LocalMonero closes P2P exchange after 7 years of operation

LocalMonero, a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange for the Monero cryptocurrency, announced Tuesday that it is shutting down its platform after about seven years of operation due to “internal and external factors.” The platform did not specify the reason for the closure.

The platform gave users the ability to buy and sell Monero in person or directly with other users online. LocalMonero said the shutdown process, which began on Tuesday, will be completed within six months and that new sign-ups have already been disabled.

Trading on the platform will be unavailable from May 14, and the website will be shut down in November.

Privacy coins, including Monero, which focuses on providing user anonymity, have been delisted from several major centralized exchanges such as Kraken, OKX, and Binance over the past few years.

LocalMonero wrote in a statement that it expects the Monero ecosystem to continue to expand despite its own contraction. “We are confident that the future of Monero is bright, with or without the platform,” he said, highlighting the upcoming launch of a new Monero-centric DEX and additional privacy updates, such as full-chain proof of membership, as positive developments.

The announcement comes a year after LocalBitcoins, a peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading service, announced its closure after 10 years of operation.

According to The Block’s pricing page, the price of Monero (XMR) was down 0.66% in the last 24 hours to $129.34 at the time of publication.

LocalMonero did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for further comment.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet delivering news, research and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor in The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the cryptocurrency space. Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget is an anchor LP of Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to provide objective, impactful and timely information about the cryptocurrency industry. Below are our current financial disclosures.

© 2023 The Block. All rights reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not provided or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice.