According to a statement from Paxful’s founder and CEO, Ray Youssef, the peer-to-peer bitcoin trading platform is suspending its marketplace and the company is unsure if it will return. Youssef cited challenges such as regulations and some key employee departures, but he also noted that he could not share the full story at this time.
Challenges Cited by Paxful CEO Ray Youssef Explain Why P2P Bitcoin Exchange Is Suspending Its Marketplace
On April 4, 2023, Paxful released a blog post stating that the peer-to-peer Bitcoin (P2P) exchange is ceasing operations. “Today, Paxful will suspend its marketplace,” said the trading platform’s CEO, Ray Youssef. “We’re not sure if it will come back,” he added. Youssef went on to say that the suspension may come as a shock to many and that he cannot share all the details at this time.
“I can say that unfortunately we have had some key departures,” Youssef wrote. “The regulatory challenges for the industry continue to grow, especially in the peer-to-peer market and most in the US”
Co-founded by Ray Youssef and Artur Schaback in July 2015, Paxful became the largest P2P exchange by volume in 2018. Over the past few years, Paxful has expanded significantly into Venezuela and Africa. In June 2021, the company announced that it would donate 1% of its profits to charity. A week before the announcement that it would suspend services, Youssef informed public that Paxful had refunded its Paxful Earn customers following issues related to the Celsius bankruptcy.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Youssef noted that many people were trying to withdraw money and transfers were taking longer than usual. “The Paxful database is a bit congested now as everyone withdraws money, making transfers slow. I promise the funds are safe and will be cleared soon,” Youssef tweeted. Paxful is the second P2P Bitcoin exchange to close after Localbitcoins announced its closure in February. The Helsinki, Finland-based Bitcoin exchange, founded in 2012, attributed the shutdown to the “ongoing crypto winter.”
Tags in this story
Africa, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Business Updates, Celsius Bankruptcy, Paxful CEO, Charity, Crypto Industry, Crypto Winter, Cryptocurrency, Cryptocurrency Market, Database, Decentralized, Digital Assets, Digital Transactions, Digital Wallets, Financial News, Financial Markets, Financial Technology, Finland , Funds, Helsinki, LocalBitcoins, Marketplace, P2P Exchange, Paxful, Paxful CEO, Paxful Earn, Paxful Exchange, Peer-to-peer, Ray Youssef, Regulations, Refunds, Staff Departures, Suspension, Trading, Transfers, Venezuela, Virtual Currency
What do you think the suspension of Paxful’s marketplace means for the future of peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchanges, and how might it affect the broader cryptocurrency market and its users? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Jamie Redman
Jamie Redman is the news editor at Bitcoin.com News and a financial technology journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open source and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 6,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.
Image credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
