And how are people buying/trading bitcoin now if they don't want to use third-party exchanges or custodial wallets?
I'm doing some research and writing about the history of bitcoin, and am curious if there are any OG bitcoiners out there who can tell me how it worked before bitcoin got big.
You can buy bitcoin from a Decentralized Exchange, which there is no third party involved, because you don't do KYC. Bisq is a good Dex, but the problem with Dex is that they don't have many local currency, but few, unlike CEX. I can say from the knowledge that I have back days in my country when there was no exchanges, people trade bitcoin through Watsap group, where everyone there is into bitcoin either to buy or sell. But it was somehow risky because you can get scam by members in that group.