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Former Paxful CEO Ray Youssef has been appointed as CEO of Noones, a financial communication app aimed at integrating the Global South into the world’s financial systems.
Noones has announced the appointment of Ray Youssef as its CEO following its official launch, which aims to achieve a billion daily active users of Bitcoin within the next seven years.
Noones, founded in 2023, focuses on empowering financial freedom in the Global South. The platform facilitates the fast and frictionless movement of money, eliminating the bottlenecks associated with traditional banking.
With a belief in the peer-to-peer system as the world’s only true free market and Bitcoin as the new global financial architecture, Noones aims to uplift people in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.
Youssef’s appointment comes as Noones seeks to position itself as a leading financial communication app for users in emerging markets, emphasizing the transformative potential of Bitcoin in fostering financial inclusion and empowerment.
Ray Youssef brings a wealth of experience in strategic planning, product innovation, growth hacking, and operations management to Noones. As the former CEO of Paxful, he played a pivotal role in leading the company to unprecedented heights.
Youssef is also known for co-founding the Built with Bitcoin Foundation, aiming to build 100 communities across Africa to improve physical, mental, environmental, and financial health for the underserved.
Paxful Faces Closure Amidst Legal Dispute Between Co-Founders Youssef and Shaback
On the 17th of April, Youssef left Paxful after a dispute with co-founder Artur Shaback, and he has since been involved in various initiatives, including co-authoring CivKit, designed to provide a blueprint for a censorship-resistant and permissionless global marketplace.
The same month, Paxful unexpectedly shut down its marketplace. This decision came amid a broader trend in the peer-to-peer market, with rival LocalBitcoins also closing. The peer-to-peer market faced challenges due to regulatory conditions, contributing to the closure of prominent platforms.
However, Ray Youssef attributed the closure to a lawsuit filed by his co-founder, Artur Shaback. Youssef claimed that the legal action, which he characterized as driven by Shaback’s desire for a substantial financial gain, led to the departure of the senior-level team at Paxful. Youssef argued that Shaback sued him to secure a nine-figure payday in the event of the company’s dissolution.
In response, Shaback explained that the legal dispute arose from differences in business direction and governance. He accused Youssef of migrating Paxful’s intellectual property (IP), userbase, wallet history, and passwords to a new venture called Noones. Shaback noted that Youssef could not take him with him due to his status as a U.S. resident.
Noones Aims to Empower Users Through Decentralized and Borderless Financial Opportunities
While Youssef announced plans to reopen peer-to-peer trading through his CivKit initiative, emphasizing a “Know-Your-Peer” approach instead of traditional Know-Your-Customer (KYC), it’s mentioned that Noones still requires a KYC onboarding process. Shaback later stated that Paxful was back in operation, led by a Delaware lawyer.
Despite previous disputes and legal issues related to Paxful, Youssef’s focus remains on leveraging Bitcoin to eradicate poverty and provide the Global South with a more significant voice in the world’s financial ecosystem. Noones aims to simplify financial transactions and empower users through decentralized and borderless opportunities.
Ray Youssef expressed confidence that Bitcoin will play a crucial role in promoting prosperity in the Global South. He stated that Noones’ first major goal is to create an interoperable pan-African clearing layer to boost intra-African trade.
He said in a statement:
“For the past 8 years, I have fought for financial sovereignty for the Global South. I’m confident that Bitcoin will play a crucial role in promoting the prosperity of our continent. Our first major goal will be to create an interoperable pan-African clearing layer, taking intra-African trade from the single digits to levels comparable to intra-European trade.”
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