Reactions have been pouring in from the cryptocurrency community after Paxful, a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform for trading Bitcoin (BTC), announced on Wednesday that it “will be suspending its marketplace.” Paxful Founder and CEO, Ray Youssef, in a blog post published on Wednesday on platform’s website said the platform was closing down due to key staff exit and regulatory challenges.

“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.,” Youssef explained.

"All Customers Funds are Accounted for"

Yousef noted that he was not sure if the platform will be restored after it is shut down. The Paxful Founder urged customers to withdraw their funds and self-custody, noting that “all customer funds are all accounted for”.

I’m not withdrawing my btc from @paxful until everyone else gets theirs out first 😓 pic.twitter.com/v0hq62SQaB

— Ray Youssef (@raypaxful) April 5, 2023

The Chief Executive also noted that the platform is offering its non-US users “easy migration” to other platforms such as Noones, which is a newly-established P2P platform dedicated to the Global South.

@paxful has signed a deal with @noonesapp These guys are legit and will serve the Global South even better. Everyone is already there. #Bitcoin https://t.co/K6VCIXZvzE

— Ray Youssef (@raypaxful) April 4, 2023

In December, Paxful suspended the trading on Ether on its platform, permitting only BTC since then. The P2P platform cited the Ethereum Merge, the switch of the Ethereum blockchain from a proof-of-work to proof-of-stock, as the reasons for the suspension.

Paxful removed ETH from their marketplace in December and is now closing the platform.

"Revenue is nice but integrity trumps all" pic.twitter.com/rd8HfNEPOY

— Eden Au (@0xedenau) April 4, 2023

Paxful was launched in the United States in 2014 but focused its services in Africa, a region that has one of the highest cryptocurrency adoption in the world. The P2P BTC trading platform’s closure comes two months after its Finland-based rival, LocalBitcoins, also shut down, citing “very cold crypto winter.”

now with paxful and localbitcoins gone, binance p2p is the last major p2p fiat onramp standing. people hate on binance but p2p is essential in places where banking access is cut off

— nic 🌠 c4rter (@nic__carter) April 4, 2023

Reactions Pour in as Paxful Suspends Operations

Reacting to the news, some stakeholders in the cryptocurrency industry expressed their belief that the industry is headed for a new direction. Anita Posch, the Founder of Bitcoin for Fairness, wrote on Twitter that decentralized P2P platforms without know-your-customer procedures is the way to go.

After LocalBitcoins the other big P2P marketplace @Paxful is suspending its platform.

Way to go are decentralized P2P platforms without KYC like @hodlhodl @robosats @bisq

Thank you @raypaxful for supporting my work in recent years! pic.twitter.com/m3G1LTkLgm

— Anita ⚡🏳️‍🌈 Bitcoin for Fairness (@AnitaPosch) April 4, 2023

Still in shock that @Paxful is closing down.
This is surreal.
I watched Paxful transform the lives of many Kenyan youth.
Paxful also gave me my first full time job as a country manager in 2020.
I learnt so much and made so many friends there.
Sayonara Paxful💜 you will be missed

— Yvonne Kagondu (@kagondu_yvonne) April 4, 2023