Paxful Marketplace Restarts Operations After Almost a Month
- Paxful has announced that it has restarted the P2P marketplace after more than 30 days of inactivity and will gradually restore functionalities.
- In the past 30 days, the Paxful Wallet has remained in operation, and all the funds belonging to the users were accessible without any hassle.
- In April, it was revealed that the P2P marketplace would shut down due to the departure of key employees, regulatory uncertainties, etc.
- Co-founder Ray Youssef is also working with Jack Dorsey’s Block’s TBD division to create a new P2P marketplace.
Paxful, a peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace that allows people to buy, sell, and trade digital assets, has finally announced that it will restart operations after almost a month. Interestingly, the marketplace was closed in April due to the departure of key employees, regulatory uncertainties, and a recent lawsuit filed by one of the company’s co-founders. However, it seems that the platform has decided to resume operations and will gradually start to onboard users around the world.
According to a message on the official website of Paxful, the development team has now launched the marketplace after more than 30 days of inactivity. Many members of the crypto community have used the platform to buy and sell crypto assets over the years, and the platform is special for regulator traders as well.
“After a month away, we’re happy to announce that the Paxful marketplace is back online. In early April, we faced a difficult decision to temporarily suspend the marketplace to protect all of our customers and Paxful’s future,” read the message on the official website.
It is unclear how the P2P marketplace aims to move forward, but in the past 30 days, the Paxful Wallet has remained in operation, and all the funds belonging to the users were accessible without any hassle. Many customers said that their accounts were banned following the recent suspension of services. It is unclear if the marketplace has sorted this out.
Recently, Paxful CEO Ray Youssef revealed that 88% of the frozen funds on the P2P marketplace have been unfrozen, with over 3% of funds remaining frozen. These 3% of the funds were “in the hands of the US regulators,” according to Youssef, who added that he doesn’t have the power to unfreeze these funds. He apologized to those whose funds remain unfrozen due to compliance issues with regulators, adding, “I have done more than anyone else would even entertain, and I cannot do anymore by law.”
The executive stated that unfreezing the 88% of frozen funds was his “final act” as the CEO of Paxful, and after achieving this goal, Youssef revealed that he was stepping down as the Chief Executive Officer of the peer-to-peer marketplace on April 18 and continuing with a new project. However, the website continues to mention Yussef as the CEO.
“Throughout the suspension, the Paxful Wallet remained fully operational for our users, and the community was also offered a selection of peer-to-peer platforms to continue trading on. Over the last month, our team has worked diligently to get the marketplace back online with the safety and security of users paramount,” said the P2P marketplace.
As reported earlier by Bitnation, Nigerians relied on Paxful’s peer-to-peer marketplace to carry out crypto transactions following a ban on crypto trading in the country. The African country was ranked 8th in crypto usage and adoption. As a result, the people were not happy with the closure of the marketplace.
Also, key court documents from March show that Youssef and co-founder Artur Schaback threw allegations at each other over misappropriation of company funds, money laundering, and evasion of US sanctions against Russia, prior to the halt of the P2P marketplace. It is also crucial to note here that Youssef is also working on Jack Dorsey’s Block’s TBD division, as the two aim to debut a new P2P marketplace.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
