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.