Local cryptocurrency stakeholders have expressed regret at the current prohibition on Binance naira operations in Nigeria, claiming that it will negatively impact many Nigerians’ means of subsistence and may lead to a rise in the country’s youth unemployment rate.Local cryptocurrency insiders told Cointelegraph in separate interviews that other exchanges will emerge to fill the void left by Binance’s withdrawal and find a method to stay in compliance with local laws as a result of Binance delisting its naira-related services.According to Nathaniel Luz, CEO of Flincap, a liquidity provider for cryptocurrency exchanges, a number of Nigerian traders who depend on P2P trading on Binance for their livelihood are now impacted.They have, nevertheless, recently led to trading on Telegram and WhatsApp groups.
Luz emphasized this development by saying.According to the chief marketing officer of Flincap, Oladotun Wilfred Akangbe, the continuing uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrency regulation in Nigeria and the decision to seize operations of Binance can undermine the confidence of many people in the space. It can lead to massive fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) in the crypto space in Nigeria.
The Binance cryptocurrency exchange said in an official statement on its website that it will stop supporting NGN deposits after 14:00 UTC today but will automatically convert Naira balances to USDT starting on March 8 at 8:00 am UTC.The cryptocurrency corporation states that withdrawals would not be supported after March 8 at 6:00 am UTC and that automatic conversions will use a rate of 1 USDT for every 1,515.13 naira.Near the end of February, all NGN trading pairs were removed from Binance’s peer-to-peer network.
Using “suspicious flows” of monies at Binance as support, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stated on February 27 that cryptocurrency exchanges in Nigeria were suspected of conducting illegal business.As concerns about Binance’s purportedly illegal activities in Nigeria grew, Binance CEO Richard Teng was summoned to testify before the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes by March 4.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria declared in 2023 that Binance Nigeria was not registered with them nor subject to their regulations, rendering its activities within the country unlawful.The Central Bank of Nigeria changed its position on cryptocurrency assets in December 2023 and advised banks to disregard the earlier prohibition on cryptocurrency transactions.