by Rushali 
Not every country is progressive enough to support the selling and buying of cryptocurrencies with proper bank support and sometimes the government support too, the question arises what is the solution for this? Aren’t they entitled to this crypto revolution that is happening all over the planet now?
The solution is pretty simple and is also well thought out by the founder of localbitcoins.com and it was all done in 2012 only a few years later when the bitcoin came into existence, the solution which is being adopted by much bigger and regularized crypto exchanges nowadays. The P2P method of trading bitcoins, LocalBitcoins is one such site and we can easily call it out as one of the few websites which started it all the “Person to Person” selling and buying of crypto, although this website doesn’t allow you for trading in other coins other than bitcoin.
Profile and history
Local bitcoins was founded in 2012 by Jeremias Kangas and the office/headquarters is located in Helsinki, Finland. Local bitcoins is a web place where a person can sell or buy bitcoins without getting into the process of exchange, everything is manually handled and by that, I mean you can choose your own rates and also the person you want to sell your bitcoins to and in that case the person you want to buy bitcoins from locally.
However, there is an escrow service managed by the website itself which protects the buyer/sellers and eliminates potential scammers. That doesn’t mean that scams can’t happen so, it is always advised to trade at your own diligence and always choose the sellers and buyers wisely. There have been reports of scams happening and even the PayPal accounts getting locked due to scamming activities.
The mission of local bitcoins in their own words is “to make the global economy accessible in all corners of the world through Bitcoin trading. They believe Bitcoin to be a black swan event; something that fundamentally changes how the financial world works. Bitcoin gives power to individuals and communities, bringing financial freedom and prosperity, especially to developing countries.”
It is not bound by the borders of countries and is also independent of local political risks, which is a potential issue for many countries like India itself.
Reasons to use LocalBitcoins
It offers a secure trading experience not governed by any corporate overhead.
1: Worldwide Presence
The unique system of trading ensures that it cannot be banned by any country due to its political situations and dependencies as it has a direct person-to-person trading system in place. Local Bitcoins is available and supported in more than 240 countries. You can check your countries eligibility and document requirements by going to the website itself or you can also contact customer support if you are still in doubt.
2: Payment method support
The website supports a huge list of payment options ranging from PayPal, Payoneer, gift cards to even other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Dash etcetera. The whole list is not included here but rest assured I am sure you can find your suited payment method on the website itself.
3: Security
When it comes to a peer-to-peer trading system there comes a big risk of potential scammers with ease of use so, to tackle that issue LocalBitcoins offer a plethora of security measures.
*It offers a rating system same as Fiverr and other freelancing websites if you are aware of it, You can always access the buyer/ sellers transaction history and there is also a reputation system which ranks the trader with a rank of reputation making it easy to choose a verified trader for the trading.
*It offers a two-factor authentication system that requires you to enter a one-time pin sent to your mobile when you are trying to log in.
*It also offers a login device protection system and requires you to verify the new device or browser you are trying to log in from if it is not a device or browser you generally use to access the system.
4: Escrow protection
To avoid potential scams the bitcoins are taken into a web bitcoin wallet and is only released when the seller confirms the transaction.
5: Ease of use
The making of an account and the process of getting your KYC done is pretty straightforward and can be done in a matter of minutes, after which you can post your advertisement. Consider it the OLX of bitcoins.
6: Support
Even if the trades are done between two humans, but conflicts can happen and are handled by the quick and responsive support team of localbitcoins.com.
7: Attractive fee structure
The posting of advertisements are completely free and sending of bitcoins into other users wallet is free. However different payment methods will attract different exchange rates as specified on the website. Itself.
Also Read : Giottus Review
Demerits
There are a few demerits if you ask me like you can’t expect quick trades and this shouldn’t be considered as a trading platform if you are considering quick trades then go for any other exchange with automatic buyer-seller matching and other crypto and altcoins support. Localbitcoins.com is not what you are looking for.
Even after providing all these security features, there have been many users who claim that they have been scammed and the website support scammers. Although in my experience I did not come across any and it is always advised that you choose your sellers by doing proper research like if everything looks good on the seller’s profile then before sending in the funds it is always advi9sable to check for the seller’s name under the complaints forum provided by the website itself just to be sure.
Also, I will not advise you to always go for lower prices until or unless you are sure about the seller and have traded with them before.
And, as always contact your financial advisor before buying or selling. This review is not at all buying advice or should not be treated like one.
Conclusion
The website is legitimate and has maintained a good 4.8 rating out of 5 on Trustpilot. Although I will not advise beginners to start from here, this website is good for customization of your trading rates and is advisable for countries with strict political policies or with fewer trading options and banking options.
