Every week there seem to be new record trading volumes for LocalBitcoins in particular regions. That is not entirely surprising given the current financial turmoil plaguing economies all over the world. Last week, however, LocalBitcoins set a new weekly record volume of nearly US$16m. All of this goes to show that the global appetite for Bitcoin has increased rather than waned.
LocalBitcoins Continues To Set Records Every Week
One cannot deny the sheer appeal LocalBitcoins has all over the world. Plenty of people want to get involved in bitcoin, yet there are very few convenient options to do so. LocalBitcoins solves a lot of these issues, and they make it easier to complete peer-to-peer trades in person. That is part of the reason why specific regions continue to see weekly volume increases, as customers value the way the platform is being run.
To put this into perspective, the LocalBitcoins platform processed close to US$16m in weekly Bitcoin volume last week. Compared to the majority of Bitcoin exchanges around the world, that number is very low. Chinese exchanges alone process close to 2 million Bitcoin in trading volume every single day, even though they are less convenient to use for most novice users.
The success of LocalBitcoins can be attributed to a few different markets which show an increased appetite for Bitcoin right now. Brazil has been on a roll as of late, with the weekly trading volume increasing from R$171,000 to R$336,789 over the past eight weeks. This is not a bad turn of events, as the country slowly warms up to the concept of cryptocurrency as a payment method.
For some unknown reason, Bitcoin adoption suddenly spiked in Malaysia last week. It appeared that the LocalBitcoins trading volume was dropping off slowly week by week, but a new record has been set all of a sudden. It remains to be seen if this is a one-time fluke or a sign of things to come, though.
But for all of these successes, there are regions where Bitcoin trading is becoming less popular in recent weeks. Singapore is a great example of this negative trend, although the country has never been very popular where LocalBitcoins is concerned. Weekly volumes are still on a downtrend in Singapore, however, although cryptocurrency enthusiasts have plenty of other options to obtain Bitcoin.
Overall, things are looking very positive for Bitcoin. LocalBitcoins appeals to novice users because of its peer-to-peer trading, which they find preferable to relying on order books. The only drawback to this platform is Bitcoin liquidity, as most sellers have limited quantities of Bitcoin available at any given time. That situation, however, could improve over time as more people explore what the platform has to offer.
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