Reactions poured in from the cryptocurrency community after Paxful, a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform for Bitcoin (BTC) trading, announced on Wednesday that it will “suspend its market.” Ray Youssef, founder and CEO of Paxful, in a blog post posted on the trading platform’s website on Wednesday said the platform was closing due to the exit of key personnel and regulatory challenges.
“It’s probably going to be a big shock to many. Although I cannot share the full story now, I can say that we have unfortunately had some key personnel leaving. Additionally, the regulatory challenges for the industry continue to grow, particularly in the peer-to-peer market and especially in the United States,” explained Youssef.
Yousef noted that he wasn’t sure if the platform would be restored after it was shut down. The Paxful founder urged customers to withdraw their funds and keep themselves, noting that “all customer funds are accounted for.”
I do not withdraw my btc from @paxful until everyone else comes out with theirs first 😓 pic.twitter.com/v0hq62SQaB
— Ray Youssef (@raypaxful) April 5, 2023
The managing director also noted that the platform offers its non-US users “easy migration” to other platforms such as Noones, which is a newly created P2P platform dedicated to the Global South.
@paxful signed an agreement with @noonesapp These guys are legit and will serve the countries of the South even better. Everyone is already there. #Bitcoins https://t.co/K6VCIXZvzE
— Ray Youssef (@raypaxful) April 4, 2023
In December, Paxful suspended Ether trading on its platform, only allowing BTC ever since. The P2P platform cited the Ethereum merger, the shift of the Ethereum blockchain from proof-of-work to proof-of-storage, as reasons for the suspension.
Paxful pulled ETH from its market in December and is now shutting down the platform.
“Revenue is good but integrity trumps everything” pic.twitter.com/rd8HfNEPOY
– Eden Au (@0xedenau) April 4, 2023
Paxful launched in the US in 2014 but has focused its services in Africa, a region with one of the highest cryptocurrency adoptions in the world. The shutdown of the P2P trading platform BTC comes two months after its Finland-based rival LocalBitcoins also shut down, citing “a very cold crypto winter”.
now that paxful and localbitcoins are gone, binance p2p is the last great fiat onramp p2p standing. people hate binance but p2p is essential in places where banking access is cut off
— nic 🌠 c4rter (@nic__carter) April 4, 2023
Reactions pour in as Paxful suspends operations
Reacting to the news, some cryptocurrency industry stakeholders expressed their belief that the industry was heading in a new direction. Anita Posch, the founder of Bitcoin for Fairness, wrote on Twitter that decentralized P2P platforms without know-your-customer procedures are the way to go.
After LocalBitcoins the other big P2P market @Paxful suspends its platform.
The way forward is decentralized P2P platforms without KYC like @hodlhodl @robosats @bisq
THANKS @raypaxful for supporting my work over the past few years! pic.twitter.com/m3G1LTkLgm
— Anita ⚡🏳️🌈 Bitcoin for Equity (@AnitaPosch) April 4, 2023
Still in shock that @Paxful is closing.
It’s surreal.
I have seen Paxful transform the lives of many young Kenyans.
Paxful also offered me my first full-time job as Country Manager in 2020.
I learned a lot and made so many friends there.
Sayonara Paxful💜 we will miss you— Yvonne Kagondu (@kagondu_yvonne) April 4, 2023
Reactions poured in from the cryptocurrency community after Paxful, a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform for Bitcoin (BTC) trading, announced on Wednesday that it will “suspend its market.” Ray Youssef, founder and CEO of Paxful, in a blog post posted on the trading platform’s website on Wednesday said the platform was closing due to the exit of key personnel and regulatory challenges.
“It’s probably going to be a big shock to many. Although I cannot share the full story now, I can say that we have unfortunately had some key personnel leaving. Additionally, the regulatory challenges for the industry continue to grow, particularly in the peer-to-peer market and especially in the United States,” explained Youssef.
Yousef noted that he wasn’t sure if the platform would be restored after it was shut down. The Paxful founder urged customers to withdraw their funds and keep themselves, noting that “all customer funds are accounted for.”
I do not withdraw my btc from @paxful until everyone else comes out with theirs first 😓 pic.twitter.com/v0hq62SQaB
— Ray Youssef (@raypaxful) April 5, 2023
The managing director also noted that the platform offers its non-US users “easy migration” to other platforms such as Noones, which is a newly created P2P platform dedicated to the Global South.
@paxful signed an agreement with @noonesapp These guys are legit and will serve the countries of the South even better. Everyone is already there. #Bitcoins https://t.co/K6VCIXZvzE
— Ray Youssef (@raypaxful) April 4, 2023
In December, Paxful suspended Ether trading on its platform, only allowing BTC ever since. The P2P platform cited the Ethereum merger, the shift of the Ethereum blockchain from proof-of-work to proof-of-storage, as reasons for the suspension.
Paxful pulled ETH from its market in December and is now shutting down the platform.
“Revenue is good but integrity trumps everything” pic.twitter.com/rd8HfNEPOY
– Eden Au (@0xedenau) April 4, 2023
Paxful launched in the US in 2014 but has focused its services in Africa, a region with one of the highest cryptocurrency adoptions in the world. The shutdown of the P2P trading platform BTC comes two months after its Finland-based rival LocalBitcoins also shut down, citing “a very cold crypto winter”.
now that paxful and localbitcoins are gone, binance p2p is the last great fiat onramp p2p standing. people hate binance but p2p is essential in places where banking access is cut off
— nic 🌠 c4rter (@nic__carter) April 4, 2023
Reactions pour in as Paxful suspends operations
Reacting to the news, some cryptocurrency industry stakeholders expressed their belief that the industry was heading in a new direction. Anita Posch, the founder of Bitcoin for Fairness, wrote on Twitter that decentralized P2P platforms without know-your-customer procedures are the way to go.
After LocalBitcoins the other big P2P market @Paxful suspends its platform.
The way forward is decentralized P2P platforms without KYC like @hodlhodl @robosats @bisq
THANKS @raypaxful for supporting my work over the past few years! pic.twitter.com/m3G1LTkLgm
— Anita ⚡🏳️🌈 Bitcoin for Equity (@AnitaPosch) April 4, 2023
Still in shock that @Paxful is closing.
It’s surreal.
I have seen Paxful transform the lives of many young Kenyans.
Paxful also offered me my first full-time job as Country Manager in 2020.
I learned a lot and made so many friends there.
Sayonara Paxful💜 we will miss you— Yvonne Kagondu (@kagondu_yvonne) April 4, 2023