Youssef was vague as to the reasons for the closure, writing that "While I cannot share the full story now, I can say that we unfortunately have had some key staff departures. Also, regulatory challenges for the industry continue to grow, especially in the peer-to-peer market and most heavily in the U.S."
Youssef later elaborated in a Twitter Space, explaining that he feared for the safety of user funds because of a lawsuit from his co-founder, who he also accused of "[driving] away all of our senior level staff".
Some had trouble withdrawing funds from the platform, though this seemed to be due to the overload. Youssef tweeted, "Paxful database is a bit overloaded now as everyone is withdrawing funds. It is making transfers slow. I promise funds r safe and they will clear soon".
On May 8, Paxful came back online, though it was unclear whether or in what capacity the business would continue to operate going forward.