Bitrabo Editorial
Paxful, the peer-to-peer crypto trading platform, has announced a new CEO in a press release on May 30. Roshan Dharia, former senior executive at Trust Token, will oversee the daily operations of the platform, with a focus on improving operations and exploring strategic options.
Dharia is taking over from the platform’s custodian, Srinivas Raju. In a statement, Dharia said that Paxful had established the real use cases for Bitcoin and helped millions of people. Paxful has faced several challenges in the past, including a lawsuit filed by one of its co-founders against the CEO and co-founder, Ray Youssef, and the departure of several crucial members from the P2P team, resulting in significant disruptions to operations.
In December, Paxful delisted Ethereum after the smart contract platform shifted from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus system. The struggles within Paxful were compounded by financial difficulties and tough regulations, especially from the United States. In January, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) asked Paxful for information about its business and is investigating whether the P2P platform operated as a futures commission merchant (FCM) without proper licensing.
Paxful has denied operating as an FCM and responded to the subpoena saying it doesn’t custody user funds. The platform briefly shut down in early April 2023, citing an unsustainable business model. However, less than six weeks later, Paxful reopened under new management, ramping up its security and adding a new fraud detection system. Paxful also added new features and partnered with Ledger, a hardware manufacturer, and Simplex, a payment processor that allows trading crypto using fiat currencies.
Youssef, the former CEO of Paxful, criticized Dharia on Twitter, saying he is a “DeFi CEO” and users should expect a token. At the time of writing, Paxful has not confirmed whether it plans to launch a token.