LocalBitcoins Removes Option to pay for BTC in Cash

[Mercury]

Not a day goes by in the Bitcoin world without some rather interesting developments to keep an eye on. While not all changes will be embraced with open arms, it seems some of these differences can be beneficial. The current LocalBitcoins situation seems rather unclear, for rather obvious reasons. The removal of cash transactions is not exactly a popular decision.

What is Going on With LocalBitcoins?

A lot of people tend to rely on LocalBitcoins for buying and selling the world’s leading cryptocurrency. In some countries, the weekly volumes are still rising as of late, which further shows how important this business model really is. Unfortunately, it seems some of the major selling points for LocalBitcoins are about to be eroded altogether. A very unfortunate and untimely turn of events which doesn’t make too much sense at this time.

To be more specific, the LocalBitcoins platform no longer allows users to pay in cash or meet in person for trades. That in itself is odd, primarily because these are the two major selling points of the platform in general. After all, a lot of users enjoy the option of meeting up with like-minded enthusiasts and complete a transaction by forking over cash. It has worked quite well for many years, thus ending that service now seems rather odd.

The reason for this change remains unclear at this time. Since there was no advance warning to users, it seems safe to assume this is an impulsive decision which may have been forced upon the company by external parties. By effectively allowing users to pay for BTC with cash without dealing with KYC requirements, LocalBitcoins may have worked itself into a rather unusual angle first and foremost. Governments all over the world are actively cracking down on services which allow users to purchase cryptocurrencies anonymously.

The actual consequences of this decision remain to be determined. More specifically, nothing effectively presents LocalBitcoins users from contacting others to set up a deal to pay in cash or meet up in person. That would also force users to potentially bypass the platform’s built-in escrow system, which can introduce some additional risks first and foremost. Even so, it seems unlikely this will deter users from trading BTC through this platform.

For those enthusiasts who are looking for ways to “anonymously” obtain Bitcoin, the number of options has been reduced significantly. Not only are the Bitcoin mixing services being shut down or shutting down themselves in quick succession, LocalBitcoins is now a less preferable option as well. The use of Bitcoin ATMs is still a possibility, as most of these machines will not require KYC  up to a certain limit.

It seems this change will only affect the LocalBitcoins platform as of right now. Other similar platforms offering exposure to Bitcoin Cash, Monero and Ethereum have no intention to disallow cash-based transactions as of right now. It is also unclear if the LocalBitcoins’ team decision will spill over to all regions where the platform is still active. A bit of an uneasy situation is created, but nothing that can’t be resolved in due time.

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