Ray Youssef, the chief executive of Paxful Bitcoin exchange, announced the indefinite suspension of the marketplace on Tuesday, citing regulatory challenges and staff departures.
See related article: SEC Chair urges more resources to regulate crypto and technology at House Subcommittee hearing
Fast facts
- All customer funds are accounted for, and safeguarding client assets is the exchange’s priority, Youssef said. He also encouraged customers to withdraw and self-custody their assets.
- Youssef added that the exchange’s regulatory challenges mostly came from the U.S.
- Paxful joins a growing list of cryptocurrency exchanges closing shop due to legal hurdles in the U.S.
- Last Friday, Bittrex, a Seattle-based crypto exchange, announced that it is winding down to close its U.S. operations, citing regulatory challenges.
- Beaxy, another U.S.-based platform, was shut down by the Securities and Exchange Commission for operating an unregistered exchange.
- U.S. regulators have been intensifying their crackdown on the industry recently. Last week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, for violating compliance rules.
See related article: Japan’s FSA steps up crypto regulation with warnings to Bybit, other exchanges
