Crypto Exchanges Launch P2P Platforms from Latvia and Bulgaria

While European institutions are issuing another series of warnings about the risks and sins of dealing with bitcoin, crypto communities on the Old Continent are trying to preserve freedoms not granted by Brussels. Two exchanges from opposite corners of New Europe have announced plans to offer peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading. Latvia-based Hodlhodl has launched its new P2P platform in beta-mode, and Bulgarian Crypto.bg is developing its own service that may replace the fiat medium with a token.

Also read: Global P2P Crypto Markets Experience Record Volume Throughout December

Going Global
Intensive work to develop decentralized and unregulated crypto markets has been going on in the EU periphery, where memories of excessive regulation and centralization, political and economic, are still vivid. Two exchanges from both ends of (New) Europe have announced preparations to offer full-fledged P2P services to their users, with global aspirations in mind, as well.

Latvian exchange Hodlhodl has just launched a beta-version of its new platform designed to accommodate safe and secure peer-to-peer transactions of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Users can now open accounts, fill out their profiles, set up two-factor authentication, create offers and study available functionalities. Contracts are currently disabled but developers hope to complete the order book and launch them within a week, the company shared in a blog post.
In the first stage of the project only bitcoin (BTC) and litecoin (LTC) will be traded. The exchange will operate in beta-mode until July 2018 with 0% commission. A fee of max 0.6% per trade will be applied after that. “The P2P Bitcoin exchange that doesn’t hold funds” will introduce multisig (P2SH) contracts that will allow users to control their funds in escrow. Hodlhodl offers support of native Bech32 Segwit addresses and P2SH-P2WSH Segwit multisig escrow addresses. The exchange services will be decentralized and no KYC (Know Your Customer) or AML (Anti-Money Laundering) procedures will be applied. Passing an “absolutely voluntary verification”, however, will lower commissions to 0.5%.

Plans for the future include introducing support for Lightning Network micropayments and other cryptocurrencies. The website menus are now available in English and Russian, but other languages will be added. Hodlhodl will be working on optimizing transaction fees and increasing security for its users, while offering integration with wallet providers and a mobile version of the platform. Its team promises a “truly global” P2P cryptocurrency exchange.
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