Binance will no longer allow naira deposits and withdrawals as it discontinues all services in the Nigerian currency

The new:

• Binance has announced that it will no longer accept naira deposits and withdrawals as it discontinues all Nigerian naira services.
• This is coming after the recent clampdown on crypto platforms in the country.
• The company already stopped naira trade on its P2P platform following reports that the Nigerian government was planning to bar its website along with many others in the country.

In a message to its users on Tuesday, March 5 2024, Binance announced that it will no longer support services related to the naira.

It encouraged users who have naira on the platform to withdraw, trade it or convert it to other assets. The exchange gave users till March 8 2024 as it will change the assets automatically to USDT.

This move doesn't come as a surprise as the company has been the centre of Nigeria's clampdown on crypto platforms recently.

On February 20, 2024, Binance’s P2P feature had no buy or sell ads. There were rumours that this could have been caused by Nigerian regulators as they believed the platform was responsible for the naira's free fall.

These rumours were confirmed by the number of events that took place afterwards.

First, there was a plan to block crypto platforms through telcos, and as of press time, crypto websites including Binance, Coinbase, and even local ones like Quidax are not accessible with mobile Internet providers such as MTN and Airtel.

Binance executives were also detained by the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA). The Office also confirmed that it had launched an investigation into the company, followed by an alleged $10 billion fine.

While Binance did not state that it is ending naira services for these reasons it won't be out of place to suggest it.

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Customers who have naira on the platform will have it converted to USDT. The company said the automatic conversion will be done at the rate of ₦1,515 to 1 USDT which is the average closing pair on Binance spot in the last seven days.

Traders who have made orders based on an NGN trading pair will see their orders automatically closed.

It has already delisted naira from its P2P feature since February 28, 2024.