LocalBitcoins Announces Shutdown of its P2P Cryptocurrency Transaction Platform

LocalBitcoins, a peer-to-peer (P2P) bitcoin network located in Finland, will shut down operations after over a decade of service. LocalBitcoins announced the end of its services on February 9, blaming the difficult market circumstances on the continuing bitcoin bear market.

“Despite our attempts to overcome obstacles during the continuing extremely cold crypto-winter, we’ve reached the regrettable conclusion that LocalBitcoins can no more offer its Bitcoin trading services,” the company announced.

LocalBitcoins advised all users to remove their cryptocurrency assets from the site, requesting that they withdraw Bitcoin (BTC) from their LocalBitcoins wallet. As per the release, users may withdraw cryptocurrencies from LocalBitcoins for a period of one year. “Nevertheless, we recommend you remove your funds as quickly as possible,” the company added.