A conflict of interest between the co-founders of P2P bitcoin trading platform Paxful is leaving the BTC market uncertain about the exchange’s reopening outlook.

As it became known to the media, one of the key reasons for the termination of the activities of the peer-to-peer platform for the exchange of bitcoins was the tension that arose between the co-founders of the exchange Ray Youssef and Arthur Shabak.

On the eve of the intra-corporate conflict of the leaders of Paxful spilled over to the public. Information has become public that it was the lawsuit filed by Arthur Shabak against the co-founder and CEO of the exchange, Ray Youssef, that led to the removal of the latter from the management of the platform and the resignation of key team members.

Shabak says the root of the disagreement can be found in 2021, when a previously agreed deal between him and Yousef to buy out Shabak’s stake in Paxful collapsed:

“Yousef decided to dump me, not buy my shares and not look for investors, because he found a way to just completely take control of the company.”

The offended co-founder admits that Paxful’s announcement of the suspension came as a shock to him, but he plans to re-enter the market, perhaps with a new line of business. Shabak claims the announcement of Paxful’s closure was part of Yousef’s “pre-planned” effort to get the company out of US jurisdiction.

While Artur Shabak hopes to bring Paxful back online, Ray Youssef advised the exchange’s customers to look for a new service provider. Youssef said he personally vouches for the Noones exchange, which he says offers lower trading fees, cheaper services and a more generous affiliate program than Paxful’s.

The peer-to-peer bitcoin exchange platform Paxful announced that it was shutting down earlier this week. The official reasons for the decision were the regulatory environment and the “leaving of key employees.”