LocalBitcoins, one of the first and oldest P2P Bitcoin trading platforms, has announced that its service will close on February 16, 2023.
The shock move comes after a prolonged downturn for Bitcoin, and citing other market issues such as falling market share and problematic trading volumes, LocalBitcoins CEO Nikolaus Kangas has called time on the service.
LocalBitcoins shuts down
In a post on LocalBitcoins, the company revealed that it would be closing its doors permanently on February 16, 2023. LocalBitcoins’ closure comes more than ten years after its launch, during which time it has been one of the top peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading platforms.
However, due to the “crypto winter” that has kept Bitcoin prices (and all other crypto prices) low for a long period, the LocalBitcoins service is longer lasting.
We are therefore sad to share that regardless of our efforts to overcome challenges during the ongoing very cold crypto winter, we have regrettably concluded that LocalBitcoins can no longer offer its Bitcoin trading service.
Interestingly, LocalBitcoins was still releasing new features until the end of January. It launched its new one-click Bitcoin purchase feature on January 21, 2023, which, if the company already had one eye on discontinuing the service, is surprising, to say the least.
You can still withdraw your LocalBitcoins holdings
If you were a LocalBitcoins user, there is no need to panic immediately. In announcing the closure of LocalBitcoins, the company explained that all LocalBitcoins users should withdraw any remaining funds within 12 months.
However, our advice is that you should not wait and you should withdraw any remaining Bitcoin (or any of the altcoins LocalBitcoins offers) immediately. LocalBitcoins has always been very reliable, but you never know what can happen when a crypto service announces its permanent shutdown.
The End of the Road for LocalBitcoins
Although crypto service shutdowns have become relatively normal during the so-called crypto winter, it is still a surprise to see a company like LocalBitcoins consigned to history.
For many early adopters of Bitcoin, LocalBitcoins was the first place they ever bought crypto. For many others, it remained one of the safest Bitcoin exchanges and one you can always trust.
And for this writer, it was also the first place I was scammed out of thousands of pounds of Bitcoin. But even with that memory, I still used LocalBitcoins until the end.
