Peer-to-Peer
a.k.a. P2P
Direct dealings between two parties, with no central company or server in the middle.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) means straight from one person to another. Bitcoin's whitepaper literally called it a "peer-to-peer electronic cash system": you send coins directly to someone, and a network of equals, not a bank, checks the payment.
"P2P trading" also refers to marketplaces where people buy and sell crypto with each other directly, often paying by bank transfer or cash, while the platform holds the coins in escrow. It can open doors where exchanges are scarce, but it's also where payment scams flourish, so stick to platforms with escrow and never release coins before money has truly landed.
Releasing coins to a P2P buyer because they sent a screenshot of a payment, before the money actually arrived in your account.
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