Create a new wallet for your data directory

Sometimes it is easier and faster to generate a completely new wallet for Bisq, rather than switching to a new data directory, because you still want to keep everything else (accounts, signing status, onion address, trade history).

Why creating a new wallet?

Being a project built in Java, Bisq uses BitcoinJ, which is a Java library to manage a bitcoin wallet. This comes with some known limitations, among which is the heavy performance hit when the wallet is old, and contains many transactions, which is especially aggravating whenever a user needs to do a SPV resync, as it will take a significant amount of time during which the PC will suffer from high load, and to top it off, with old-time and/or most active traders, who have many past transactions built up in their wallet, this is even more at risk of happening, all the while causing a forced interruption in their trading, as SPV resync must be complete before the application can resume the trading operations.

Recreating a completely new Bisq wallet will eliminate the issue, at least for the near future (running your personal Bitcoin node also helps heaps), at the same time preserving all the accrued reputation of your payment accounts, your full trading history, and your existing onion address, by which your past trading peers will be able to recognize you.

In addition, switching to a new data directory can sometimes be the only way to work around unusual wallet corruption issues.