Crypto P2P Exchange LocalBitcoins: We Have No Plans to Exit Venezuela

Peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto marketplace LocalBitcoins said it has “no plans” to leave Venezuela – despite the United States Treasury-endorsed sanctions that have already forced one of its rivals to close down its operations in the South American nation. As previously reported, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Treasury’s financial intelligence and

Russia's crypto law is a mixed bag, according to industry execs

Crypto businesses are unsure how to react to new regulations in the Russian Federation. Russia’s new cryptocurrency-related law, “On Digital Financial Assets,” or DFA, seems to have had little impact on the local cryptocurrency industry so far. In its current form, the DFA law essentially provides legal status to digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC), but prohibits their use for payments in Russia. As the DFA law is poised to be officially adopted in less than four months, Cointelegraph talked to major crypto firms operating in Russia to get their take on how the new law can impact their business.  Based on comments from executives at companies like Binance, Waves, Paxful, LocalBitcoins, and Wirex, companies aren't exactly scrambling to adapt to the new law, largely due to its ambiguous language. Many in the industry don't understand the new law Anton Kozlov, head of the Russian market at Paxful, said that the DFA law has caused a lot of confusion.

Yellow Card CEO reminisces about losing his life savings on LocalBitcoins

Early mistakes can mean big losses. In his college-aged days, Chris Maurice, the CEO of African crypto exchange Yellow Card, said he put his life savings into Bitcoin (BTC), finding it stolen shortly after.  "Bitcoin was about $200 at the time, and I decided basically I was just going to dump my entire savings account into into it," Maurice told Cointelegraph in an interview.

Global P2P Bitcoin Trading Volume at Highest Point Since Jan. 2018

The global P2P markets are pumping, with numerous African and Latin American markets touching new all-time highs for volume. Combined global peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin trading volumes have surged to their highest levels since January 2018, with nearly $95 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) changing hands on Localbitcoins and Paxful in the first week of August. The spike comes as many Latin American markets have seen trade activity rally into new highs over recent weeks, with the Bitcoin P2P markets in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Bolivia, Honduras, Paraguay, Uruguay and The Bahamas all posting record highs since the start of July. Venezuelan trade still represents the lion’s share of Latin America’s nearly $13 billion in weekly P2P trade, posting more than $5 million in volume for two consecutive weeks.

India May Be Starting Its Biggest Bitcoin Bull Run Yet

India’s crypto trade volumes have soared since the Supreme Court of India lifted banking restrictions for exchanges in March.

Peer-to-Peer Bitcoin Trading Tops $95 Million as Sub-Saharan Africa Records Set All Time High

Weekly peer-to-peer bitcoin trading volumes topped $95 million globally with several countries recording new all-time highs for the year.

Bitcoin Trading Is Booming in Uncertain Russia, With 350% Spike in New Users on Paxful

Bitcoin trading is growing in Russia.

Paxful Chips Away at LocalBitcoins’ Russian P2P Market Dominance

Paxful’s year-old foray into Russian crypto markets is paying off for the peer-to-peer exchange.

LocalBitcoins Ramps Up Compliance Efforts in New Partnership With Elliptic

LocalBitcoins has partnered with blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic to gain access to new blockchain monitoring tools that can help prevent the illicit use of its services. LocalBitcoins has partnered with blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic — the latest move in the veteran peer-to-peer exchange’s fight against criminal activities on its platform. Speaking to Cointelegraph, chief operating officer at LocalBitcoins, Elena Tonoyan, said the partnership was a key step in tackling the complex challenge the platform faces.

LocalBitcoins Deploys Elliptic’s Blockchain-Powered Tracking Tools for Enhanced Surveillance

Leading peer to peer (P2P) Bitcoin trading platform LocalBitcoins has partnered with Elliptic, a global provider of crypto asset risk management solutions, to tame the headache of its illegal usage through blockchain-enabled monitoring tools.

LocalBitcoins aims to root out illicit use of its Bitcoin exchange

The Finnish peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange has been a top spot for dirty Bitcoin since 2017.

P2P Exchange LocalBitcoins Adds Crypto Surveillance Tools From Elliptic

Elliptic's tracing software bolsters the peer-to-peer exchange's anti-money laundering safeguards.

Why Did LocalBitcoins Give Up Their Users’ Privacy?

LocalBitcoins COO Elena Tonoyan explains how the oldest peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange is fighting against criminal activity on its platform. Elena Tonoyan, the COO at LocalBitcoins, explains how the oldest peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange has been stepping up the fight against criminal activities on the platform. As of 2019, LocalBitcoins has been cited as the exchange receiving the most criminal funds for three years in a row, according to a report by CypherTrace. The results for 2020 will be much different, assures Tonoyan, referring to the stringent KYC/AML procedure adopted by the exchange in September last year. Results already appear to be visible.

Emerging Markets Drive Paxful First Half 2020 Bitcoin Volume to $1.1 Billion

Peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchange Paxful reported Tuesday that its bitcoin trading volumes climbed 35% to $1.1 billion during the first six months of 2020 compared to $817 million a year ago.

Food and Cash Shortages Push Cubans Toward Permissionless Cryptocurrencies

The Nation of Cuba is dealing with a national food crisis, as Venezuela has stopped offering aid to the small island nation.

Localbitcoins 2019 Revenue Rises 10% to $29.6 Million Amid Increased Paxful Competition

Peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchange Localbitcoins has reported that 2019 revenue rose 10% to $29.6 million from $27 million a year ago.

LocalBitcoins Revenue Up 10% Despite KYC Impacting Market Share

LocalBitcoins reported a 10% increase in annual revenue for 2019 despite the platform's KYC overhaul impacting trade volume on the platform. Veteran peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto marketplace LocalBitcoins has reported annual revenue of nearly $29.5 million for 2019. The revenue comprises a roughly 10% increase over 2018’s $26.9 million, however, the firm also noted a 6% drop in annual operating income to $19.8 million. LocalBitcoins’ staff also expanded significantly last year as the platform strengthened its know-your-customer (KYC) requirements in the third and fourth quarters of last year, with the firm’s headcount increasing from 26 to 43. LocalBitcoins stifles illicit activity “2019 was an invaluable learning experience for us, as we implemented anti-money laundering and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations," said LocalBitcoins chief executive Sebastian Sonntag.  "As expected, undesired activity was driven away from the platform and the implementation of KYC itself was a challenging process.

Bitcoin exchange LocalBitcoins revenues up, despite losing ground to Paxful

The Finnish peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange had its fair share of problems last year—but it is still growing.

American Pundi X Merchants Can Now Sell Crypto Via PayPal

As the crypto community’s anticipation for PayPal’s exploration into crypto grows, Pundi X has integrated the payments processor for its point-of-sale devices. Singapore-based blockchain firm Pundi X has integrated PayPal support for its point-of-sale device ‘Xpos.’  PayPal is the first mobile payment gateway to be integrated onto Xpos, and users from more than 30 countries can now accept funds via the payments processor. The integration will take place over two stages, with US-based merchants who use Xpos able to apply for PayPay-based keyed transactions from July 1. A PayPal app is expected to be integrated onto all Xpos devices within two weeks — completing the roll-out. 70% of Xpos users request Paypal support Pundi X decided to launch the integration after conducting a Twitter poll asking followers which mobile payment app they would like Xpos to support first. PayPal received almost 70% of votes, beating out WeChat Pay, Alipay, and GoPay, among others. The integration brings credit card payments to Pundi X’s point-of-sale system, and allows cryptocurrencies to be purchased via PayPal from supporting Xpos merchants. Pundi X chief executive and co-founder Zac Cheah emphasized that integrations with leading global firms such as PayPal will help drive adoption blockchain-based services and products outside of the crypto community: “To be able to support a leading online payment provider in our XPOS devices can give people more confidence in using them, and can move usage of blockchain technology closer to the mainstream." PayPal loves crypto all of a sudden After shunning cryptocurrencies for a decade, recent job listings for blockchain engineers responsible for “new initiatives” at PayPal global appear to support rumours it will soon offer cryptocurrency sales to users.  PayPal payments are only supported by a handful of crypto exchanges, such as peer-to-peer marketplaces Localbitcoins and Paxful. Last week, KuCoin’s P2P

LocalBitcoins Says Its Transactions From Darknet Markets Dropped 70%

LocalBitcoins claims that darknet-related transactions on the platforum dropped 70% after it adopted AML and KYC regulations in September 2019. LocalBitcoins, a major peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency exchange, has purportedly managed to significantly cut the amount of criminal funds on its platform in 2020. The P2P platform has seen a decline of over 70% in transactions from darknet markets between September 2019 and May 2020, LocalBitcoins claims. Jukka Blomberg, chief marketing officer at LocalBitcoins, told Cointelegraph that the drop comes in response to Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer regulations adopted by the platform in September 2019. The calculations are based on blockchain analysis by major crypto analytics firm Elliptic as well as LocalBitcoins’ own “clustering tools,” the firm said. The drop is still notable despite Bitcoin trading collapse in 2019 A 70% drop in darknet-associated transactions might appear insignificant as LocalBitcoins experienced a massive decline in the amount of traded Bitcoin (BTC) in 2019.

Paxful ‘Flippens’ LocalBitcoins As The Largest P2P Bitcoin Marketplace

Bitcoin (BTC) peer-to-peer (P2P) trading market went through a historical week, as Paxful has surpassed LocalBitcoins in weekly trading volume for the first time in P2P trading history. According to data provided by Coin.dance, Paxful is now the leading Bitcoin P2P marketplace in terms of global weekly trading volume.

Paxos ‘Flippens’ LocalBitcoins As The Largest P2P Bitcoin Marketplace

Bitcoin (BTC) peer-to-peer (P2P) trading market went through a historical week, as Paxful has surpassed LocalBitcoins in weekly trading volume for the first time in P2P trading history. According to data provided by Coin.dance, Paxful is now the leading Bitcoin P2P marketplace in terms of global weekly trading volume.

Spanish Crypto Users Report Banking ‘Freezes’ After Using Exchanges

Banks in Spain are reportedly closing accounts they suspect belong to cryptocurrency traders, particularly users of the LocalBitcoins peer-to-peer exchange – and may have been doing so “since November last year.” Per a report from media outlet Criptonoticias, an experienced crypto trader who asked to remain anonymous says that “between 30 and 40 LocalBitcoin