Paxful is the most important Bitcoin company you aren’t paying attention to

A new report from Matt Ahlborg examines Paxful, a peer-to-peer over-the-counter bitcoin exchange (similar to LocalBitcoins) that, despite the bear market, has grown monthly volume nearly every month for the last two years. In October, Paxful facilitated over $100 million of trading. The platform does not connect to bank accounts for purchases but rather acts as a supervising authority over peers who use the accounts to trade amongst themselves. This allows the exchange to service the unbanked population which are using Paxful to remit value back to their home country.

Why it matters:

• International remittances are expensive and inconvenient for many around the world. Bitcoin has been offered a solution to this, however, a mechanism for doing so hasn’t taken off. Paxful has established a method of using gift cards and bitcoin for remittances that is proving more effective (although not always cheaper) than existing systems.
• The majority of users are Nigerian immigrants in the U.S. who utilize Paxful send money to family and friends in Nigeria allowing them to escape currency manipulation and capital controls. This allows them to send money in the span of 20-30 minutes without requiring their recipient to travel to a Western Union, as is often the case.