Paxful's Ray Youssef: The Future of P2P Bitcoin Marketplaces Requires Permissionless and Unstoppable Platforms
Summary:
Paxful's Ray Youssef believes that the future of P2P Bitcoin marketplaces depends on them becoming permissionless and unstoppable. Youssef, along with other developers, is working on Civ Kit, a decentralized platform that aims to enable censorship-resistant and permissionless trading. The platform will use the Nostr protocol and leverage the Lightning Network. Youssef emphasizes the need for P2P marketplaces to offer alternatives for users who depend on them for cross-border money transfers. He highlights challenges faced by P2P platforms and the risks associated with fraud and regulation.
P2P Bitcoin marketplaces are crucial for cross-border money transfers, but their future hinges on becoming permissionless and unstoppable, according to Paxful's Ray Youssef. Youssef, along with Nicolas Gregory and Antoine Riard, is leading the development of Civ Kit, a decentralized platform powered by Nostr and the Lightning Network. The platform aims to enable censorship resistance and permissionless trading among peers and is expected to release an alpha version by the end of 2023. The Civ Kit system will use the Nostr protocol for its P2P order book and rely on the Bitcoin network as a source of truth. Trades will be locked under Bitcoin contracts to eliminate reliance on third-party arbitration, and market nodes will be incentivized with privacy-preserving service credentials backed by BTC payments. The white paper states that the market system aims to facilitate global trade of various items, including fiat currencies, goods, and services. Youssef notes that while P2P marketplaces are perceived as niche within the Bitcoin ecosystem, they actually play a bigger role than users might think. He mentions the growth of P2P trading, with platforms like LocalBitcoins and Paxful, and the emergence of Binance's P2P marketplace. Youssef acknowledges that Binance's marketplace is currently the largest player in the ecosystem and highlights the concern over potential closures of P2P platforms. He emphasizes the need for P2P marketplaces to be unstoppable and permissionless, as exemplified by the challenges faced by LocalBitcoins and Paxful. Youssef points to regulatory pressures and the risk of fraud as major concerns in the space. The aim of Civ Kit is to provide an alternative for P2P users who rely on these platforms for cross-border money transfers. Youssef cites the closure of LocalBitcoins and the temporary suspension of Paxful's services as examples of the challenges faced by P2P marketplaces. He sees the situation as part of an ongoing effort to restrict access points to cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin.
Published At
8/25/2023 10:28:02 AM
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