LocalBitcoin
Basics
- LocalBitcoin is a P2P Bitcoin exchange with buyers and sellers in thousands of cities around the world.
- With LocalBitcoins, you could meet up with people in your local area but this has been stopped since 6-2019, making Localbitcoin not very local anymore... Two days later Bitcoin.com lauched it's own version, Local.Bitcoin.com, which works for BCH.
- You can buy or sell bitcoins by sending money through PayPal, Skrill or Dwolla or arrange to deposit cash at a bank branch. LocalBitcoins only take a commission of 1% from the sellers who set their own exchange rates. To ensure trading is secure, LocalBitcoins takes a number of precautions. To start, the platform rates each trader with a reputation rank and publicly displays past activities. Also, once a trade is requested, the money is held on LocalBitcoins’ escrow service. After the seller confirms the trade is completed the funds are released. If something does happen to go wrong, LocalBitcoins has a support and conflict resolution team to resolve conflicts between buyers and sellers.
- Also started (2-6-2021) to facilitate Dogecoin (DOGE), Tether (USDT), Polkadot (DOT), Cardano (ADA), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), USD Coin (USDC), and Chainlink (LINK).
Usage
"Towards the end of February, LocalBitcoins traded just 3,144 bitcoins—its lowest weekly trading amount since May 2013, according to bitcoin statistics website Coin Dance, and down around 75% on the same period last year.
LocalBitcoins saw some 13,000 bitcoins traded per week in February 2019, Coin Dance records show, with its biggest ever trading week, of around 40,000 bitcoins, back in 2015. The fall in LocalBitcoins trading volume to a seven-year low comes after reports it suddenly began suspending long-time users' accounts without warning earlier this year.
Some reports suggested the suspensions were a result of strict new European Union anti-money laundering regulations that came into effect in January, requiring bitcoin and cryptocurrency platforms and wallet providers to identify their customers. However, LocalBitcoins, which has a reputation as being a relatively anonymous way for bitcoin users around the world to buy and sell bitcoin, claimed to have complied with the new legislation early last year, giving it ample time to verify users' identities ahead of the changes taking effect this month."
"Venezuela is LocalBitcoins' second-biggest market, while Colombia has jumped to the #3 spot. According to a post from the educational group "Satoshi en Venezuela" published by LocalBitcoins, Venezuela has maintained its position as the second-largest Bitcoin trader in the world, accounting for 12.3% of all trade volume worldwide in 2020. The socialist nation is only surpassed by Russia (17.4%), according to data published by LocalBitcoins and confirmed by Decrypt via crypto data site Useful Tulips."
Compliance
- From Cointelegraph (29-7-2020).
"LocalBitcoins has partnered with blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic to gain access to new blockchain monitoring tools that can help prevent the illicit use of its services."
Pros and Cons
- Pros: beginner friendly, usually free, instant transfers, available worldwide.
- Cons: ID required in 3-2019, when they started asking for KYC due to European Union and Finnish pressure, hard to buy large amounts of bitcoin, high exchanges rates.
Competition
- Radar Relay is a Ethereum version. LocalEthereum turned into (23-11-2019) LocalCryptos.
