Binance, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, has officially ceased its naira services, as announced on Tuesday.
In a statement, the company provided a detailed timeline for the closure and urged users to take necessary actions.
According to Binance, users are encouraged to withdraw NGN, trade their NGN assets, or convert NGN into crypto before the discontinuation of these services.
Starting from March 8, 2024, at 08:00 (UTC), any remaining NGN balances in users’ Binance accounts will be automatically converted to USDT at a conversion rate based on the average closing price of the USDT/NGN trading pair on Binance Spot in the last seven days.
Binance clarified that it would not support NGN deposits after March 5, 2024, at 14:00 (UTC), and NGN withdrawals would not be supported after March 8, 2024, at 06:00 (UTC).
After March 8, 2024, at 08:00 (UTC), Binance will convert any remaining NGN balances in users’ Spot and Funding wallets into USDT on behalf of users.
The conversion ratio is set at 1 USDT = 1,515.13 NGN, and the process may take up to 24 hours or longer.
USDT tokens will be credited to users’ Spot wallets thereafter, and users can confirm receipt via the Convert History page.
This decision by Binance comes amid a contentious relationship with the Nigerian government.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Yemi Cardoso, alleged an illicit inflow of about $26 billion through Binance in the past year from “unknown sources.”
The Nigerian government further accuses the platform of engaging in foreign exchange rate manipulation through currency speculation and rate fixing.