Monero’s largest P2P trading platform shuts down

• 
  LocalMonero
  is
  a
  peer-to-peer (P2P)
  trading
  platform
  for
  privacy-focused
  coin
  Monero
  (XMR).
• 
  The
  platform
  is
  winding
  down,
  with
  the
  website
  set
  to
  shutter
  on
  November
  7.

LocalMonero,
the
largest
peer-to-peer
(P2P)
trading
platform
for

Monero
(XMR),
is
shutting
down.

The
P2P
platform

announced
late
Tuesday
that
it’s
ending
operations
effective
immediately,
with
new
signups
and
ad
postings
disabled
as
of
May
7.

Ahead
of
the
complete
website
shutdown,
LocalMonero
will
halt
all
trading
activities,
with
this
scheduled
for
May
14.
The
platform’s
seven-year
stint
that
saw
it
become
the
largest
peer-to-peer
trading
platform
for
Monero
officially
comes
to
a
close
on
November
7.

As
it
begins
its
six-month
wind-down
process,
LocalMonero
says
the
decision
to
shut
shop
comes
amid
a
confluence
of
internal
and
external
factors.
However,
the
announcement
on
the
platform’s
website
does
not
provide
specific
reasons
for
the
move.

Meanwhile,
all
users
are
advised
to
withdraw
their
funds
before
the
deadline
of
November
7.
Not
doing
so
could
render
the
funds
“abandoned
or
forfeited.”

LocalMonero
shuts,
but
future
of
Monero
“bright”!

Shutting
down
Monero’s
largest
P2P
platform
could
see
an
impact
in
terms
of
the
buying
and
selling
of
XMR,
the
top
privacy-centric
cryptocurrency.
Despite
this,
the
team
at
LocalMonero
believes
the
ecosystem’s
future
is
on
course
for
further
growth.

“LocalMonero
has
been
around
for
most
of
Monero’s
life.
Fortunately,
the
Monero
ecosystem
has
matured
a
lot
over
these
years,”
the
announcement
reads.

Part
of
the
optimism
is
down
to
the
potential
for
projects
such
as
decentralised
exchanges
(DEXs)
Haveno
and
Serai.
Atomic
swaps
and
Full-Chain
Membership
Proofs
(FCMP)
are
the
other
key
developments
likely
to
bolster
the
Monero
protocol.

Despite
this
outlook,
Monero
and
other
privacy
coins
have
in
recent
months
faced
increased
regulatory
scrutiny
and
exchange
delistings. 

A
number
of
privacy-focused
services,
including

Wasabi
Wallet
and
Trezor
CoinJoin
have
shuttered,
while
US
authorities
recently

arrested
the
co-founders
of
privacy
wallet
Samourai
Wallet.