Binance has taken a severe hit since crypto markets collapsed and regulators began probing the legality of its business
Binance has taken a severe hit since crypto markets collapsed and regulators began probing the legality of its business. AFP

KEY POINTS

  • Binance will halt all NGN withdrawals Friday after it discontinued NGN deposits Tuesday
  • Binance Convert will be delisted early Thursday, the exchange said
  • Binance CEO Richard Teng has reportedly been summoned by a Nigerian House committee

Binance on Tuesday announced that it "will discontinue all Nigerian Naira (NGN) services following allegations that the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading had been facilitating "suspicious flows."

The exchange has urged its Nigerian users to withdraw, trade, or convert their NGN balances by 6 p.m. UTC (1 p.m. EST) Friday as NGN withdrawals will no longer be supported after the said deadline, as per a notice published Tuesday.

NGN deposits were discontinued Tuesday, and by 8 a.m. UTC (3 a.m. EST) Friday, "Binance will convert any remaining NGN balances in users' Spot and Funding wallets into USDT on behalf of users at a ratio of 1 USDT = 1,515.13 NGN." The said conversion rate was calculated based on USDT/NGN trading pair average closing prices on Binance Spot in the last seven days, the exchange noted.

For its Spot services in Nigeria, "Binance will delist all existing NGN spot trading pairs," including BTC/NGN and USDT/NGN" by 3 a.m. UTC Thursday (10 p.m. EST Wednesday). Open spot orders for the said trading pairs will "automatically be closed" once trading ceases in the relevant trading pair.

The following services will delist NGN and all corresponding pairs on these dates:

  • Binance Convert – 2 a.m. UTC Thursday (9 p.m. EST Wednesday)
  • Binance Auto-Invest – 3 a.m. UTC Wednesday (10 p.m. EST Tuesday)
  • Binance Pay – 3 a.m. UTC Wednesday (10 p.m. EST Tuesday)

"We thank you for your support as we continue to build the crypto ecosystem in a way that promotes transparency and long-term sustainable growth," the exchange said.

The announcement came just a few days after the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes reportedly summoned Binance CEO Richard Teng over alleged "suspicious flows" on the exchange.

Committee chair Ginger Onwusibe called out the crypto executive for allegedly refusing to appear in previous panel discussions. He warned that the committee could take constitutional measures if Teng fails further to heed the summons, as per a local report.

Just last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said $26 billion was facilitated through Binance Nigeria "from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify." He also warned of "certain practices" that "indicate illicit flows" in several entities.

A few hours after the media briefing where Cardoso made the revelation regarding Binance Nigeria, Financial Times reported that two Binance senior executives were detained in the country and their passports were seized.

The recent developments come as the Nigerian government cracks down on crypto trading platforms. Late last month, the government blocked Binance, Kraken, Coinbase, and several other crypto firms following an allegation that some cryptocurrency platforms were "trying to manipulate our national currency to Ground Zero."

Read more