This is happening at the same time as the Nigerian government and the online trading platform are at odds over the naira’s free decline versus the US dollar on the parallel foreign exchange market.
Users of the well-known cryptocurrency trading platform Binance in Nigeria have been notified that after March 8, 2024, all leftover NGN balances will be automatically converted to the Tether (USDT) stablecoin.
This is happening at the same time as the Nigerian government and the online trading platform are at odds over the naira’s free decline versus the US dollar on the parallel foreign exchange market.
On March 1, The Bureau Newspaper revealed that the Nigerian government had fined cryptocurrency trading firm Binance $10 billion.
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Advisor on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, verified this on Friday morning.
The advisor to the president stated that the fine was requested because of Binance’s unlawful activities, which significantly impacted the recent depreciation of the naira, the nation’s currency.
“The exchange rate that the platform sets for the nation is unlawful. The BBC cited Onanuga as adding that the CBN is the only entity with the authority to set the nation’s currency rate.
Additionally, on March 4,The Bureau Newspaper stated that the Nigerian National Assembly has decided to issue arrest warrants for officials of the cryptocurrency company Binance.
At a hearing on a petition filed against the cryptocurrency company, the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes voted a resolution to that effect, which led to this ruling.
The resolution by these MPs comes after the Nigerian government implemented a number of measures to impose restrictions on the activities of the massive bitcoin trading firm.
The Bureau Newspaper has previously revealed how, on Wednesday, Binance had eliminated the Nigerian Naira from its peer-to-peer functionality.
On Tuesday, the platform did, however, express interest in leaving the nation. However, before the deadline of March 8, customers were advised to withdraw, trade, or convert their NGN assets into Bitcoin.
Furthermore, NGN trading pairs and NGN deposit capabilities will be temporarily discontinued. Furthermore, the platform stated that NGN will no longer be accepted as payment for any of Binance’s services.