Meet safely.

The Bitcoin community meets in person — for trades, meetups, and friendship. Use these layered checks so trust is verifiable, not assumed.

Meeting someone for the first time

Meet only inside a safe, staffed establishment with other social activity around you — busy cafés, restaurants, bars during hours, hotel lobbies, coworking lounges, or established community meetups. Avoid parking lots, ATMs at night, private residences, shared vehicles, parks after dark, or any suggestion to go somewhere more private.
Arrive and leave independently. Do not accept rides, and do not share your home address or accommodation details.
Pick the venue yourself, verify it is open and busy at the scheduled time, and confirm the exact address. If the peer pushes back on the location or suggests a change at the last minute, treat that as a reason to cancel.
Tell a trusted person the exact venue, address, time, and the peer's handle. Agree on a check-in time when you will message them that you are safe.
Keep your phone charged, keep your drink with you, and keep your belongings on you at all times. Do not accept an opened drink or food you did not see prepared.
Trust your instincts. Leaving early is always the right choice if something feels off. You do not owe anyone an explanation.
For first meets, keep any trade amount small or skip trading entirely. A first meet is for identity verification and rapport, not for value transfer.

Verify identity in three layers: a NIP-05 Nostr handle (proves DNS control), a working Lightning address (proves payment-key control), and at least one mutual vouch from someone you already trust.
Choose a busy, staffed public venue — a café, restaurant, hotel lobby, coworking lounge, or established community meetup — with other people around. These are safer than private homes, remote spots, parking lots, or vehicles.
Tell a trusted contact who you are meeting, where, and when. Share the meet check-in code with them.
Check community warnings. If the person has signed warnings against them, ask why before meeting.

Use the mutual QR check-in to confirm you have both arrived. Both phones must scan each other.
Start small. For trades, transact a small amount first to confirm the Lightning address resolves and the peer is responsive.
Trust the panic button. If anything feels wrong, hit it. Your trusted contact is notified immediately and the meet is marked aborted.

Leave a vouch if it went well. Vouches are public, signed, and portable — they build the web of trust that protects the next person.
Publish a community warning if you were scammed, threatened, or treated badly. Warnings are append-only and signed by you.

Leave. Your safety is worth more than any trade.
Contact local emergency services. NODAL is not a replacement for police, medical, or legal help.
After you are safe, publish a community warning so others can avoid the same risk.