LocalMonero exchange shutters due to ‘internal and external factors’

LocalMonero, one of the largest peer-to-peer centralized platforms for XMR trading, is discontinuing its services amid a global crackdown on privacy-focused tokens.

LocalMonero, a centralized peer-to-peer marketplace for Monero (XMR) trading, is shutting down its services, citing “internal and external factors” as the reason behind the move.

In a May 7 blog post, the platform said users can trade until May 14, after which new transactions will be disabled. Additionally, the platform has stopped new registrations and withdrawals will remain open until November 7. LocalMonero also warned that funds not claimed after the deadline “may be deemed abandoned/lost.”

“After almost 7 years of operation, we have made the difficult decision to close our platform due to a combination of internal and external factors.”

LocalMonero

Crypto.news reached out to LocalMonero for comment but did not hear back as of press time.

Founded in 2017, the Hong Kong-based platform allows users to buy and sell XMR directly with each other without the need for a central intermediary. The closure comes amid a global crackdown targeting privacy-focused cryptocurrencies such as Monero and Zcash (ZEC).

In December 2023, OKX, a cryptocurrency exchange, announced that XMR and other anonymous cryptocurrencies were delisted, citing failure to meet its “strict criteria.” Later, another crypto exchange, Binance, also removed XMR from its trading pairs, resulting in a significant depreciation in the value of the token. Additionally, American crypto exchange Kraken delisted Monero in Belgium and Ireland due to anti-money laundering regulations in Europe.

The full-scale removal of XMR from centralized platforms has already affected the token’s trading volumes. Market liquidity for privacy tokens has reached record lows as cryptocurrency exchanges continue to delist these assets to comply with local rules, according to data from blockchain analytics firm Kaiko.