Binance, one of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange firms, has announced that it will halt all services linked to Nigeria's currency, the Naira, beginning March 8. This decision is a response to Binance's present regulatory issues in Nigeria. The announcement was made using the company's mobile app.
Faced with growing regulatory scrutiny in Nigeria, Binance has decided to stop accepting Naira deposits after March 5 and Naira withdrawals beginning March 8. As part of the shift, Binance will automatically convert any remaining NGN balances in user accounts to USDT, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Furthermore, all NGN spot trading pairs will be delisted on March 7. This decision extends to Binance Pay, the company’s payment service, which will no longer accept Naira as a form of payment.
Binance's latest move comes in the wake of intensified regulatory actions against the international cryptocurrency exchange in Nigeria. Last week, two Binance executives were detained by the National Security Adviser (NSA) upon their arrival in the country, following a ban on Binance's website by local authorities.
Allegations of Binance profiting from illicit transactions have led Nigerian authorities to impose a hefty $10 billion fine on the platform, according to reports from a presidential spokesperson. However, Binance denies any knowledge of such a fine.
This development follows Binance's earlier restrictions on peer-to-peer transactions involving the USDT/NGN pair, marking the company's second instance of trading limitations within six months. Previously, Binance had disabled the 'sell' feature and capped the 'buy' option for Nigerian users at ₦1802.
These challenges come amidst a changing regulatory landscape in Nigeria, particularly concerning cryptocurrency companies. Initially viewed as a positive development for digital assets, recent regulatory actions have cast uncertainty over the future of cryptocurrency operations in the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment