Paxful CEO Ray Youssef discloses $4.4M in frozen customer funds, warns against US financial institutions

Paxful co-founder and CEO Ray Youssef said $4.4 million — around 3.3% of total customer funds —  remain frozen on the platform despite freeing 88% of all frozen accounts in the last ten days.

Youssef advised his followers not to trust any U.S.-based financial institution. He said:

“To everyone in the Global South. NEVER work with any financial company in the US or even any that serve Americans at all. They will confiscate your funds and not even give you a reason because they cannot by law. The system itself is designed to hurt you.”

88% of accounts unfrozen

In an April 16 Twitter thread, Youssef detailed how he has been working to help users with frozen funds regain access to their assets. According to him, this is his final act as the CEO of the peer-to-peer crypto trading platform.

Youssef pointed out that any account that has not been unfrozen is outside his control as the US regulators are now in charge.

“I have no access and have never had access to customer funds. Avoid US companies and always self custody,” he said.

The Paxful CEO added that the company had unfrozen about $3 million this year. But that is all it can do because the aggrieved co-founder suing the company refused to pay for the compliance needed to unfreeze the remaining assets.

Criticizes US regulatory system

Youssef blamed the recent issues with his platform on the U.S. regulatory system and advised users to avoid using U.S.-based entities or opt for self-custody.

“Many look to the US as a world leader. My family did, that’s why we moved here. It’s sad to see how a country that welcomed millions is now shutting millions out. I pray it changes,” he said.

Paxful was one of the leading peer-to-peer exchanges for Bitcoin trading before it shut down two weeks ago. At the time, Youssef claimed the exchange had to shut down due to regulatory challenges, saying:

“[Despite the company] bending over backwards for the past five years to try to comply with the highest standards, the regulators still don’t get it.”

While Paxful Wallet remains in operation for users to retrieve their funds, not everyone can do so due to regulators freezing some assets.

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