• Popular peer-to-peer crypto exchange Paxful has announced it will be suspending its operations.
• The exchange’s CEO Ray Youssef however stated that they are not sure if it will resume operations.
• This is the second peer-to-peer crypto exchange to shut down.

In a statement released today, the CEO of popular peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchange Paxful, Ray Youssef, has announced that the exchange will be suspending it’s services. He went on to state that they are not sure if the exchange will resume operations.

This is the second popular P2P exchange to close down in 2023 following LocalBitcoins announcing its closure in February.

Key staff departures and regulatory challenges

The CEO cited key staff departures and regulatory challenges in the post saying:

“This news may come as a surprise to some. I can’t reveal the full story presently, but we have experienced a few important personnel departures. In addition, regulations in the crypto industry are continuously evolving, especially in the peer-to-peer sector and particularly in the US. As we try to manage this, we have taken the safest path and suggest you explore self-custody and trade elsewhere.”

The top priority right now is securing customer funds, and Youssef recommended customers to withdraw where possible. He proposed withdrawing to self-custody wallets like Exodus and Muun.

Paxful will be offering an easy transition to other P2P alternatives for non-US customers. He highlighted three P2P exchanges namely Noones, Bitnob and Yellow Card.

The Paxful Wallet will however remain operational for customers to recover their funds.