LocalBitcoins had to close because of government rules and not many people using it anymore. But it wasn't really peer-to-peer or decentralized like it claimed to be. You had to give your personal info before using it, and it held onto your bitcoins for you.
Exactly and this is the same lie Binance, Bybit, Kucoin and all this other centralized exchanges are selling to users claiming that they have p2p service, yet the fact is that for you to use the service;
1. You have to pass KYC verification
2. You let them be the custodians of the funds
Hardly peer to peer in my opinion.
It was peer to peer, what are you Savastan0 talking about? It just was not decentralized, but it never claimed to be.
If Localbitcoins is not p2p then absolutely none of the platforms offering p2p trading, p2p marketplace, p2p sharing etc are not p2p.
You are buying and selling directly to another peer. Yes, you use the platform to escrow funds, and to use the platform you have to KYC but remember this was only later years. When I first used Localbitcoins there was no need for KYC at all. And if you are buying, they are not even custodian, you send the money directly to the seller. Only the seller uses escrow but that's for their protection.
I'm not defending Localbitcoins, it's nothing to do with being decentralized.
And "custodial" and non custodial services is ONE aspect of decentralization. 99% of DEX are non custodial but they are so centralized now THEY are not p2p, you don't even know who you're trading with a bot, or some companies' bots, or just a few guys with all the liquidity.