By Sabiu Abdullahi
Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has decided to terminate all services related to Nigeria’s fiat currency, the naira.
This decision comes amidst escalating regulatory tensions within the country.
Effective immediately, Binance will no longer accept deposits in naira, with the cutoff time set for 14:00 UTC today.
Furthermore, withdrawals will be unsupported after March 8 at 6:00 a.m. UTC.
To streamline the transition process, Binance will automatically convert naira balances to USDT (Tether) at a conversion rate of 1 USDT per 1,515.13 naira, starting on March 8 at 8:00 a.m. UTC.
In addition, all spot trading pairs involving the naira will be delisted on March 7 at 3:00 a.m. UTC.
Any open spot orders for these pairs will be promptly closed. Moreover, Binance Convert, Binance P2P, the exchange’s Auto Invest feature, and Binance Pay will gradually cease support for the naira at different dates and times.
This decision marks a significant shift in Binance’s operations within Nigeria, signalling the complexities and challenges of navigating regulatory environments in the cryptocurrency space.
As the industry continues to evolve, stakeholders will closely monitor how this development shapes the landscape for both users and exchanges operating in Nigeria.