Ren Garcia 
LocalBitcoins, one of the first bitcoin initiatives, has announced its closure. The platform team attributes the major cause to volatile market circumstances and the crypto winter.
The Finnish P2P network LocalBitcoins released a notice announcing the closure of its operation as a BTC trading platform after ten years of participation in the cryptocurrency market: “Despite our best efforts to overcome the challenges during the extended crypto winter, we regretfully have concluded that LocalBitcoins can no longer provide its bitcoin trading services.”
LocalBitcoins Urge its Users to Withdraw as Soon as Possible
LocalBitcoins are urging customers to withdraw their money within a year due to the platform’s impending demise. The business recommends that consumers to be proactive and not put off the procedure even if they have a year to finish their withdrawals. The ability to register new users will end on February 9. Trading on the trading platform and using the LocalBitcoins cryptocurrency wallet will end as of February 16, when it switches to withdrawal mode. Customers can only log in to withdraw their bitcoins after February 17.
Other Possible Reasons and the Impact of the Demise of Local Bitcoins
The number of cryptocurrency assets traded on the LocalBitcoins platform during the course of the previous year amounted to nearly $2.3 billion, according to data provided on the company website. The service has more than 8 million registered users from 190 different nations. Experts on the bitcoin industry speculated that sanctions implemented by the EU against Russian people, who have historically been big users of LocalBitcoins, may have also had a role in the closing of the Finnish P2P network besides the crypto winter.
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