Tanya Abrosimova
Independent Analyst
- LocalBitcoins experienced a sharp decrease in trading volumes.
- New KYC requirements came into force as of September 1.
The trading volumes on LocalBitcoins fell by more than 30% after the popular p2p platform for buying and selling digital assets tightening KYC / AML measures.
Only $38.49 million worth of Bitcoins were traded on LocalBitcoins during the previous week, which is the lowest value since September 2018. Trading volume at LocalBitcoins fell by more than 30% in less than a month.
When calculated in cryptocurrency, the decline of the trading volumes is even more significant. Thus, the trading volume amounted to 4595 BTC in the previous week, which is the lowest figure since the launch of LocalBitcoins in June 2013. On a month-to-month basis, the decrease amounted to 13%.
Africa and Eastern Europe registered the decrease by 35-40%, while in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region the trading volumes declined by more than 40%. Relatively high trading volumes are registered in Russia, Nigeria, Venezuela and Colombia.
New user verification procedures came into effect on September 1. The platform explained the tightened KYC measures by the requirements of new Finnish law.
If the annual trading volume does not exceed 1000 euros, users must provide their full name, country of residence, email and phone number. If volumes exceed this limit, the site operator will require a complete KYC procedure, which means that users will have to provide a passport or other identification document.
There are four levels of accounts with different verification requirements.
Notably, last June LocalBitcoins scraped the option of buying and selling bitcoins in person. Allegedly, this decision also contributed to a decrease in activity on the platform.
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