Binance is set to discontinue all services for Nigeria’s fiat currency, the naira, following increased scrutiny from the Federal Government.
The crypto exchange says it will automatically convert naira balances to USDT from March 8 at 8:00 a.m. UTC but will cease support for NGN deposits after 14:00 UTC today, March 5, while withdrawals will become unsupported after March 8 at 6:00 a.m. UTC.
Posting on its website on Tuesday, Binance said the conversion rate for automatic conversions will be 1 USDT per 1,515.13 naira.
“Users are encouraged to withdraw NGN, trade their NGN assets or convert NGN into crypto prior to the discontinuation of these NGN services,” the post reads.
Adding that all spot trading pairs against the naira will be delisted on March 7 at 3:00 a.m. UTC. Open spot orders for these pairs will be automatically closed.
Binance Convert, Binance P2P, the exchange’s Auto Invest feature, and Binance Pay will also cease support for the naira at various dates and times.
Recall that Nigerian regulators have been investigating the exchange, which is not authorized to operate in the country.
The House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Crimes summoned Binance CEO Richard Teng to appear by March 4 to address the investigations into alleged money laundering and terror financing.
