Customers of LocalBitcoins have 12 months to withdraw their cryptocurrencies from the LocalBitcoins wallet, but it is recommended that they do so immediately.
LocalBitcoins, a peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency platform based in Finland, is closing its doors after more than a decade of service.
LocalBitcoins officially announced its closure on February 9, citing the challenging market conditions of the ongoing cryptocurrency winter.
“Despite our efforts to overcome challenges and return our trade volumes and declining market share to growth,” LocalBitcoins CEO Nikolaus Kangas told Cointelegraph. LocalBitcoins had 50 employees at the time of the announcement.
LocalBitcoins advised all customers to withdraw their crypto assets from the platform, instructing them to withdraw Bitcoin BTC $22,507 tickers from the LocalBitcoins wallet. According to the announcement, users can withdraw crypto assets from LocalBitcoins for 12 months. “However, of course, we encourage you to withdraw sooner,” the firm stated.
LocalBitcoins will immediately suspend all new registrations beginning February 9, according to the termination timeline. Trading will be suspended on February 16, and users will only be able to withdraw funds by logging into the wallet after that date.
The abrupt closure of LocalBitcoins comes after the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network named the platform one of the largest Bitcoin senders to the Russia-linked exchange Bitzlato. US authorities launched a significant enforcement action against Bitzlato, accusing the company of money laundering and facilitating the circumvention of Russian sanctions.
In January, Jukka Blomberg, chief marketing officer at LocalBitcoins, denied any collaboration or relationship with Bitzlato. He stated, ”
“According to our data, there have been virtually no transactions between LocalBitcoins and BitZlato since October 2022, when we stopped serving Russian user accounts and accounts of Russian users.” you will only be able to withdraw funds by logging into the wallet after that date.
Blomberg also emphasized that the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority has regulated LocalBitcoins since 2019 and strictly adhered to Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering regulations.
As previously reported, Russia was once one of the largest markets for LocalBitcoins, with Bitcoin trading volumes on the platform topping $1 billion in June 2020. According to Coin Dance data, overall trading volumes on LocalBitcoins have declined since reaching an all-time high in December 2017.
Weekly Bitcoin trading volumes on LocalBitcoins fell below 1,000 BTC in February 2021 and have yet to recover. LocalBitcoins’ most recent weekly BTC trading volumes totaled 283 BTC, or approximately $6 million. According to CoinGecko data, major exchanges like Coinbase trade $282 million in crypto daily.
