Tag: Localbitcoins

LocalBitcoins Shuts Down After 10 Years

by Blockchain News

LocalBitcoins, a peer-to-peer (P2P) bitcoin trading platform located in Finland, has announced that it would be ceasing operations after more than a decade of providing services to its users.

On February 9, LocalBitcoins made the formal announcement that company will be discontinuing its services, citing the challenging market circumstances caused by the protracted bitcoin winter.

LocalBitcoins urged all of its clients to remove their cryptocurrency holdings from the site and instructed them to begin the process of removing Bitcoin (BTC) from the wallet associated with their LocalBitcoins account. According to the notification, customers have the ability to withdraw their cryptocurrency assets from their LocalBitcoins accounts for a period of one year. The company made the following observation: “However, of course, we advise you to continue with withdrawing sooner.”

According to the timeframe for the shutdown, starting on February 9, LocalBitcoins will instantly stop accepting any new registrations. On February 16th, all trading will be halted, and after that date, users will only be allowed to log in to their wallets to withdraw monies from their accounts.

The sudden shutdown of LocalBitcoins comes not long after the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network named the site as one of the most significant Bitcoin senders to the Russia-connected exchange Bitzlato. The United States authorities have initiated a significant enforcement action against Bitzlato, accusing the company of engaging in money laundering and allegedly assisting in the evasion of sanctions imposed on Russia.

Since October 2022, when we ceased providing Russian user accounts and accounts of users resident in Russia, our records show that there have been almost no transactions between LocalBitcoins and BitZlato. This information is based on the data we have collected.

Blomberg further emphasized that Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering requirements were adhered to by LocalBitcoins in a stringent manner and that the company has been regulated by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority since 2019.

As was noted in the past, Russia was at one time one of the most important markets for LocalBitcoins. As of June 2020, the country had the highest volume of Bitcoin trades on the site. According to statistics provided by Coin Dance, the total trade volumes on LocalBitcoins have been steadily decreasing after hitting an all-time high in December of 2017.

Since February 2021, when they fell below 1,000 BTC for the first time, weekly Bitcoin trade volumes on LocalBitcoins have never recovered to their previous levels. The most recent weekly BTC trade volume that was reported on LocalBitcoins was 283 BTC, which is equivalent to around $6 million. According to statistics provided by CoinGecko, large cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinbase conduct daily transactions totaling $282 million in digital currency.

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LocalBitcoins Clocks 300,000 Mobile App Downloads, With Africa Making a Mark

by Blockchain News

After reaching 200,000 mobile app downloads on iOS and Android in two months, LocalBitcoins has scaled the heights by crossing the 300,000 mark.

The world’s leading peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin marketplace is now available in 23 different languages after adding three more. “The latest additions being Arabic, Chinese and Japanese. This continues to demonstrate our commitment to delivering easy and inclusive access to cryptos for every single person around the world in a compliant and secure manner,” Jukka Blomberg, the chief marketing officer at LocalBitcoins, said.

LocalBitcoins seeks to offer more inclusion. Blomberg believes the firm’s mobile app is witnessing significant adoption in Africa. He noted:

“The adoption of the LocalBitcoins mobile app, especially in Africa, has been truly amazing. Bitcoin means inclusion and LocalBitcoins is committed to bringing Bitcoin to the next billion users in Africa and beyond, in both a compliant and secure manner.”

P2P platforms have been pivotal in increasing crypto adoption across the African continent. For example, in July 2021, Africa recorded the largest Bitcoin P2P volume growth because youths across the continent were taking up the mantle of bettering their lives and their families through cryptocurrencies. 

In late January, LocalBitcoins hit a new milestone after its mobile app downloads surpassed 200,000, just a few months after being launched on iOS and Android. 

Based on the company’s primary objective of rendering financial inclusion to people across the globe when it comes to buying, storing, and transferring Bitcoin in a secure, fast, and easy way, the mobile application route is touted as an ideal stepping stone. 

Image source: Shutterstock

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LocalBitcoins Cuts Fees to Zero for Ukrainians Both Locally and Abroad

by Blockchain News

To ease transactions amongst Ukrainians as they face the Russian Army Invasion in their nation, the world’s leading peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace, LocalBitcoins, has removed all fees for them both locally and abroad.

Based on its primary objective of rendering freedom, the firm’s CMO, Jukka Blomberg, acknowledged that this decision was reached as Ukrainians face unprecedented times of war. He added:

“LocalBitcoins’ core value is freedom. We understand that at the moment, Ukraine is facing extremely challenging times. For this reason, LocalBitcoins has removed all fees from its Ukrainian users.”

Therefore, this revelation means that Ukrainians will have a free BTC wallet that they can use to exchange their national currency, the hryvnia, at zero rates. 

The crypto community has also shown its lending hand by donating crypto worth more than $30 million to aid humanitarian efforts. 

Some of the notable faces in the crypto space that have channelled their funds to support the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis include Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, with a $10 million donation. 

The funds were to be split between top non-profit organizations with whom Binance had prior partnerships like People in Need, UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, iSans, and UNICEF.

Furthermore, Canada-based crypto exchange CoinSmart had raised funds to the tune of $19 million to support the people of Ukraine and assist the international community in alleviating their immense suffering.

CoinSmart is among six crypto platforms registered as a securities dealer and market by the Ontario Securities Commission. The others include Wealthsimple, Coinberry, Netcoins, Fidelity, and Bitbuy.

The gesture by LocalBitcoins is a welcome move for Ukrainians because it recently hit a new milestone of surpassing 200,000 mobile app downloads. 

Image source: Shutterstock

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LocalBitcoins Hits New Milestone, Reaching 200,000 Mobile App Downloads

by Blockchain News

LocalBitcoins is scaling the heights because its mobile app available on iOS and Android surpassed 200,000 downloads.

Webp.net-resizeimage - 2022-01-28T180118.551.jpg

The world’s leading peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin marketplace is now available in 19 different languages after five more were added.

Jukka Blomberg, the chief marketing officer at LocalBitcoins, noted that crypto adoption was going a notch higher. He stated:

“The adoption is truly amazing. Just a few months after launching our popular Bitcoin trading app for iOS and Android, we’ve crossed the 200,000 download milestone.”

With the primary objective of LocalBitcoins being financial inclusion for people across the globe when it comes to buying, storing, and transferring Bitcoin in a secure, fast, and easy way, Blomberg believes that the mobile application route is ideal.

He added:

“The LocalBitcoins mobile app is currently available in 19 languages, the latest additions being Bengali, Hindi, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese. This demonstrates our commitment to delivering easy and inclusive access to cryptos for every single person around the world.”

P2P platforms like LocalBitcoins have played an instrumental role in crypto adoption on African soil. For instance, in July 2021, Africa recorded the largest Bitcoin P2P volume growth because youths across the continent were taking up the mantle of bettering their lives and their families through cryptocurrencies. 

Meanwhile, in 2020, LocalBitcoins 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.

As a result, measures such as know-your-customer (KYC) and the European Union’s Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) were incorporated.

Therefore, these initiatives showed that the crypto space was not being left behind in adopting new regulatory measures through technology-enabled and stringent anti-money laundering controls. 

Image source: Shuttstock

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LocalBitcoins Hits New Milestone, Reaching 200,000 Mobile App Downloads

by Blockchain News

LocalBitcoins is scaling the heights because its mobile app available on iOS and Android surpassed 200,000 downloads.

Webp.net-resizeimage - 2022-01-28T180118.551.jpg

The world’s leading peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin marketplace is now available in 19 different languages after five more were added.

Jukka Blomberg, the chief marketing officer at LocalBitcoins, noted that crypto adoption was going a notch higher. He stated:

“The adoption is truly amazing. Just a few months after launching our popular Bitcoin trading app for iOS and Android, we’ve crossed the 200,000 download milestone.”

With the primary objective of LocalBitcoins being financial inclusion for people across the globe when it comes to buying, storing, and transferring Bitcoin in a secure, fast, and easy way, Blomberg believes that the mobile application route is ideal.

He added:

“The LocalBitcoins mobile app is currently available in 19 languages, the latest additions being Bengali, Hindi, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese. This demonstrates our commitment to delivering easy and inclusive access to cryptos for every single person around the world.”

P2P platforms like LocalBitcoins have played an instrumental role in crypto adoption on African soil. For instance, in July 2021, Africa recorded the largest Bitcoin P2P volume growth because youths across the continent were taking up the mantle of bettering their lives and their families through cryptocurrencies. 

Meanwhile, in 2020, LocalBitcoins 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.

As a result, measures such as know-your-customer (KYC) and the European Union’s Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) were incorporated.

Therefore, these initiatives showed that the crypto space was not being left behind in adopting new regulatory measures through technology-enabled and stringent anti-money laundering controls. 

Image source: Shuttstock

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LocalBitcoins Hit a New Milestone, Reaching 200,000 Downloads from Mobile Apps

by Blockchain News

LocalBitcoins is scaling the heights because its mobile app available on iOS and Android surpassed 200,000 downloads.

The world’s leading peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin marketplace is now available in 19 different languages after five more were added.

Jukka Blomberg, the chief marketing officer at LocalBitcoins, noted that crypto adoption was going a notch higher. He stated:

“The adoption is truly amazing. Just a few months after launching our popular Bitcoin trading app for iOS and Android, we’ve crossed the 200,000 download milestone.”

With the primary objective of LocalBitcoins being financial inclusion for people across the globe when it comes to buying, storing, and transferring Bitcoin in a secure, fast, and easy way, Blomberg believes that the mobile application route is ideal.

He added:

“The LocalBitcoins mobile app is currently available in 19 languages, the latest additions being Bengali, Hindi, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese. This demonstrates our commitment to delivering easy and inclusive access to cryptos for every single person around the world.”

P2P platforms like LocalBitcoins have played an instrumental role in crypto adoption on African soil. For instance, in July 2021, Africa recorded the largest Bitcoin P2P volume growth because youths across the continent were taking up the mantle of bettering their lives and their families through cryptocurrencies. 

Meanwhile, in 2020, LocalBitcoins 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.

As a result, measures such as know-your-customer (KYC) and the European Union’s Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) were incorporated.

Therefore, these initiatives showed that the crypto space was not being left behind in adopting new regulatory measures through technology-enabled and stringent anti-money laundering controls. 

Image source: Shuttstock

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Chainalysis Report Reveals Crypto Has Gone “Global” In 2021

by NEWSBTC

The blockchain is an immutable record. Companies like Chainalysis make a living out of interpreting that data, extracting value and insights from the numbers. And on-chain analysis reveals that crypto is now “a truly global phenomenon.” The data comes from Chainalysis’ 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index. The people that really need crypto, qualified as “emerging markets” in the paper, are increasingly involved in the space.

Related Reading | Crypto Company Circle Seeks To Become Global Digital Currency Bank

In The Weekly Update, our friends at Arcane Research found this to be the headline:

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“Chainalysis further ranked the countries with the highest crypto adoption following their methodology. A majority of the countries featuring at the top 20 list are emerging market economies.” 

And clarifying their intention, Chainalysis’ paper itself starts with:

“While the professional and institutional markets are crucial, we want to highlight the countries with the greatest cryptocurrency adoption by ordinary people, and focus on use cases related to transactions and individual saving, rather than trading and speculation.”

That being said, we have to talk about…

BTCUSD price chart for 08/25/2021 - TradingView

BTCUSD price chart for 08/25/2021 - TradingView


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BTC price chart on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com

What Was Chainalysis ’ Methodology? 

The company focused on “cryptocurrency adoption by ordinary people,” so they weighted everything by purchasing power parity per capita. They ranked “all 154 countries” according to three metrics:

  1. On-chain cryptocurrency value received, weighted by purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita.

  2. On-chain retail value transferred, weighted by PPP per capita.

  3. Peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange trade volume, weighted by PPP per capita and number of internet users.

It’s worth clarifying that in that third one, they “rely on data supplied by two of the largest P2P platforms operating — LocalBitcoins and Paxful — to calculate each country’s P2P trade volume.” Because, for the most part, P2P trading isn’t reflexed on-chain. Chainalysis admits that “While this means that we aren’t capturing all P2P value, we believe these two exchanges are popular enough for their metrics to act as an overall approximation.”

DeFi Is Not Part Of The Studio. DeFi Stats Coming Soon

It’s also worth noting that, “Transactions carried out by DeFi protocol users all show up on-chain, as no centralized service ever takes custody of users’ assets.” That presented a problem, because it “skewed” their rankings “toward countries with comparatively more DeFi users.” So, Chainalysis decided to leave DeFi stats out of this particular studio.

However, they promise. “We also decided to create a new DeFi Adoption Index, which will be available in the coming weeks.”

Global Crypto Adoption Index chart - Arcane Research

Global Crypto Adoption Index chart - Arcane Research


Global Crypto Adoption Index 2021 | Source: Arcane Research

Chainalysis Identified Three Key Trends

On-chain analysis reveals that:

  • Global cryptocurrency adoption is skyrocketing

This might sound like an obvious claim, but the surprising thing is the staggering numbers. 

“At the end of Q2 2020, following a period of little growth, total global adoption stood at 2.5 based on our summed up country index scores. At the end of Q2 2021, that total score stands at 24, suggesting that global adoption has grown by over 2300% since Q3 2019 and over 881% in the last year.”

  • Adoption in emerging markets grows, powered by P2P platforms

Not everyone has access to a globally accepted bank account. The people who don’t have access to centralized exchanges found a way to participate in the crypto space. And are doing it in a major way. 

  • China and the U.S. dip in our rankings

Not surprisingly, “analysis shows how far P2P volumes have fallen in the two countries compared to worldwide volumes.” However, according to Chainalysis, further considerations indicate that:

“This activity may reflect increasing professionalization and institutionalization of cryptocurrency trading in the United States, and in China’s case may be related to ongoing government crackdowns on cryptocurrency trading.” 

Why are Chinese people abandoning P2P trading so radically? Wouldn’t the “government crackdowns on cryptocurrency trading” cause a surge in old P2P trading instead?

Related Reading | Chainalysis: 2020 Is The Year of The Institutional Bitcoin Investor

In any case, Chainalysis concludes their study with:

“The clear takeaway though is this: Cryptocurrency adoption has skyrocketed in the last twelve months, and the variation in the countries contributing to that show that cryptocurrency is a truly global phenomenon.”

And we couldn’t agree more. It is.

Global Crypto Adoption Index - Chainalysis

Global Crypto Adoption Index - Chainalysis


Global Crypto Adoption Index | Source: Chainalysis
Featured Image by NASA on Unsplash - Charts by TradingView

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LocalBitcoins Cuts Deposit, Transaction Fees Between Wallets In Platform To Zero

by Bitcoin Magazine

Person-to-person bitcoin exchange LocalBitcoins has announced it has cut down some fees on the platform to zero.

Bitcoin exchange LocalBitcoins has announced that deposit fees and transaction fees between wallets in the platform are now free. Launched in 2012, the platform doesn’t touch fiat currency itself; users can transact with each other leveraging the platform that only intermediates the process – introducing sellers to interested buyers.

Initially, LocalBitcoins became very popular because the platform was more lenient on identity-verification procedures since it doesn’t transfer money itself. Users could also go further to buy bitcoin anonymously through cash trades, where buyer and seller would meet on a local, public space – hence the platform’s name.

However, LocalBitcoins has changed dramatically in recent years, arguably losing its go-to status for anonymous bitcoin transactions. In March 2019, the exchange released a statement saying that it would abide by new regulations in Finland, where it is based, and require users to verify personal information. The new rules, which would come into effect in November 2019, included four individual account levels per trade and BTC volume, requiring the verification of the source of funds in some cases.

Later that year, in May, LocalBitcoins banned Iranian users from the platform and withdrew all services from Iran. In June, the exchange further limited user ability to retain privacy by stopping customers from making in-person trades of bitcoin for cash. Finally, in August, LocalBitcoins strengthened its KYC requirements, even more, losing credibility in the anonymous bitcoin trading space.

However, the platform remains important for other use cases worldwide. In Nigeria, for instance, the central bank (CBN) attempted to restrict BTC trading by banning regulated institutions from dealing with bitcoin in February 2021. However, a few months after that, the country experienced an increase in bitcoin activity, with peer-to-peer BTC trading volume rising by 27% in Nigeria. But it isn’t clear how much of that came from LocalBitcoins.

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Dogecoin and Cardano Added as Payment Methods on LocalBitcoins

by CryptoPotato

One of the largest peer-to-peer cryptocurrency marketplaces, LocalBitcoins, has expanded its portfolio of available payment methods with the inclusion of Cardano (ADA), Dogecoin (ADA), Polkadot (DOT), Chainlink (LINK), and more.

LocalBitcoins Adds More Crypto Payment Methods

Founded in 2012, LocalBitcoins acts like a cryptocurrency peer-to-peer marketplace. The platform, based in Helsinki, Finland, facilitates over-the-counter trading of local currency for bitcoins and, from recently – other digital assets.

The company announced the addition of several new virtual assets. Namely, those include the two most widely utilized stablecoins – Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) and some of the most popular tokens lately – Polkadot (DOT), Cardano (ADA), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Chainlink (LINK), and Dogecoin (DOGE).

The firm’s statement outlined the significant demand for these coins coming from users.

“You asked, we delivered! Some highly anticipated altcoins have now been added as payment methods!”

Additionally, LocalBitcoins has added new payment processors, including PaySera, PAYSEND, Vodafone Cash, Airtel Money, and more.

$136K Stolen From a Scam on LocalBitcoins

Being a P2P crypto marketplace, LocalBitcoins has become largely popular in countries with struggling economies that lack adequate payment methods. One of them is Venezuela, as the BTC trading volume on the platform has been among the highest for consecutive years.

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However, the growing interest and use cases also attract bad actors. According to a recent report, the Venezuelan Scientific, Criminal, and Criminal Investigation Corps (CICPC) have arrested two men who allegedly orchestrated a cryptocurrency theft worth $136,000 through the P2P platform.

The post claimed that the perpetrators stole the funds from 36 victims. The two men, Alan Renier Amora Blanco (30) and Guillermo Alberto Bello Mendoza (28), were detained in the El Paso region.

The authorities failed to inform how long the scheme was operational. However, CICPC’s Director, Douglas Rico, explained the nature of the scam, in which the perpetrators promised high returns on a new and hot digital asset that the victims had to purchase from their legal accounts. After executing the payments, though, the criminal cut off all communications.

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