Crypto currency traders in tears as Paxful shuts down

By Nukapuh P.

Popular and most rewarding bitcoin marketplace, Paxful has shutdown its operations all over the world putting many customers and traders in shock.

On April 4, 2023, the CEO of the peer-to-peer bitcoin exchange platform, Ray Youssef alerted users in a message that the platform is down due to regulatory issues and the loss of significant employees.

“Today, Paxful will be suspending its marketplace. We are not sure if it will come back. 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,” a section from the CEO’s press release states.

Though the CEO asked traders on the platform to withdraw their coins, he also reassured them that they are taking steps to make sure that all customers’ funds are not lost.

“The Paxful wallet will be up for customers to retrieve their funds. Right now safeguarding customer funds is my greatest priority. All customer funds are all accounted for, please withdraw them,” he added.

Many of its users in Africa were attracted by the good exchange rates and the gift card option, where you could easily transfer money without using banks. The CEO added that this particular option attracted regulatory concerns in the United States.

Since the announcement was made, many users who were making huge sums of money on the platform have been in tears.

The platform was also widely used by scammers to exchange different currencies and they could not be easily tracked down online.

In Cameroon, many have criticized the decision and likened the platform to ‘MoneyMan’ another crypto currency platform which allegedly disappeared with users’ investments in Cameroon some months back.

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