Peer-to-peer cryptocurrency marketplace Paxful has removed Ether (ETH), Ethereum’s native token, from its marketplace, citing a number of concerns around the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Paxful CEO Ray Youssef announced the move in a message to some 11.6 million users of the platform, which he subsequently shared on Twitter. We finally kicked #ethereum off our marketplace. 11.6m humans safer. Integrity over revenue Who is next ? pic.twitter.com/JTJXa5RYJ8 — Ray Youssef (@raypaxful) December 21, 2022 Youssef highlighted three major concerns around the Ethereum ecosystem which led to the marketplace removing ETH, citing Paxful’s intent to maintain its integrity and …

The case for self-custody grows stronger as investors demand evidence of their assets over crypto exchanges. While some CEOs chose to double down on assuring the funds’ safety on their platforms, Ray Youssef, the CEO of crypto exchange Paxful, sided with the idea of self-custody as he took responsibility for over 11 million users. The fall of FTX was an eye-opener for investors who predominantly entrusted crypto exchanges with safeguarding their assets. FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, however, broke this trust by misappropriating users’ funds via Alameda Research. Ever since, numerous exchanges had to share wallet information as proof of reserves …

Despite some level of regulatory uncertainty around cryptocurrency in the Philippines, one platform has recorded a massive influx of Bitcoin (BTC) trading activity recently. Bitcoin trading volumes in the Philippines have been on the rise over the past few months on the major peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchange Paxful. According to data from the Bitcoin tracking website Coin Dance, Bitcoin trading volumes denominated in the Philippines peso (PHP) have been steadily growing on Paxful and eventually hit a new high in July. Paxful’s Bitcoin trading volumes peaked at 111 million PHP ($1.9 million) during the week ending on Saturday, July 9, …

Digital payment platform Paxful has partnered with nonprofit organization Built With Bitcoin Foundation and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez to advance a new education initiative centered around Bitcoin (BTC) and financial literacy. The initiative will disburse free tickets to the Bitcoin 2022 conference to local colleges and universities as part of a broader effort to enhance financial literacy among minority and underserved communities in Miami. Up to 500 students and local residents will receive a ticket to attend the conference, which is scheduled for Apr. 6-9 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Currently, general admission tickets for the event are being …

The market capitalization of gold-backed crypto tokens increased by 60% in 2022 to surpass $1 billion for the first time in history, according to Arcane Research in its latest weekly report. Gold shines, Bitcoin disappoints In 2022, investors have been rushing to the perceived safety of gold-backed crypto assets, whose value is pegged to the price of gold. Namely, PAX Gold (PAXG), Tether Gold (XAUT), and similar precious metal-backed digital assets have been climbing in value as investors "diversify inflation bets" within the crypto sector, explains Arcane Research. PAXG is also outperforming Bitcoin (BTC) this year, as shown in the …

Major peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin (BTC) platform Paxful is working to help Salvadorans better use BTC as the cryptocurrency became legal tender in El Salvador last year. Paxful on Wednesday announced the launch of “La Casa Del Bitcoin,” a new educational and training center in El Salvador to enable free learning opportunities related to BTC. https://t.co/qSPHy997JJ — Paxful (@paxful) February 2, 2022 As part of the effort, Paxful will hold educational workshops and talks focused on Bitcoin and financial inclusion in the country. The center will focus on growing awareness around the benefits of buying and selling BTC as a means …

The research unit of Arcane Crypto predicts the Lightning Network will go parabolic as adoption of the Bitcoin (BTC) layer-two payment protocol ramps up over the decade. Arcane Research published the “State of Lightning” report on Tuesday and analyzed the Lightning Network in terms of current capacity, wallet payment volume, the growing rate of adoption, and the switch from online services to everyday usage. The report provides ambitious estimates for the future of the Lighting Network, such as 90% of Salvadorans over the age of 15 having access to Lightning payments by 2026, and 50 million Lightning users, representing $17 …

Peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange Paxful has integrated Lightning Network into its platform, giving its 7 million users access to near-instant Bitcoin (BTC) transfers. The new feature gives users the ability to send and receive BTC from their Paxful Wallet in a matter of seconds and with much lower fees than existing blockchain transactions, the company announced Tuesday. Paxful co-founder and CEO Ray Youssef described Bitcoin as “the best financial option” but acknowledged that scalability issues could be hindering adoption. He said Lightning Network is Bitcoin’s greatest chance of achieving the scalability needed to make microtransactions a reality. Related: Journeys in Blockchain: …

Though he has had 11 business failures, today Ray Youssef is building Bitcoin-funded schools across Africa as executive director of the Built With Bitcoin Foundation and is helping millions of people buy and sell cryptocurrency as CEO of Paxful. However, Youssef also admits to looting hardware stores on behalf of a convent school after Hurricane Katrina and says he was nearly shot as a suspected CIA agent during the Egyptian Revolution. He has just returned from El Salvador, where he spent time at Bitcoin Beach — where he says even children are using Bitcoin (BTC). Crypto payments services are important …

An anonymous online source was recently spotted trying to sell private customer and employee data allegedly obtained from crypto exchange Paxful. A spokesperson from the company told Cointelegraph that no customer data has been jeopardized, however. “Our customers’ data has not been compromised in any way,” said the spokesperson on Friday. “There has been no data breach of the Paxful platform,” they noted, adding: “The employee data that the person claims to have was obtained illegally from a third party supplier that Paxful previously used; Paxful terminated its contract with this supplier in September 2020. We have taken measures to …

Peer-to-peer Bitcoin (BTC) volume in Nigeria continues to rise as Africa’s largest economy remains a bastion for crypto adoption. According to Quartz Africa, data from the Bitcoin P2P marketplace Paxful show the country ranks second only to the United States in trading volume. Since 2015, Nigerians have traded over 60,200 BTC on the Paxful platform amounting to about $566 million in volume over the period. Data from Coin Dance shows trading activity for the week ending Dec. 12 at 886.3 million naira (about $2.3 million). Bitcoin’s growing appeal among Nigerians is likely due to a confluence of factors, chief of …

Cuba is apparently seeing an influx of Bitcoin (BTC)-related activity as Bitcoin interest is on the rise in the country. According to data from Google Trends, Cuba now ranks second in terms of Bitcoin interest over the past 30 days. The island nation follows Nigeria, which has remained as the top country searching for Bitcoin on Google since April 2020. The rest of Google’s top five regions searching for Bitcoin comprise the African countries of South Africa, Cameroon and Ghana. Cuba’s rise in Bitcoin-related searches comes amid reports of Cubans increasingly turning to Bitcoin to circumvent sanctions imposed by the …