Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, has announced its withdrawal from the Nigerian market and the removal of all assets associated with the naira in response to increased scrutiny by Nigerian authorities.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the cryptocurrency platform declared, “Binance will discontinue all Nigerian Naira (NGN) services as per the timeline below.”
Binance advised its Nigerian users to withdraw their NGN assets or convert them into cryptocurrency before the discontinuation of naira services on the platform. “Users are encouraged to withdraw NGN, trade their NGN assets, or convert NGN into crypto prior to the discontinuation of these NGN services,” Binance stated.
Effective from “2024-03-08 08:00 (UTC),” any remaining NGN balances in users’ Binance accounts will be automatically converted to USDT based on the conversion rate.
Last week, Binance disabled its peer-to-peer function for Nigerians, known as P2P, which allows users to trade without third-party interference.
With Binance discontinuing Nigerian naira trade on its platform, Nigerian users will need to seek alternative platforms to access naira equivalent funds or risk having their funds trapped in Binance.
This move by Binance comes amidst the Nigerian government’s crackdown on cryptocurrencies, citing concerns about the impact on the Nigerian naira’s exchange rate against the dollar.
Olayemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, revealed that over $26 billion had passed through Binance in the past year during the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.
The Nigerian government, led by President Bola Tinubu, detained two Binance officials who were invited into the country after blocking access to the cryptocurrency website for Nigerian users.
Bayo Onanuga, a media aide to the president, defended the crackdown on Binance and other cryptocurrency platforms, accusing them of rate-fixing and sabotaging the Nigerian economy. He also mentioned the possibility of imposing a $10 million fine on Binance for aiding currency speculators and manipulators.
However, Binance refuted these claims, stating that they were not engaged in any discussions with the Nigerian government regarding potential fines of up to $10 billion.
The House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes has recommended the arrest of Binance’s chief executive officer over alleged tax evasion and money laundering activities in Nigeria.
