Paxful, an Africa-focused Bitcoin trading platform, is indefinitely suspending its operations, the company’s co-founder, Ray Youssef, said in a statement, citing a staffing crisis and growing regulatory challenges.
(Bloomberg) — Paxful, an Africa-focused Bitcoin trading platform, is indefinitely suspending its operations, the company’s co-founder, Ray Youssef, said in a statement, citing a staffing crisis and growing regulatory challenges.
Customers will be able to retrieve their funds from the Paxful wallet, he said. The peer-to-peer Bitcoin platform, whose trading volumes were more than $4 billion since launching in 2015, was popular with users in countries including Nigeria and Ghana.
“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 US,” Youssef said in the statement. “While we work through these issues, we have taken the most secure option and ask you to explore self-custody and trade elsewhere.”
Paxful’s decision comes amid increased pressure on cryptocurrencies that saw the fall of Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange FTX and the collapse of crypto-friendly banks Silvergate Capital Corp. and Signature Bank. LocalBitcoins, an early peer-to-peer trading platform that was used in Africa, announced halting operations in February.
Paxful’s users have options to migrate to self-custody wallets like Exodus or other peer-to-peer platforms such as Yellow card.
Bitcoin traded above $28,000 on Wednesday, less than half of its price peaks.
(Updates with details throughout)
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