LocalBitcoins to Shut Down After 10 Years Amid Challenging Market Conditions

cryptonews.com:

Bitcoin exchange LocalBitcoins has announced its closure after serving customers for more than 10 years citing the ongoing bear market. 

In a recent posting on its website, the exchange said it would be shutting down in the coming weeks due to tough market conditions. The platform said they reached this decision after efforts to overcome the current crypto winter did not come to fruition. It said:

"We are therefore sad to share, that regardless of our efforts to overcome challenges during the ongoing very cold crypto-winter, we have regretfully concluded that LocalBitcoins can no longer provide its Bitcoin trading service."

LocalBitcoins detailed that it would be discontinuing sign-ups starting Thursday, February 9, and will suspend trading by February 16. The exchange advised customers to withdraw funds as soon as possible. Clients have 12 months to remove funds from their wallets.

Founded in 2012, LocalBitcoins was one of the earliest and most popular peer-to-peer bitcoin trading platforms. In the early days of Bitcoin, the exchange became a key marketplace that drove liquidity. It also produced a lucrative arbitrage market as users could sell BTC at a spread above the spot price and then buy the asset on centralized exchanges for cheaper.

LocalBitcoins has approximately 8 million customers in more than 190 countries, according to its website. Since February 2021, the exchange has seen a continued decline in its trading volume, which hit an average of over $40 million a week. At its peak in 2017, LocalBitcoins processed roughly $100 million worth of trades on a weekly basis but in the past four months that figure has plunged to as low as $5.5 million.

Notably, the move comes after LocalBitcoins was named by the U.S. Treasury