LocalBitcoins to close crypto trading platform in wake of bear market

LocalBitcoins is the latest cryptocurrency platform to fall victim to the lingering market downturn as the peer-to-peer bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) exchange, after operating for over 10 years, said it will shut down this month, according to a release dated Thursday. "We are sad to share that regardless of our efforts to overcome challenges during the ongoing very cold crypto-winter, we have regretfully concluded that LocalBitcoins can no longer provide its bitcoin trading service," it said in a statement. The Finland-based company's bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) trading service will stop accepting new customer registrations from Thursday and subsequently halt on Feb. 16. Users thereafter will be able to log in only to withdraw their funds, while trading and Wallet services will no longer be available. Trouble continues to brew across the crypto space amid the fallout from November's collapse of crypto exchange FTX ( FTT-USD ). On Wednesday, Genesis-exposed bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) ATM operator Coin Cloud filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy .