Binance, a prominent global cryptocurrency exchange, has made the decision to withdraw from the Nigerian market entirely. This includes discontinuing all services involving the Nigerian naira (NGN), the local fiat currency.
In an official announcement on March 5, Binance stated that NGN withdrawals would be suspended after March 8. Any remaining NGN balances in users’ Binance accounts after that date will be automatically converted to the Tether (USDT) stablecoin.
To prepare for the discontinuation of NGN services, Binance has urged users to withdraw their NGN funds, trade their NGN assets, or convert NGN into cryptocurrency.
The conversion rate for NGN to USDT will be based on the average closing price of the USDT/NGN trading pair on Binance Spot over the past seven days.
Additionally, NGN deposits will be immediately suspended, and all trading pairs involving NGN will be removed from Binance on March 7. Binance Pay, the exchange’s payment service, will also remove NGN from its list of supported payment options on March 6.
It is worth noting that Binance’s peer-to-peer platform had already delisted all NGN trading pairs in late February.
The decision to completely remove the Nigerian naira from Binance comes as the company faces significant regulatory scrutiny in Nigeria. The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, on February 27, expressed suspicions that crypto exchanges in Nigeria were involved in illicit transactions, specifically mentioning “suspicious flows” of funds at Binance.
Furthermore, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser reportedly confiscated the passports of two Binance executives in Abuja, the capital city. These executives hold citizenship in the United States and the United Kingdom.
As concerns about Binance’s alleged illicit activities in Nigeria grew, the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes summoned Binance CEO Richard Teng to appear before the committee. The committee’s chair issued an ultimatum for Teng to appear on or before March 4.
Nigeria has been rapidly emerging as one of the world’s fastest-growing crypto economies in recent years. In September 2023, a leading crypto intelligence firm, Chainalysis, ranked Nigeria second in the world in terms of cryptocurrency adoption. Additionally, in August 2022, Nigeria topped the list as the most crypto-obsessed country based on Google searches for “cryptocurrency” or “buy crypto.”
However, regulators in Nigeria appear to be less receptive to the country’s high rate of crypto adoption. In February 2024, an adviser to Nigeria’s president called for a ban on Binance, KuCoin, and other crypto trading platforms in the country. Two years ago, Nigeria’s central bank banned regulated financial institutions from offering services to crypto exchanges within the country.