carry out this re-importing. I am going to be showing how to carry out this action with some screenshots as well as explaining the steps. I will be using my ETH wallet for this because the localcryptos ETH can be imported to other wallets just as the other cryptos can too.

• First of all, copy the ETH private key from the Localcryptos plaform.
• Next is Opening up my Trust Wallet.
• Click on the Settings Icon and select the Wallets icon.
• You will find a + sign on the top right side to the page, this will enable you do an "add in" of wallet.
• That will bring you to the next interface in which you have to click on I already have a wallet.
• Click on ETH which takes you to the next page where you add your wallet, you have to paste the private key from Localcryptos ETH wallet and then input the name of your choice.
• Click on Import and your wallet is successfully imported.

3. How many different Fiat Options are available in Localcryptos?

Like i discussed at the beginning of this post, Localcryptos has over 40 fiat currencies or 40+ fiat currencies in the P2P options where transactions for Crypto to Crypto or Crypto to Fait can take place. Fiat like NGN, USD, GBP etc can be found on this list and these are been used by traders all over the world.

There are several fiat payment options such as **MoneyGram, Bank Transfer, PayPal, Western Union and so on. Traders select the one suitable to them and transactions are carried out. This enable them exchange their assets on the platform (ETH, BTC, LTC and DASH) for fiat.

4. How Secured is Localcryptos as a non-custodian P2P market place?

Localcryptos has shown a high level of security as a non-custodian P2P marketplace to both the buyer and seller in two ways. First is been a decentralized platform and secondly by employing the On-Chain Escrow services. I will be throwing more light on both below.

Decentralization.

Localcryptos is a dencentralized platform that allows users take control of their wallets and the activities of their assets and as such, the user is allowed to create a dencentralized web wallets for each crypto asset in which they can store, send and carry out a P2P trade without the interference of a third party. However, users are given a private key that keeps them in control and also a room to back it up too. Users can use it to re-import their Localcrypto wallet to other wallets too.

On chain Escrow Services.

Localcrypto uses the On Chain Escrow Services to settle dispute amongst buyer and seller and this service comes into play if the buyer does not meet up with the payment in the sense that Escrow keeps the sellers' asset and return them wgen no payment is made. However this service assures a seller of the the safety of their asset as it make use of a Smart contract and not a third party. Unlike centralized P2P marketplace that make use of an off-chain Escrow(third party), Localcryptos uses the On-chain Escrow services to protect both the buyer and seller but comes in only when there is a dispute and as long as the asset is with escrow, it remains the seller's.

How does escrow protection safeguard both buyers and sellers?

As earlier stated, Localcryptos makes use of the on-chain escrow services to safeguard the users asset and allows a trade between a buyer and a seller through a Smart Contract that is, they both have to agree on the trade and carry it out securely under a smart contract. Localcryptos uses this escrow services to settle a dispute between a buyer and a seller and they do that by looking in to the situation and verifying all the evidence which can possibly take up to 24hours, once that is done, they release the asset to rightful trader. They will also instruct sellers not to release asset if payment have not been received, so they created an interaction section where you can interact with the buyer. This service have a timer which runs out automatically if no trade was carried out, however the buyer can cancel a trade if not interested and the seller can cancel the trade too after the time runs out.

5. How to create an offer as a Market Maker in Localcryptos?

A Market Maker is the person that creates an offer in marketplace to sell their asset, and in this session, i will be showing how to i created an offer as a Market Maker to sell my LTC asset in screenshots and also listing out the steps. So to create an offer, there are three steps, i will be starting with the first step:

• First, I visit the [localcryptos.com](http://localcryptos.com/my-offers] page and click on Offers on the top of the page.
• This takes you to the next page where you click on Create a new offer icon.

Step 1 - Offer Category.

1. So in this category, i have to chose the offer i want to create and i went ahead to chose Sell LTC because thats the asset i have at the moment.
2. Next i was asked to chosed the city i would like to be shown on my offer, I chosed my City Awka (NG)
3. Lastly, i choosed the currency i would like to trade with which is Nigeria(NGN). After that, i went ahead to click Continue which took me to Step 2.

Step 2 - Payment details.

1. In this step, i have to select my means of payment, there are many payment options but i went ahead to chose Bank Transfer.
2. Next, i clicked on the rate i would like to offer which was Dynamics Market Price, i continued by clicking on the Continue to rate Configurationicon which took me to more settings.
3. Here, i went ahead to set my dynamic market price to 1% and above. Binance LTC/USD rate. After that, i clicked on continue to proceed to step 3.

Step 3 - Ad Details.

1. On this step, i am required to input my Ad headline which i inputted as Always Online To Buy Assets.
2. Next was to chose my terms of trade, of which i stated as Bank Transfer Only.
3. I also inputted my trading limits which was 1000NGN as my lower limit and 3000NGN as my higher limit based on the amount of LTC asset i have in my wallet (NGN3.2k).
4. I selected my time Zone as GMT +01 and set the time i will be available to trade at 6am to 11am.
5. I also went ahead to select my sellers as Anybody with a verified mobile number and lastly, selected No so as not to view the buyer's location.
6. After all those setting, i went ahead to Post Offer which lead to a successful creation of offer.

How to Sell as a Market Taker in Localcryptos?

So this time around, i am going to be selling my LTC asset but acting as the Market Taker, i am going to be listing the steps and also showing some screenshots.

1. From the Browse page, switch the Buy to Sell and select LTC as the asset i will be selling. Select Bank Transfer as the method of payment and click on the Sell icon to continue.
2. Since the amount i inputted is 3000NGN which was equivalent to 0.0547LTC, i choosed a buyer from the list that 0.1% above market price and then sent a message to the buyer notifying him that i would like to sell some LTC coins, after i clicked on the Open Trade Icon.
3. That takes me to the next page where i habe to click on Fund Escrow so i can sent my asset to the Escrow first before releasing.
4. After some time the buyer replies and ask for my account details
5. Once i received payment, i clicked on the Release Escrow icon and the asset is been released to the buyer.
6. After i have confirmed release and the coins have left my wallet, i have successfully sold my asset and act as a Market Taker.

Fees Incurred During the transaction, i traded my asset worth 3000NGN which was equivalent to 0.0547 LTC and it incurred a deposite network fee of <0.0001LTC and 0.0005LTC Escrow Fee so that at the end of the transactions, i got 0.547 LTC and the buyer gets 0.527LTC.

Thanks for this experience.