HAVENO Exchange Docs
Documentation
Install the client, make a first trade, and check that the build you are running is the one that was published.
Getting started
Haveno is a desktop application. Download the build for your operating system, start it, and the client will create a local Monero wallet and open a Tor circuit before it shows you any offers.
1. Install and open the client
On Linux, mark the AppImage executable and run it. On Windows, run the installer. On macOS, open the disk image and drag the app across. The client does not need an account, an email address, or any identity document.
2. Let the wallet sync
The first start syncs a Monero wallet. You can point the client at your own node or at a remote one — running your own is the stronger privacy choice, but it is not required. Write down your seed phrase before you fund anything; nobody else has a copy of it.
3. Fund the wallet
Send XMR to the local wallet address. You need enough to cover the amount you intend to sell plus the security deposit and network fees. Buyers post a deposit too, so a small balance is needed even when you are buying.
4. Take or make an offer
Take an existing offer from the list, or publish your own with the price, the range you will trade, and the payment methods you accept. Once a peer takes it, both deposits move into a shared multisignature address and the trade begins.
Every step after this happens between you and one other person. Haveno coordinates the Monero side; the fiat or crypto side moves directly, through whatever method the two of you agreed on.
Your node, your rules
Point the client at a local Monero node for the strongest privacy, or use a remote node to get moving faster.
Keys stay local
The wallet lives on your machine. No server holds a copy, so no server can freeze, seize, or lose your funds.
Payment methods
XMR is the base currency for every pair. The other side of the trade — the fiat currency, the other cryptocurrency, or the supported asset — settles outside Haveno, using whichever method the two peers picked when the offer was made.
How settlement works
Haveno shows you the payment details your peer submitted and gives you a place to confirm that the transfer went out and, on the other side, that it arrived. It does not move the money itself and has no view into your bank, your wallet, or your payment provider.
Choosing a method
- Reversibility matters. Methods that let a sender claw a payment back weeks later carry more risk for whoever is selling XMR. Deposits and trade limits exist partly to price that in.
- Speed matters. A method that settles in minutes keeps the escrow window short; one that takes days leaves both sides waiting.
- Privacy matters. Some methods attach your legal name to the transfer. Pick one whose exposure you are comfortable with before you take the offer, not after.
Only confirm receipt once the funds have actually cleared on your side. Confirming early is what makes the escrow release, and it cannot be undone.
Verify your build
A downloaded binary is worth checking before you run it, especially one that will hold a wallet. Verification tells you that the file you have is the file that was published, and that it was published by the people you think it was.
What to check
- The checksum of the file you downloaded matches the checksum published alongside the release.
- The signature on that checksum file is valid and made with a signing key you have seen before.
- You obtained the signing key from somewhere other than the same page that served you the binary.
If a checksum does not match, stop and download again rather than running the file. A mismatch usually means a truncated download, but it can mean something worse, and the two look identical from the outside.
Haveno is distributed from this site only. Builds offered through app stores, package catalogues, mirrors, or messaging groups are not published by the project and should not be trusted.