P2P Trading Platform LocalBitcoins Ends Operations

After 10 years of operation, the well-known peer-to-peer bitcoin trading network LocalBitcoins has announced the closure of its services. Customers have been given a 12-month opportunity to recoup their payments, and the firm has already stopped taking new registrations as of Feb. 9, 2023.

LocalBitcoins informed its clients in a note that it had been unable to address the ongoing issues in the crypto market, prompting the decision to terminate its bitcoin trading services. Nevertheless, the firm expressed to be proud of its accomplishments in promoting bitcoin internationally and boosting global financial accessibility in the past decade.

LocalBitcoins was one of the most well-known exchanges that served bitcoin consumers from the beginning. The exchange offered a fully peer-to-peer (P2P) system that allowed users to purchase and sell bitcoin using alternate payment methods such as PayPal, gift cards, and others.

The exchange also enabled customers to keep their anonymity, and it was noted for serving mostly unbanked populations in Latin American and African countries, as well as Russia.

The bitcoin trading and wallet services provided by LocalBitcoins will be discontinued on February 16, 2023, with the exception of money withdrawals. Users will only be able to log in to collect their bitcoins after February 17, 2023, as the trading and wallet functionalities will no longer be available.

The corporation has advised its clients to collect their monies as soon as possible and thanked them for their business over the years. LocalBitcoins’ objective to enhance financial accessibility through the usage of bitcoin will come to an end on February 16, 2023, with the discontinuation of trading and wallet services.