According to a message from Paxful Founder and CEO Ray Youssef, the peer-to-peer bitcoin trading platform is suspending its marketplace and is not Whether it will or not is unclear, Youssef said, citing challenges such as regulation and the departure of some key staff members, but also said he could not share the full story at this time.
Challenges cited by Paxful CEO Ray Youssef, explaining why the P2P bitcoin exchange is shutting down its marketplace
On April 4, 2023, Paxful published ablog poststating that the peer-to-peer bitcoin (P2P) exchange will cease its operations.” Today, Paxful is shutting down its marketplace.” said Ray Youssef, CEO of the trading platform.” I don’t know if it will come back,” he added.Youssef went on to say that the shutdown may shock many people and that he cannot share all the details at this time.
“Unfortunately, I can say that several key staff members have left the company.” Youssef wrote.” In addition, the regulatory challenges to the industry continue to grow the most, especially in the peer-to-peer market and in the United States.”
Paxful was co-founded by Ray Youssef and Artur Schaback in July 2015 and became the largest P2P exchange by volume in 2018. In recent years, Paxful has expanded considerably into Venezuela and Africa; in June 2021, the company announcedthat it would donate 1% of itsprofits to charity. A week before the announcement that it was shutting down its services, Youssef informed thepublic that Paxful had refunded Paxful Earn customers after problems related to Celsius’ bankruptcy.
Youssef noted in a tweet on Tuesday that many people are trying to withdraw funds and that transfers are taking longer than usual.” Paxful’s database is a bit overloaded right now because everyone is withdrawing funds, which is why transfers are taking so long. I promise the funds are safe and will clear soon,” Yousseftweeted.Paxful is the second P2P Bitcoin exchange to close after Localbitcoins announced its closure in February.Founded in 2012, the Finnish The Helsinki-based bitcoin exchange attributed the shutdown to an “ongoing crypto winter.”
What do you think the shutdown of Paxful’s marketplace means for the future of peer-to-peer bitcoin exchanges and what impact could it have on the broader cryptocurrency market and its users? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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