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Bitcoin Exchange LocalBitcoins to Close, Citing Market Conditions
LocalBitcoins is suspending the exchange 10 years after its inception because weekly volume has slumped.
Автор Oliver Knight
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Bitcoin exchange LocalBitcoins is set to close this month in response to the "ongoing very cold crypto winter."
LocalBitcoins, based in Helsinki, is one of the longest-running exchanges. It started 10 years ago and has averaged between $5 million and $7 million in weekly trading volume over the past four months, a far cry from 2017 when it surged to above $100 million in consecutive weeks, according to data from CoinDance.
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"We are sad to share that regardless of our efforts to overcome challenges during the ongoing very cold crypto-winter, we have regretfully concluded that LocalBitcoins can no longer provide its bitcoin trading service," the company said in a statement.
Trading will be suspended on Feb. 16, after which users will be able to log in only to withdraw their crypto.
LocalBitcoins offered peer-to-peer and escrow services for users looking to buy or sell bitcoin via traditional bank transfers and cash deals across multiple currencies on a global scale.
When bitcoin was in its early stages, LocalBitcoins became a key marketplace that drove liquidity. It also spurred the lucrative arbitrage market as users could sell bitcoin at a spread above spot price and then buy the asset on centralized exchanges for cheaper.
In December, early bitcoin pioneer and Libertarian activist Ian Freeman went to trial on allegations of being a ringleader in a bitcoin selling business that used LocalBitcoins.
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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
Что нужно знать:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
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Stablecoins moved $35 trillion last year but only 1% of it was for 'real world' payments
While stablecoins settled around $35 trillion last year, only around 1% of that represented genuine payments like remittances and payroll, a new report found.
What to know:
- Stablecoins processed more than $35 trillion in transactions last year, but only about 1% of that reflected real-world payments, a report by McKinsey and Artemis Analytics found.
- The study estimated that roughly $390 billion in genuine stablecoin payments, such as vendor payments, payrolls, remittances and capital markets settlements.
- Despite rapid growth and increasing interest from traditional payment firms like Visa and Stripe, true stablecoin payments still account for just a tiny fraction of the more than $2 quadrillion global payments market, the report said.
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