Crypto exchange NoOnes confirms Ray Youssef is no longer CEO

NoOnes has confirmed that Ray Youssef is no longer its CEO, marking another twist in the former Paxful chief’s turbulent crypto journey. The leadership shake-up comes years after Paxful’s controversial shutdown amid regulatory and governance concerns.

The statement, which was posted on X by NoOnes’ official account on Thursday, February 26, 2025, revealed that Youssef “does not participate in the management, operations, or decision-making of the platform. Any legal matters involving Ray Youssef are personal and unrelated to NoOnes.”

Prior to the statement, Youssef announced that he was stepping down as CEO of NoOnes six days ago, but did not explain why.

While NoOnes also did not mention why he was stepping away, it said that legal proceedings are ongoing and that it would only be made public when they’re over.  

Meanwhile, Youssef has had what can be described as a controversial crypto career.

Before taking the reins at NoOnes just over two years ago, there was a lot of controversy surrounding the death of his previous venture, Paxful — one of the earliest P2P crypto platforms that was widely popular in Nigeria and recorded $1.5billion in trade volume in 2021.

Paxful shut down in 2023 after facing intense regulatory pressure and internal challenges. US regulators, including FinCEN and the Department of Justice, fined Paxful for compliance failures and handling transactions tied to suspicious activity.

The shutdown was officially attributed to regulatory hurdles and the departures of key staff, although critics have pointed to deeper governance and management issues.

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Industry observers have debated whether regulatory scrutiny or internal mismanagement played the decisive role in Paxful’s collapse.

Some users and community members expressed distrust in the platform’s operations even before its closure, citing locked accounts and unresolved withdrawal issues.

Victoria Fakiya – Senior Writer

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Several serious accusations of substance use were also levelled against Youssef, including u...