Topic: Rip localbitcoins.com (Read 228 times)

The inception of P2P services offered by centralized exchanges like Binance had put them out of business. I used to use their services quite a lot back in the days when there was no Binance or other centralized exchanges with such features, and I never had any issues, but I stopped using the platform later for some reason that I don't remember right now.

Just like me, a lot of people migrated from their platform to other more convenient platforms that provided the same services with lower costs and probably much quicker and safer ways and that became the reason for their closure probably.

Something tells me its not just completition.Definitely something more behind that one.

No probelm, if you did not know about this before. Of course no one visit these sites regularly, only when one needs to use this service  one may visit the site. You can learn everything as when the local bitcoin was closed and until when one can withdraw funds etc from this link https://localbitcoins.com/service_closure/

Anyways, since we have the P2P services integrated in binance and other platforms, the localbitcoins would find it difficult to survive unless they thought of something extraordinary like starting their own exchange or something. Sometimes the business just ends up due to excessive competition.

As Some other members already mentioned, Those Centralized exchanges don't offer you Real P2P. P2P means Peer-to-peer. But, Those exchanges act like escrow.


EtherDelta was the first known DEX. It's been a couple of years since DEX's are in the market. So, I won't say all DEX platforms are new. Do you think that someone from the EtherDelta team was Involved in the EtherDelta hack? Right after the hack, They have been forced to suspend their service to due the alleged hack.

For those who don't know what happened with EtherDelta, You may read this; https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/20/etherdelta-suspends-service/ After a year, SEC charges EtherDelta Founder https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-258

It's unfortunate that you seem not to know about any other alternative services that are actually far better than localbitcoins has been in the recent times because of their ridiculous KYC policy.

Have you had a bisq.network, HodlHodl, Agoradesk, Localmonero and many more?

Similar in what way? If it is post kyc implementation, then there are many centralized exchanges that are similar, like Binance and okx, they also offer fake p2p services, but if it is pre kyc implementation, then there are also other good p2p alternatives like bisq and others your can find here: https://kycnot.me/

It’s sad that they’re stopping their service, I have very good memories of using them over the years. I used them a lot in my early days to buy bitcoin. They’ve been honest & trustworthy throughout, I can only thank them for being really good in my experience.

There are many other platforms but believe me localbitcoin was something purely P2P platform. Currently, the platforms you mentioned above run a p2p program based on USDT and escrow funds are mostly centralized. On the other hand, LBTC had its escrow wallet but it was up to the user when to release the funds. You used to get money deposited from one bank to another bank account. The bitcoins used to be shared over secure wallet transfer from LBTC to LBTC address. It was way simpler, secure and most importantly it was truly anonymous.

In the case of other platforms, they are using stablecoins to do this job. It means you still need to sell out your USDT for the fiat and real money to arrive in your account.

In LBTC, payment was the bank to bank (with other options too) but that was justifiable OR it was pretty clear one could easily hide whether it was bitcoin money or not. It was cool platform.

My guy probably still using internet explorer, This tragedy happened months ago but yes it was sad and very unfortunate of it happening and I highly doubt if some similar site like this one will ever exist again. I personally was never a fan of it regardless but yeah it was fun while it lasted.

It would be great if you can read the posts that were made in this thread before you made your own post, the reason for their closure has already been posted, i also posted links to other threads where Localbitcoins closure has been discussed before, and in those threads too you can read the reason why they closed. Incapability to do what?
They couldn't have had issues with the authorities once they began to request for kyc, maybe before then. Localbitcoins weren't forced to close down, there was no longer enough trading volume for them to continue, and that is because their customers left them for better alternatives that are actually p2p.

I have known localbitcoins for years now but I never experienced using it to buy or sell Bitcoin.  Even though I did not experience their service, it is still a bit sad to see a decade long service to shutdown.  I do not think it is because they are losing users, probably it is deeper than that why localBitcoin decided to shutdown. 


You cannot use Binance P2P if you are not KYC verified same goes with other centralized exchange.  With the regulation and flow of the government action, I think KYC is inevitable, there is also a huge possibilities that these decentralized exchanges will be pressured by the government to eithr implement KYC or just shutdown.

difficult to defend if you have to do KYC, especially just for P2p because most people who do p2p are people who avoid KYC
Even though there are many new features that support it, there is no guarantee that people will continue to transact there, especially since this is only a local exchange

It was posted on the Exchanges, it was just dumped on two-three pages of that section.
One of the oldest P2P or should I say the oldest has gone now and I guess someone will just make a tribute to them that they've been part of the growth of Bitcoin and its community.
We shall see some new P2P markets going to be popular and if you guys are no longer enticed with these P2P markets asking for KYC, we've got some that don't ask for it legitimately and hopefully won't follow the footsteps of LBC that later on asked for it.

I've been using it for atleast eight years. I encountered with some issues at the beginning and lost fund, which was due to my mistake. Later I have been using it till its closure and never faced any issues. It is a platform through which one can find the right person to buy/sell bitcoin with ease. Earlier it had face to face trading access, through which buyer and seller agree to meet-up at some location and exchange the bitcoin for cash. This has been blocked for security reason. Over the year its performance came down drastically and it is one among the licenced platform. It's average trading volume of $40 million dropped down to the range of $6-$7.5 million which is a big blow. With that they tried to sustain in the market and unable to increase. This has been cited as the reason for the closure.

[quote author=Cryptomiles1 link=topic=5451753.msg62206392#msg62206392 date=1683407813]
I have never used this platform before and I don't know how they work.
What was the main reason of their closure after 10 years of service, there are several platform that have also lasted enough and closing their operation shows what?
Incapability or what?
[/quote]

If you are not aware of:

[img width=430]https://talkimg.com/images/2023/05/16/blobaa2e48cb549467dc.png[/img]

https://localbitcoins.com/service_closure/

So according to them, it's because of crypto-winter, however, they were also cited by the US Treasury Department as one of the operators that traded with Bizlato which is accused of money laundering by US. So the pressure mounted on them, with the market situation + regulatory pressure.

I have never used this platform before and I don't know how they work.
What was the main reason of their closure after 10 years of service, there are several platform that have also lasted enough and closing their operation shows what?
Incapability or what?

I will say congratulations to them rather than shame, they came, saw and conquered, they ran their race for 10 good years and decided it is the finish line for them, they are 100 percent better than those who came and fell off even before we could blink an eye, some even turned scam by rug pulling on their users, catering away with monies they didn't work for..
Localbitcoin have served  the bitcoin community well, and on their own decided they are bringing their service to an end, with customers withdrawals processed in full - I will say congratulations and Goodluck to their next project, rather then say shame.

Well sounds like they shot themselves in the foot so to speak then! I'm not surprised either as there would have been a lot of scrutiny on their centralised platform after many scammers, hackers and criminals had cashed out large amount of coins there, as it was once the go-to-place to sell coins anonymously. Hence implementing KYC I imagine, no doubt because they were pressured into it by certain govs.

I remember the likes of Bisq from years ago, so aware that better alternatives have existed for many years already, but sometimes it takes the most utilised platform to fall for the others to really take off...

I think there's more than that. Scammer issue is pretty much solvable, in the worst case they could have left just the cash option. KYC also doesn't seem to be the root of the issue - they could have just migrated to another country (somewhere offshore). I've heard rumors that they were having issues with authorities, perhaps they were forced to close? But then again: why didn't they sell the company or the domain? I guess there would be many people willing to take over.

Towards the end, say the last couple of years, it was not that big.
First they got rid of the P2P face to face cash options. Then they started blocking people based on region, then the KYC.
So many better options exist. They kind of did themselves in.

For non KYC P2P trading options see: https://kycnot.me/

-Dave

It was also quite the monopoly of the P2P Bitcoin market which I never liked, so better that it shut down and paved the way for better alternatives. Similar to when there was a monopoly over a centralised exchange like MtGox, a darkweb market like Silk Road, a Bitcoin mixer like ChipMixer, or any other Bitcoin-based service. The ecosystem only gets stronger once the leading horse is taken down and the monopoly ends.

When a service was created to give privacy and ends up having to remove it, this was the biggest mistake of localbitcoin.  In the wake of this closure, others will benefit such as Bisq, Robosats and even Peach.  As long as there are similar services that operate on Tor, it is better to prefer them to many others.

whole saga explained in short
when P2P traders become popular. THEIR BANKS see people using personal accounts doing ALOT of wire transfers. much more than normal people do on personal accounts. this triggers banks to flag such accounts and investigate

in many cases those p2p traders had to upgrade to business accounts register as a payment facilitator/money service. which meant requirements of doing KYC

this eventually lead to localbitcoins needing to add this data collection feature

other events where scammers. who would buy bitcoin. and where the scammer would contact their own bank and claim that a hackers accessed their bank and sent some money to a thief. .. thus the scammer got the bitcoin and a fiat refund. and made the btc seller be flagged as a thief

this too caused sellers to want more info on the buyer to prove the buyer was the account holder

..
now here is the thing
DEX platforms are new. so they have yet to hit the scenarios localbitcoin sellers are hit with due to lack of popularity.. however when DEX seller get popular and start doing too many wire transfers or getting scammed and treated as thieves. they too will end up shutting up shop or going official.

thus DEX wont change things, its just the same saga in repeat. where DEX is just at the beginning and yet to hit the drama

I guess 10million volume wasnt enough to keep up the website..
Locallitecoins.com also gone, selling domain name for 5100$.
There are still some P2P exchanges on the internet, but lots of Nigerian scammers on them , I know localbitcoins was 100% anti scam and well upkept exchange.

These are the topics about the closure of Localbitcoins:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/localbitcoins-exchange-closed-after-10-years-of-operation-5439906
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/localbitcoins-closing-down-5439145
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/what-after-localbitcoinscom-shutting-down-5439202
Localbitcoins lost their trading volume because they used to be a p2p BTC exchange that later began to ask for KYC from their customers, their users were people who wanted to trade only p2p, so obviously trading volume was going to drop, as their customers moved to other BTC p2p exchanges.
Binance, OKX and other centralized exchanges are not true p2p exchanges because you do not trade directly with the other trading party.

I have never used LocalBitcoins.com for P2P but I knew that they have been here for so long. It’s the OG of the P2P crypto trading (but correct me if I am wrong). It’s just unfortunate that they have to close because of the declining number of traders in using their platform, so nothing is really permanent.

But there are still other P2P platforms from exchanges like Binance, KuCoin, OKX, ByBit, etc., that we can still use as of the moment.

Local bitcoin has been in the exchange business for quite a long term and to see how low volume the exchange has become long before their announced closer it is clear why they were in a rush to close down the exchange.

Trading volume is one of the major ways to check and maintain liquidities and another operational cost, and any business that has low volume will have a high chance of liquidation, so anyone that has a balance on local bitcoin should have withdrawn them by now since the announced closure of the exchange stipulate the durations of time that withdrawal will be open.

Not 1-2 months ago. LocalBitcoins announced their closure on February first week. They announced that their service will close on 16 February 2023. The fact is, they were still releasing new features til January 2023. At least this makes me think the decision did not take long. The company decided to close its platform within a short time. According to them, The trading volume in LocalBitcoins has been declining for a long time, and there is no significant market demand for their service. No company will run a business that is not profitable anymore. So, they had to take this decision.

Must have missed it , cant find the topic.

You're too late, it's has been discussed 1-2 months ago if I'm not mistaken

https://localbitcoins.com/



Shame to see it down after 10 years of trading on there.