Kenyan investors on Paxful - a bitcoin company- were on Wednesday, March 5, advised to withdraw their money following its sudden closure.
The Kenyan investors were among nine million users that were affected by the unprecedented shutdown.
In a statement, the Chief Executive Officer, Ray Youssef, noted that the company was ceasing its operations owing to regulatory challenges and the departure of some key staff.
Youssef explained that the regulatory framework in the US was a major hindrance to its global operations.
However, the CEO affirmed that the investors would be able to access their money before the company ceased operations.
"Today, Paxful will be suspending its marketplace. We are not sure if it will come back. This will probably come as a big shock to many. While I cannot share the full story now, I can say that we unfortunately have had some key staff departures.
"While we work through these issues, we have taken the most secure option and ask you to explore self-custody and trade elsewhere," read the statement in part.
On the other hand, the company offered to transfer some of its investors to other platforms. He noted that the migrations would be done to non-US citizens including Kenyans.
In the statement, the firm listed a number of alternatives as Paxful also explained why the options were viable.
According to data from Time Magazine, Paxful had nine million investors with a majority of the African investors coming from Kenya and Nigeria.
Founded in 2015 the company was popular in Kenya and Africa and was even named among the top 100 influential companies in the world in 2022.
On the Paxful platform, investors exchanged bitcoin for cash and mobile money.
