By
Steve Muchoki
April 19th, 2024
The internal issues of Paxful stem from nothing else but the sour relationship between co-founders Youssef and Schaback.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin trading platform Paxful has announced that normalcy has now returned to its marketplace. This follows after some internal issues and regulatory pressure forced the platform to suspend all activities, barely a month ago. In a recent blog post, however, Paxful has now confirmed its reopening while also sharing the reason behind the suspension. The firm noted that, at the time, the decision was in the best interest of the customers and the future of the firm. Part of the statement read:
“Over the last month, our team has worked diligently to get the marketplace back online with the safety and security of users paramount.”
Recall that a few weeks ago, Paxful CEO Ray Youssef expressed concerns over customer funds. However, the fears were due to a lawsuit from Artur Schaback, a co-founder of the platform.
Schaback was suing Youssef and the company for wrongful termination, among other reasons. So, Paxful eventually shut down in April with Youssef insisting that all customer funds were accounted for.
Going by the new blog post, Paxful ensured that its wallet remained fully operational throughout the period. That is, users could withdraw their funds and opt to self-custody. Additionally, Paxful also offered its community a list of alternative P2P platforms such as Noones, in case they wanted to continue trading.
Current Situation at Paxful
The internal issues of Paxful stem from nothing else but the sour relationship between co-founders Youssef and Schaback. According to multiple reports from former employees of the firm, their relationship hit the rocks a long time ago. But while the exact reasons may not be known, there are rumors that the duo does not see eye-to-eye when it comes to management professionalism. And as expected, such lapses have caused the business to suffer on many fronts.
Schaback currently seeks a settlement and intends to exit the firm for good. Meanwhile, Paxful is now in the hands of a new custodian, who serves as a director together with Schaback and Youssef.
For now, the firm has expressed its delight in getting back online and has vowed to continue serving millions of people without financial access.