Binance to Cease Nigerian Naira Services

Starting March 5, cryptocurrency exchange Binance will gradually discontinue all services involving the Nigerian naira (NGN), including P2P, Binance Pay, and Invest services.

Deposits in NGN will cease from March 5 at 14:00 UTC (15:00 WAT). On March 7 at 03:00 UTC, all existing spot trading pairs with this fiat currency, BTC/NGN and USDT/NGN, will be removed. Orders for these pairs will be automatically closed.

Users are advised to withdraw funds in naira or convert them to cryptocurrency by March 8 at 06:00 UTC.

From March 8 at 08:00 UTC, all remaining NGN balances in user accounts will be automatically converted to USDT.

The restrictions are being implemented amid an ongoing investigation by Nigerian authorities into Binance, accusing it of illegal activities in the country and manipulating the naira exchange rate.

Previously, the local House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes summoned Binance CEO Richard Teng for questioning.

Before this, two Binance employees were detained by Nigerian security agencies. According to Bloomberg, they may face charges of currency manipulation, tax evasion, and illegal operations.

In early March, media reported that the country’s authorities allegedly demanded $10 billion in compensation from Binance. However, both the exchange and Nigerian presidential adviser Bayo Onanuga later denied this information.