Paxful Co-Founder Rallies Development of P2P Marketplaces Resistant to Censorship

Paxful co-founder Ray Youssef challenges fellow developers to devote themselves towards building a censorship-resistant peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace. He challenges the developers to prioritize building P2P, guaranteeing permissionless trading for Bitcoin traders.

The Paxful executive indicated that prioritizing a permissionless trading platform for Bitcoin users is necessary, given that the token is a critical cog. Youssef considers Bitcoin essential in facilitating the interborder movement of money. 

Bitcoin Reliant on Developing Censorship Resistant P2P Marketplaces

Youssef added that the future utilization of Bitcoin relies upon the development of permissionless and unstoppable P2P marketplaces. He lauded the contributory input of Antoine Richard and Nicolas Gregory in fueling the Civ Kit development. 

Youssef observed that Civ Kit involves a P2P marketplace leveraging Nostr technology alongside Lightning Network in powering the decentralized platform. Their integration would overcome censorship and guarantee permissionless peer-based trading.

During Youssef’s Surin Bitcoin conference in Biarritz, France, Youssef’s pronouncement emphasized the need for permissionless trading. He restated his commitment towards the alpha unveiling of the in-development project later this year.

A review of the white paper that Youssef co-authored alongside Riard and Gregory, the new system will leverage the Nostr protocol for the P2P order book. The Civ Kit would utilize the Bitcoin network as its data source regarding the web-of-stakes paradigm to rank the market.

The White Paper indicates that it would lock the trades guided by the Bitcoin contracts. Doing so would eliminate the reliance on third parties during dispute arbitration. The system will incentivize the market nodes by offering privacy-preserving service credentials supported by the BTC payments.

Youssef Co-authors White Paper Advancing Compatibility of Multiple Trades

Youssef’s white paper restates the market system’s objective is facilitating the global trade of diverse items worldwide. As such, it would accommodate transactions involving fiat currencies, services and commodities.

Youssef admits that P2P marketplaces have attained popularity fuelled by the perception they constitute a niche hinged within the Bitcoin ecosystem. The Paxful co-founder challenged the crypto community to scale their thinking beyond spot and future exchanges. Instead, he considers P2P and over-the-counter trading by leveraging cryptocurrencies more than the initial projection. 

Youssef indicates that P2P began with the BitcoinTalk before scaling to the LocalBitcoins. Paxful would emerge only for Changpen Zhao to unveil the Binance peer-to-peer marketplace.

Youssef acknowledges the dominance of Bnance’s P2P marketplace within the crypto ecosystem. In their private conversations, he cited an admission from Zhao that Binance P2P is a top earner for the crypto exchange’s business. Also, it towers over spot markets that struggle to generate returns. 

Civ Kit Designed to Overcome Threats of Closing P2P Marketplaces

Yousseff attributes the Civ Kit’s origin to the need to overcome fears of regulators facilitating the closure of P2P marketplaces such as Binance. He considers the absence of alternative platforms for the P2P users who have become reliant on the services to execute the cross-border movement of money. 

The Paxful co-founder dismissed the tag of advancing speculative and trading motives as fuelling the development of Civ Kit. Instead, he restated the reason for facilitating money flow and usage as the pioneer peer-to-peer platforms conceived.

Youssef cited the incident where LocalBitcoins announced the closure in February 2023. Also, he expressed concerns about replicating the April 2023 decision when Paxful’s services were temporarily suspended. Nonetheless, he indicated that Paxful services were restored following the lifting of the temporary suspension in May. 

Paxful Co-founder Warns of Operation Choke 2.0 

Yousseff admits that fraudulent activities pose a tremendous challenge within the entire crypto ecosystem. Also, the elusive clarity on the regulatory framework is a concern, leaving the existing risks unnavigable. He decried the recent crackdown as misplaced. He labeled it as Operation Choke 2.0, which targets shutting down on- and off-ramps into crypto and Bitcoin.

Youssef emphasized the need to build P2P marketplaces that would give them an unstoppable and permissionless identity. He admitted learning from previous faults where the Finland-registered LocalBitcoins and Delaware-based Paxful suffered closure notwithstanding their different geolocations. 

Youssef challenges fellow developers to consider how to navigate the significant regulatory uncertainty that characterizes various territories led by the US.

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