Paxful, a peer-to-peer (P2P) bitcoin exchange, has announced in a blog post that it is back in operation after being temporarily suspended for over a month. The company stated, "After a month away, we're happy to announce that the Paxful marketplace is back online. In early April, we faced a difficult decision to temporarily suspend the marketplace to protect all of our customers and Paxful's future."
The suspension occurred in April following CEO Ray Youssef's concerns about the safety of customer funds due to a lawsuit filed by co-founder Artur Schaback. Schaback sued Youssef and the company for wrongful termination, among other reasons. CoinDesk, which interviewed both co-founders and several former employees after the closure, reported that the co-founders' relationship had been strained for some time and the company suffered from significant lapses in management professionalism.
Schaback, who is seeking a settlement and wishes to exit the company, revealed that Paxful is currently owned by a custodian who also serves as a director alongside Schaback and Youssef. He told CoinDesk, "Right now we need the custodian because he's a tiebreaker; otherwise we're in a deadlock."
Throughout the suspension, Paxful Wallet remained fully functional for users, who were also provided with alternative P2P platforms for continued trading.