This really huge news may have slipped past you, but it will certainly have an impact on both the price of bitcoin and how quickly adoption spreads amongst the mainstream.
Without any warning or fanfare, LocalBitcoins.Com today took all advertisements off it’s website that were for bitcoin buyers or sellers dealing with others in person. Not only is this a valuable source of information about bitcoin price and adoption worldwide, but it’s often the bitcoin newbie’s first introduction to crypto.
According my sources from the company who spoke on background, most folks who transacted locally in cash would sidestep the website itself, thus robbing LBC of their fees. It was also a sore spot for them, the source of many of the headaches scammers brought to the table.
Rumored to be prepping the company for a sale, killing cost centers comes as no surprise.
So where to turn now for local-sourced bitcoins? You can always reach out directly to folks you’ve interacted with in the past, or you can search for new sellers and buyers via Paxful, which hopes to fill the gap now.
If you want to sign up, consider using this affiliate link, as it helps me out when you do.