Here is the translation of my old post about LocalCoinSwap. I hope it can be useful in this thread.
Non-custodial trading has its own quirks.
I'm buying bitcoins. The seller sends them to escrow. As soon as the transaction gets its first confirmation, I immediately receive a message in the deal chat from LocalCoinSwap's administration, saying that the seller is a scammer and that I should not transfer any fiat currency to him.
I understand that if I do transfer it, the seller won’t be able to confirm receipt or release the coins from escrow. This would require access to their LocalCoinSwap account, which is likely already blocked. (The seller isn’t responding in the chat, and doesn’t seem to be online at all.) The administration, too, won’t add its signature to this transaction, since they warned me not to send any fiat currency. (It’s a non-custodial escrow - a 2-of-3 multisig address, right? Or does it work differently?)
So, I reply in the chat saying I won’t transfer any fiat currency and plan to cancel the deal (which would place my signature on the coin return to the seller). But the administration asks me not to cancel it. Now I’m left with a choice:
- If I cancel, I might lose my account;
- If I don’t, I’ll act no better than the exchanges that abuse AML.
Of course, I can see LocalCoinSwap’s perspective. They probably monitor all transactions entering escrow in the mempool, and if they see an AML flag, they don’t want to be an accomplice to money laundering and ask the buyer not to go through with the deal. Then, seeing a buyer willing to cooperate, they take the opportunity to shift additional responsibility onto them. Now it’s up to the buyer to decide what to do with the “dirty” coins.
If LocalCoinSwap were still custodial, the choice and responsibility would lie with them. But as it stands, it’s now up to me to handle it.