[2018-04-19]LocalBitcoins Will Implement Authentication System For The Most Acti

[Alex077]

LocalBitcoins Will Implement Authentication System For The Most Active Traders

The popular p2p bitcoin trading platform LocalBitcoins, apparently, introduces mandatory authentication for traders operating with significant amounts of funds.

Despite the fact that the company has not released an official announcement yet, new policy active discussed on Reddit.
In particular, it is about need of providing the documents verification of the traders whose trading volume for the last 12 months will "considerable".
In comments to the post on Reddit, crypto enthusiasts share their views on the transition to an alternative p2p platform. Among the possible options - the Bisq website, Hodl Hodl and the P2P2 platform Paxful, which does not require KYC procedures...https://en.bit.news/localbitcoins-will-implement-authentication-system-for-the-most-active-traders/

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[buwaytress]

Had to happen for sooner or later for this Finnish company. Haven't received anything from LBC except a request for feedback in my email today, so I know for certain I'm not a trader with significant volume! Authentication doesn't necessarily mean KYC, though of course they probably just tried to use soft language. Not sure why traders wouldn't want to authenticate anyway. Bisq looks like the next best platform to migrate to, but they're going to have to open ways for offline trading too. Just really dislike leaving a terminal open just to hold trades.

[Palmerson]

I never buy bitcoins at ATMs. It's always unprofitable. The price of bitcoin in the ATM is always more expensive than on the exchange. I think that bitcoin ATMs attracted customers only by their anonymity. If they require identification of their customers, this can significantly reduce the demand for their use.

[IconFirm]

LocalBitcoins has been my goto place for some years now, I hate using centralized exchanges, plus I always get a better rate with them, but this won't go down well with users - including me. I've not been asked for ID verification yet, so presume my volume doesn't qualify, but if I am ever asked to provide ID, I won't.

Bisq has been my 2nd choice for a while now too & I can see a lot of LocalBitcoins users migrating to Bisq - which is great & just what Bisq needs, more users & volume.

On an aside, I recently bit the bullet & went through the verification process with Poloniex - but now wish I hadn't. Nearly 2 months has passed & I'm still not verified - plus they have completely ignored my support tickets. What a waste of fucking time. This experience with Poloniex has only cemented my feelings that all centralized exchanges are dodgy as fuck & should be avoided like the plague.

[European Central Bank]

i've seen quite a few people get very worked up about this. i don't really get why as most sellers will make you send them a bunch of ID anyway, something i'm not inclined to do for a random stranger on the internet.

people forget that localbitcoins is just another centralised service with identifiable staff and servers. they're just as vulnerable to getting blocked or shut down as any exchange. it's great for people who can't access an exchange in their locality. beyond that, meh.

[IconFirm]

it's great for people who can't access an exchange in their locality.

Which is exactly what it was set up for. Everything else is a bonus.

[European Central Bank]

it's great for people who can't access an exchange in their locality.

Which is exactly what it was set up for. Everything else is a bonus.

yep. but many people seem to forget that and regard it as some type of bastion against all the usual regulatory crap when it isn't. its absence in germany is a clear sign of that.

[IconFirm]

it's great for people who can't access an exchange in their locality.

Which is exactly what it was set up for. Everything else is a bonus.

yep. but many people seem to forget that and regard it as some type of bastion against all the usual regulatory crap when it isn't. its absence in germany is a clear sign of that.

Agreed. Although the use of VPN's etc pretty much negate that regulation anyway - many Germans use their service without issue.

[buwaytress]

it's great for people who can't access an exchange in their locality.

Which is exactly what it was set up for. Everything else is a bonus.

yep. but many people seem to forget that and regard it as some type of bastion against all the usual regulatory crap when it isn't. its absence in germany is a clear sign of that.

Agreed. Although the use of VPN's etc pretty much negate that regulation anyway - many Germans use their service without issue.

That is true actually, although they wouldn't be able to meet requirements of most traders unless they were already marked as trusted (I make it a point that anyone who trades with me must use same name and matching details, which isn't possible if they have to show a German ID). I generally waive that requirement after an initial trade has stood >3 months.

Take ECB's point that LBC isn't the freedom fighter it's sometimes made out to be, but it's still the place I prefer to go to to trade with other people. Maybe it's a false sense of ideology that P2P is the way to go, but it is what it is...

[Alex077]

I never buy bitcoins at ATMs. It's always unprofitable. The price of bitcoin in the ATM is always more expensive than on the exchange. I think that bitcoin ATMs attracted customers only by their anonymity. If they require identification of their customers, this can significantly reduce the demand for their use.

Lokal Bitcoins - that's not ATM, not BTM - that'ss a p2p direct exchange market for cryptocurrency with an ecrow service. Basically, it's not a problem to leave your data on this service, but they haven't this kind of requirements before; and that's not okay to leave your data on all sites.

[timerland]

I'm getting this message in my LBC account recently:

Your trade volume has been significant in the past 12 months. Please, consider verifying your ID.

I have not received any emails, however.

They've just recently implemented the rule where you have to be verified to create advertisements/offers on Localbitcoins. So it does make sense that they may want to implement KYC procedures for active traders as well.

Although this is honestly expected from them because they are situated in Finland, and regulations and restrictions from the government had to happen sooner or later. It's going to take a lot of volume away from LBC because a lot of people use it solely for the reason of convenience and anonymity, both of which would be gone.

[Lucius]

I believe LocalBitcoins as well as many others in this business do not have a lot of choices,first you need to catch big fish and small fish are not so important, for now.No company wants to be accused for money laundering or to avoid paying taxes,fortunately there are some alternatives, but the question is how long they will be able to operate without verification of its users.

At the end only way to sell/buy cryptocoins without "big brother" know for that is find it with someone in person and make a transaction without intermediaries.

[Grossmann Jr.]

LocalBitcoins doesn't seem to be the most profitable platform for traders to be honest. I don't use it

[European Central Bank]

LocalBitcoins doesn't seem to be the most profitable platform for traders to be honest. I don't use it

it serves no purpose for trading. it's not an exchange. it's for buying and selling. there are retailers on there who make plenty of money but they're buying and selling to joe public, not other traders.

[Kloosterboer]

Clever decision from LocalBitcoin, but how this procedure will happen? What kind of document or IDs you need to provide?

[IconFirm]

Clever decision from LocalBitcoin,

It's not clever at all - the decision was forced upon them & they will lose customers because of it.

[magneto]

I also received a message from Localbitcoins around 2 weeks ago saying that it is recommended that I verify my account. They quoted the fact that you become trustworthy in the marketplace after you get verified, but in reality, I think it's because of the regulators in Finland and EU forcing them to take action. Wouldn't be surprised at all if LBC decides to enforce complete KYC before anyone is able to trade on the platform soon.

Clever decision from LocalBitcoin,

It's not clever at all - the decision was forced upon them & they will lose customers because of it.

Agreed, they will lose customers for sure. People weill move to other platforms, Bisq, Hodl hodl, and whatnot. But they really don't have a choice.

If the verification system is only applicable for the high volume traders though it can probably be easily circumvented by creating numerous new accounts under different IPs. That's why I think either they'll completely enforce KYC to all customers soon, or take this step before enforcing KYC completely. If they force any sort of verification onto their customers, I'm definitely going to stop trading there and move elsewhere.

[MaydayMayday]

I never buy bitcoins at ATMs. It's always unprofitable. The price of bitcoin in the ATM is always more expensive than on the exchange. I think that bitcoin ATMs attracted customers only by their anonymity. If they require identification of their customers, this can significantly reduce the demand for their use.

It's not an ITM, my friend, it's a peer-to-peer network, where you can buy crypto, don't mix this things