Bitcoin peer-to-peer trading platform LocalBitcoins has joined a growing list of crypto companies exiting the industry in the aftermath of the 2022 market crash, which forced many firms into bankruptcy.
According to an official announcement on Thursday, the P2P exchange, which actively serviced its customers for the past ten years, is shutting down its services due to unfavorable market conditions.
“We are saddened to share that regardless of our efforts to overcome challenges during the ongoing very cold crypto-winter, we have regretfully concluded that LocalBitcoins can no longer provide its Bitcoin trading service,” the company said.
Customers Have Up to 12 Months to Withdraw Assets
LocalBitcoins has encouraged its users to withdraw their assets from the firm as it officially suspends new users’ registration.
The sign-up termination process will be followed by suspending all BTC trading activities on February 17, 2023. However, users will have up to 12 months after the closure to withdraw their bitcoins.
“After 2023-02-17 LocalBitcoins customers will only be able to log in to withdraw their Bitcoins. The trading and Wallet services will no longer be available at this point. We thank you for choosing LocalBitcoins for all these years and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” the company said.
Not the First
While many crypto firms, such as BITFRONT and Midas Investments, terminated their services in 2022, the trend started again this year. On February 8, 2023, payment network company Affirm plans to close down its digital assets operations on March 2, 2023.
According to a recent letter shared with the stakeholders, the closure is part of a bigger reduction for the payments firm as it also intends to slash its workforce.
Last week another crypto company, tZERO, a digital assets trading platform and financial technology firm facilitating securities offerings for private companies that plan to go public, announced that it will discontinue offering trading services to customers.
Today, tZERO Crypto informed its customers that it will be ceasing operations on March 6, following an orderly withdrawal of assets by the customers, which continue to be held by the custodian. 1/7
— tZERO (@tZERO) February 3, 2023
The New York-based firm, backed by online retailer Overstock, disclosed that it would focus on its securities business after the closure on March 6.
In January, Mode Global Holdings PLC, a financial technology company, said it was closing down operations of some of its subsidiaries, Fibermode, JGOO, and Greyfoxx, after failing to secure funding to support its financial situation.
According to the press release, customers will be notified when to withdraw their crypto assets from the various platforms in due time.
