New and existing users residing in the countries listed below are now able to activate their accounts by filling up the additional verification form through the Verification tab in their account’s settings. These users can activate their accounts and use LocalBitcoins normally once their additional verification form is completed and approved by LocalBitcoins. The list of countries subject to additional verification is determined by the relevant authorities in LocalBitcoins’ jurisdiction and might be updated from time to time.
LocalBitcoins.com was created as an easy way for anyone to have access to Bitcoin in 2012 by Jeremias Kangas, who was convinced of Bitcoin’s importance in a global economy. Together with his brother, Nikolaus Kangas, they saw the peer-to-peer marketplace grow to over 100 000 active users already within its first years of operation. During 2017, LocalBitcoins entered a phase of exponential growth in trade volume, followed by an increase of nearly 300% in staff size.