Cryptocurrency exchange giant, Binance, has revealed its decision to cease all services associated with the Nigerian naira, citing allegations of exploiting the currency and contributing to its devaluation. The company is currently facing accusations ranging from terrorism financing to money laundering and tax evasion.
Nigeria stands as one of the largest peer-to-peer crypto markets globally, with transactions reaching $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023, according to Chainalysis. However, in response to the accusations and regulatory concerns, Binance issued a statement on Tuesday, advising users to withdraw their Nigerian naira, trade their assets, or convert them into cryptocurrencies.
The statement outlined the timeline for the discontinuation of Nigerian naira services, stating that Binance would no longer support NGN deposits after March 5, 2024, at 14:00 (UTC), and NGN withdrawals would be unsupported after March 8, 2024, at 06:00 (UTC). Any remaining NGN balances in users’ Binance accounts after March 8, 2024, at 08:00 (UTC) would be automatically converted to USDT (Tether) at a rate of 1 USDT = 1,515.13 NGN.
Binance assured users that the conversion rate would be calculated based on the average closing price of the USDT/NGN trading pair on Binance Spot over the last seven days. The conversion process might take up to 24 hours, with USDT tokens credited to users’ Spot wallets afterward.
In a noteworthy development, the Financial Times reported that Binance executives visited Nigeria last week after a ban on their website and were subsequently arrested by officials from the office of the National Security Adviser. The report further mentioned the confiscation of their passports. The situation indicates escalating tensions between Binance and Nigerian authorities, adding a layer of complexity to the ongoing regulatory challenges faced by the cryptocurrency exchange.
