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LocalBitcoins warns Tor Browser Users of Potential Bitcoin Theft

LocalBitcoins, a Finnish crypto exchange, recently warned its users about the potential cybersecurity risks connected to the anonymous browser—Tor Browser.

Richard Bensberg, a transactional compliance expert, recently tweeted a screenshot of a LocalBitcoins banner that warned Tor Browser users that they could be at risk of having their Bitcoins stolen.

LocalBitcoins affirmed Bensberg’s tweet stating that there are no specific restrictions on Tor Browser users, they do not recommend the browser for security reasons. They did not offer any specific comments as to why Tor Browser may be particularly susceptible to cyber theft.

In the same tweet, Bensberg further criticized the intelligence of the exchange’s banner warning stating that Localbitcoins has “really lost the plot’ for discouraging users from a browsing tool that has so far been praised for providing privacy and anonymity.

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LocalBitcoins Deploys Elliptic’s Blockchain-Powered Tracking Tools for Enhanced Surveillance

Leading peer to peer (P2P) Bitcoin trading platform LocalBitcoins has partnered with Elliptic, a global provider of crypto asset risk management solutions, to tame the headache of its illegal usage through blockchain-enabled monitoring tools.

Elliptic has had a reputation for offering crypto compliance solutions to enterprise crypto-financial institutions and businesses.

Screening crypto transactions

Through the strategic collaboration, Finland-based LocalBitcoins will comply with regulations, such as know-your-customer (KYC) and the European Union’s Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD). The P2P platform will use Elliptic Lens and Elliptic Navigator to screen crypto wallets and transactions, respectively.

According to a recent analysis by cryptocurrency intelligence company CipherTrace, LocalBitcoins has been a popular marketplace of receiving illegal funds. It, therefore, seeks to remove this reputation by deploying the blockchain monitoring tools.

Suspicious transactions continue wreaking havoc in the crypto space. Nevertheless, blockchain-based solutions are being touted as game-changers. For instance, CipherTrace has unveiled a predictive risk-scoring model to flag down money laundering of cryptocurrencies.

Anti-money laundering controls

According to Elliptic’s co-founder and chief scientist, Tom Robinson, P2P platforms in the crypto space have not been left behind. They are making notable strides in adopting new regulatory measures by initiating more technology-enabled and stringent anti-money laundering controls.

He added, “By choosing Elliptic, LocalBitcoins have demonstrated their commitment to eliminating illicit use of their platform.”

On the part of LocalBitcoins CEO, Sebastian Sonntag, he acknowledged, “Elliptic will enable us to achieve the highest levels of compliance while increasing operational efficiency and reducing costs. We will continue to invest heavily in AML and KYC to maintain a secure and trusted platform for our valued customers.”

LocalBitcoins Hits New Milestone, Reaching 200,000 Mobile App Downloads

LocalBitcoins is scaling the heights because its mobile app available on iOS and Android surpassed 200,000 downloads.

The world’s leading peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin marketplace is now available in 19 different languages after five more were added.

Jukka Blomberg, the chief marketing officer at LocalBitcoins, noted that crypto adoption was going a notch higher. He stated:

“The adoption is truly amazing. Just a few months after launching our popular Bitcoin trading app for iOS and Android, we’ve crossed the 200,000 download milestone.”

With the primary objective of LocalBitcoins being financial inclusion for people across the globe when it comes to buying, storing, and transferring Bitcoin in a secure, fast, and easy way, Blomberg believes that the mobile application route is ideal.

He added:

“The LocalBitcoins mobile app is currently available in 19 languages, the latest additions being Bengali, Hindi, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese. This demonstrates our commitment to delivering easy and inclusive access to cryptos for every single person around the world.”

P2P platforms like LocalBitcoins have played an instrumental role in crypto adoption on African soil. For instance, in July 2021, Africa recorded the largest Bitcoin P2P volume growth because youths across the continent were taking up the mantle of bettering their lives and their families through cryptocurrencies.

Meanwhile, in 2020, LocalBitcoins partnered with Elliptic, a global provider of crypto asset risk management solutions, to tame the headache of its illegal usage through blockchain-enabled monitoring tools.

As a result, measures such as know-your-customer (KYC) and the European Union’s Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) were incorporated.

Therefore, these initiatives showed that the crypto space was not being left behind in adopting new regulatory measures through technology-enabled and stringent anti-money laundering controls.

Image source: Shuttstock

LocalBitcoins Cuts Fees to Zero for Ukrainians Both Locally and Abroad

To ease transactions amongst Ukrainians as they face the Russian Army Invasion in their nation, the world’s leading peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace, LocalBitcoins, has removed all fees for them both locally and abroad.

Based on its primary objective of rendering freedom, the firm’s CMO, Jukka Blomberg, acknowledged that this decision was reached as Ukrainians face unprecedented times of war. He added:

“LocalBitcoins’ core value is freedom. We understand that at the moment, Ukraine is facing extremely challenging times. For this reason, LocalBitcoins has removed all fees from its Ukrainian users.”

Therefore, this revelation means that Ukrainians will have a free BTC wallet that they can use to exchange their national currency, the hryvnia, at zero rates.

The crypto community has also shown its lending hand by donating crypto worth more than $30 million to aid humanitarian efforts.

Some of the notable faces in the crypto space that have channelled their funds to support the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis include Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, with a $10 million donation.

The funds were to be split between top non-profit organizations with whom Binance had prior partnerships like People in Need, UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, iSans, and UNICEF.

Furthermore, Canada-based crypto exchange CoinSmart had raised funds to the tune of $19 million to support the people of Ukraine and assist the international community in alleviating their immense suffering.

CoinSmart is among six crypto platforms registered as a securities dealer and market by the Ontario Securities Commission. The others include Wealthsimple, Coinberry, Netcoins, Fidelity, and Bitbuy.

The gesture by LocalBitcoins is a welcome move for Ukrainians because it recently hit a new milestone of surpassing 200,000 mobile app downloads.

LocalBitcoins Clocks 300,000 Mobile App Downloads, With Africa Making a Mark

After reaching 200,000 mobile app downloads on iOS and Android in two months, LocalBitcoins has scaled the heights by crossing the 300,000 mark.

The world’s leading peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin marketplace is now available in 23 different languages after adding three more. “The latest additions being Arabic, Chinese and Japanese. This continues to demonstrate our commitment to delivering easy and inclusive access to cryptos for every single person around the world in a compliant and secure manner,” Jukka Blomberg, the chief marketing officer at LocalBitcoins, said.

LocalBitcoins seeks to offer more inclusion. Blomberg believes the firm’s mobile app is witnessing significant adoption in Africa. He noted:

“The adoption of the LocalBitcoins mobile app, especially in Africa, has been truly amazing. Bitcoin means inclusion and LocalBitcoins is committed to bringing Bitcoin to the next billion users in Africa and beyond, in both a compliant and secure manner.”

P2P platforms have been pivotal in increasing crypto adoption across the African continent. For example, in July 2021, Africa recorded the largest Bitcoin P2P volume growth because youths across the continent were taking up the mantle of bettering their lives and their families through cryptocurrencies.

In late January, LocalBitcoins hit a new milestone after its mobile app downloads surpassed 200,000, just a few months after being launched on iOS and Android.

Based on the company’s primary objective of rendering financial inclusion to people across the globe when it comes to buying, storing, and transferring Bitcoin in a secure, fast, and easy way, the mobile application route is touted as an ideal stepping stone.

LocalBitcoins Shuts Down After 10 Years

LocalBitcoins, a peer-to-peer (P2P) bitcoin trading platform located in Finland, has announced that it would be ceasing operations after more than a decade of providing services to its users.

On February 9, LocalBitcoins made the formal announcement that company will be discontinuing its services, citing the challenging market circumstances caused by the protracted bitcoin winter.

LocalBitcoins urged all of its clients to remove their cryptocurrency holdings from the site and instructed them to begin the process of removing Bitcoin (BTC) from the wallet associated with their LocalBitcoins account. According to the notification, customers have the ability to withdraw their cryptocurrency assets from their LocalBitcoins accounts for a period of one year. The company made the following observation: “However, of course, we advise you to continue with withdrawing sooner.”

According to the timeframe for the shutdown, starting on February 9, LocalBitcoins will instantly stop accepting any new registrations. On February 16th, all trading will be halted, and after that date, users will only be allowed to log in to their wallets to withdraw monies from their accounts.

The sudden shutdown of LocalBitcoins comes not long after the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network named the site as one of the most significant Bitcoin senders to the Russia-connected exchange Bitzlato. The United States authorities have initiated a significant enforcement action against Bitzlato, accusing the company of engaging in money laundering and allegedly assisting in the evasion of sanctions imposed on Russia.

Since October 2022, when we ceased providing Russian user accounts and accounts of users resident in Russia, our records show that there have been almost no transactions between LocalBitcoins and BitZlato. This information is based on the data we have collected.

Blomberg further emphasized that Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering requirements were adhered to by LocalBitcoins in a stringent manner and that the company has been regulated by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority since 2019.

As was noted in the past, Russia was at one time one of the most important markets for LocalBitcoins. As of June 2020, the country had the highest volume of Bitcoin trades on the site. According to statistics provided by Coin Dance, the total trade volumes on LocalBitcoins have been steadily decreasing after hitting an all-time high in December of 2017.

Since February 2021, when they fell below 1,000 BTC for the first time, weekly Bitcoin trade volumes on LocalBitcoins have never recovered to their previous levels. The most recent weekly BTC trade volume that was reported on LocalBitcoins was 283 BTC, which is equivalent to around $6 million. According to statistics provided by CoinGecko, large cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinbase conduct daily transactions totaling $282 million in digital currency.