- Paxful is closing down and urging users to withdraw funds; CEO assures safety.
- CEO Ray Youssef tweeted that he won’t withdraw his Bitcoin until all users on Paxful do.
- Youssef commented that he practices self-custody and receives his salary in Bitcoin
Bitcoin marketplace Paxful, operating on a peer-to-peer basis, has made public its decision to close down. The company is advising its users to withdraw their funds from the platform. In a blog post, Paxful’s CEO and co-founder, Ray Youssef, acknowledged that the decision to shut down the platform might come as a surprise to some users.
However, he assured them that all customer funds were safe and urged them to withdraw their funds from the platform, ideally opting for self-custody if possible. Additionally, Youssef tweeted on March 5 that he will not be withdrawing his Bitcoin until all the users on Paxful get their BTC out first.
I’m not withdrawing my btc from @paxful until everyone else gets theirs out first pic.twitter.com/v0hq62SQaB— Ray Youssef (@raypaxful) April 5, 2023
Moreover, the image attached alongside the tweet highlights that only 2.3 BTC is currently in Youssef’s possession. Hence, one of the followers questions that “surely that is not all your Bitcoin.” In response, the CEO claimed, “I self custody brother. Only keep on any exchange what I intend to sell. Also get my salary in BTC.”
According to the announcement post, Paxful’s decision to shut down was attributed to “regulatory challenges for the industry” and “key staff departures.” However, during a Twitter space conversation, Youssef disclosed that the closure of the platform was influenced by a lawsuit filed against him and the company by one of its co-founders. Youssef revealed that he is facing a legal case filed by his co-founder, who was removed from the company over a year ago.
While not explicitly naming the individual in question, as per experts, Youssef was likely referring to Artur Schaback, Paxful’s co-founder who filed a lawsuit against Youssef in Delaware Chancery Court in January, according to CourtConnect.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Paxful declined to confirm the identity of the plaintiff, citing the ongoing lawsuit in which Paxful is a nominal defendant, but did acknowledge that Schaback is a co-founder and current board member of the company.
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