A Potential Surge in P2P Bitcoin Trading Platforms is Nigh
The trading of cryptocurrencies often occurs via centralized platforms. In recent months, however, there has been an increase in popularity among decentralized platforms. Hodl Hodl is one of the frontrunners in this regard. Surprisingly, the team is willing to give up its source code free of charge.
What is Hodl Hodl?
It is understandable that not everyone knows about this peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading platform. Given how popular centralized exchanges are, most users don’t even know there are other viable options available to them. Competing with the likes of LocalBitcoins is not easy, although more competition among P2P trading platforms can only be beneficial to Bitcoin enthusiasts around the world.
Hodl Hodl was launched a little while ago. The main reason why this platform has become so popular is that it doesn’t require users to complete a verification procedure. Additionally, there is no AML process in place either, giving users total freedom. While KYC and AML can bring more legitimacy to Bitcoin trading, it also exposes information of law-abiding users to potentially dangerous recipients. It is a situation which won’t benefit anyone, in the long run.
A Shut Down Wouldn’t be the end
The Hodl Hodl team is well aware of how governments and regulators continue to scrutinize the cryptocurrency industry. As such, there is a chance this peer-to-peer trading platform will be shut down sooner or later. While that would be difficult to swallow for the team itself, it doesn’t have to be the end of this business model by any means.
To counter any possible problems, the team will open-source its code. As such, anyone can go to the GitHub repository, copy the code, and launch a different version of the same P2P trading platform. It is important to keep in mind this decision has nothing to do with regulatory pressure. Instead, the company foresees a situation where a higher demand for P2P trading platforms will become apparent.
Pushing Bitcoin Adoption
The launch of Hodh Hodl and its subsequent decision to go open source all serve one and the same purpose. The main objective is, and will always be, to expose users worldwide to Bitcoin in a convenient manner. Whether that is through P2P trading a completely different business model based on this code, is ultimately irrelevant. There are many ways this project’s code can be used, yet it is now up to coders to find potential use cases which can benefit the industry as a whole.
Another interesting tidbit is how the Hodl Hodl team sees this move as a push to launch Bitcoin smart contracts. That in itself can have some very interesting consequences in the near future. Up until now, very little has been done in terms of automating payment processes involving Bitcoin. As such, this push can finally trigger something which breathes new life into the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Image(s): Shutterstock.com
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JP Buntinx, Khareem Sudlow
