Paxful, a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform for trading bitcoin (BTC) is reportedly suspending its marketplace, and is unsure whether operations will resume.
The exchange CEO Ray Youssef said in a statement, “Today, Paxful will be suspending its marketplace. We are not sure if it will come back. This will probably come as a big shock to many. While I cannot share the full story now, I can say that we unfortunately have had some key staff departures.”
“Also, regulatory challenges for the industry continue to grow, especially in the peer-to-peer market and most heavily in the U.S,” he added.
Youssef also noted, “While we work through these issues, we have taken the most secure option and ask you to explore self-custody and trade elsewhere.”
Customers are now being encouraged to transition to self-custody or use other service providers like Bitcoin payments company Bitnob and the newly created peer-to-peer marketplace, Noones.
In December last year, Paxful also suspended the trading of Ethereum on the marketplace, citing the network’s switch to proof-of-stake from proof-of-work as a reason for the move. Since then, the platform has only been trading bitcoin.
Paxful was co-founded by Ray Youssef and Artur Schaback in July 2015, and in 2018, it became the largest P2P exchange by volume. Over the past few years, Paxful has expanded considerably into Venezuela and Africa.