Of all the cryptocurrency projects describing themselves as "decentralized exchanges" (DEXs), Bisq may live up to the description better than most.

Operating since 2016, when it was originally called Bitsquare, the Bisq DEX runs directly on the user's computer, rather than a hosted site, as many of the self-described DEXs currently do. And while DEXs like Airswap and Everbloom are operated by startups, Bisq is a strictly open source project developed by a grassroots collective.