Paxful Is Back Online Less Than A Month After Suspending Marketplace

Paxful, a peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency exchange, has resumed operations less than a month after shutting down.

Paxful Re-opens

The company recently shared its joy in announcing the re-opening of its cryptocurrency marketplace and expressed its commitment to ongoing development.

It’s been a good week. Let’s keep building. pic.twitter.com/Xie4XTQpYv

— Paxful (@paxful) May 11, 2023

The decision to suspend operations, Paxful said, was “difficult” but explained that the decision was to protect customers and “secure the future” of the popular marketplace.

The suspension occurred in April after CEO Ray Youssef raised concerns about the safety of customer funds due to a lawsuit filed by co-founder Artur Schaback.

Schaback sued Youssef and the company for wrongful termination and other reasons, which led to a series of challenges and conflicts within the organization.

In discussions with co-founders and former employees, it was revealed that the relationship between Youssef and Schaback had deteriorated over time, resulting in lapses in management and professionalism.

Paxful is under a custodian who serves as a director alongside Schaback and Youssef. Schaback expressed his desire to reach a settlement and exit the company, emphasizing the need for the custodian as a tiebreaker to resolve the issue.

During the suspension, Paxful ensured its Paxful Wallet remained fully operational, allowing users to continue managing their funds. Additionally, users were offered alternative P2P platforms for trading activities.

I’m not withdrawing my btc from @paxful until everyone else gets theirs out first pic.twitter.com/v0hq62SQaB

— Ray Youssef (@raypaxful) April 5, 2023

The Twirls

Initially, there were uncertainties regarding the resumption of operations. Paxful CEO Ray Youssef addressed the situation on the company’s website, citing key staff departures and regulatory challenges in the P2P market and the United States.

Youssef emphasized that their wallets would continue functioning, enabling customers to retrieve their funds. He encouraged users to transition to self-custody or explore other service providers such as Bitnob, a Bitcoin payments company, and Noones, a P2P platform.

This is not the first time Paxful has faced challenges. In December, the platform suspended Ethereum (ETH) trading on its marketplace due to the network’s transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake.

We finally kicked #ethereum off our marketplace. 11.6m humans safer. Integrity over revenue Who is next ? pic.twitter.com/JTJXa5RYJ8

— Ray Youssef (@raypaxful) December 21, 2022

Since then, Paxful has solely focused on Bitcoin, USDC, and USDT trading.

Youssef took to Twitter Spaces to address concerns about the safety of customer funds, pointing to the impact of Schaback’s lawsuit on the platform’s security.

Despite the obstacles faced by Paxful, the company’s return is seen as a positive development in the crypto community.

Some users are leaning towards fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD), speculating that Paxful was coming online to “wash users’ money before disappearing.”