P2P Bitcoin Platform Paxful Back Online after 1 Month Suspension

Paxful, a peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin (BTC) trading platform, has returned online one month after suspending activities in its marketplace as a result of key staff exits and regulatory challenges. The firm announced its reopening in a blog post.

Paxful Returns Online

“After a month away, we’re happy to announce that the Paxful marketplace is back online,” the firm wrote, noting that it took the decision to temporarily suspend its platform last month in order “to protect all of our customers and Paxful’s future.”

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“Over the last month, our team has worked diligently to get the marketplace back online with the safety and security of users paramount,” Paxful said.

In a statement announcing its decision to shut down last month, Ray Youssef, Paxful's Founder and CEO, noted that all customer funds were accounted for. He also urged them to withdraw their funds and self-custody.

Additionally, Youssef said Paxful was offering its users outside the United States 'easy migration' to other platforms such as Noones, which is a newly-established P2P platform dedicated to the Global South.

“Throughout the suspension, the Paxful Wallet remained fully operational for our users and the community were also offered a selection of peer-to-peer platforms to continue trading on,” Paxful explained in the new blog post.

Paxful was founded in 2015 and launched in the United States but focused its services on Africa, a region that has one of the highest cryptocurrency adoption rates in the world.

Co-Founders at Loggerheads

Meanwhile, Youssef last month told CoinDesk that he shut down the platform as a result of a lawsuit filed against him and the company by the Co-Founder, Artur Schaback. Both executives also disclosed to the outlet that their strained business relationship contributed to the move.

While Schaback, who worked as the company’s Chief Operating Officer, accused Youssef of wrongfully terminating his access to company information and resources during his paternity leave, Youseff told CoinDesk that he dismissed Schaback as a result of his "incompetence and bad behaviour.”

Meanwhile, LocalBitcoins, a Finland-based rival of Paxful which shut down two months before the P2P platform went offline, remains inactive. LocalBitcoins had cited “a very cold crypto winter” for its decision.

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