Binance, a major global cryptocurrency exchange, is abandoning the Nigerian market by discontinuing its services in the local fiat currency, the Nigerian naira (NGN).

Binance officially confirmed on March 5 that NGN withdrawals will be suspended after March 8. Starting March 8, any remaining NGN balances in users' Binance accounts will be instantly converted to Tether USDT.

Tickers down: $1.00.

The announcement mentioned stablecoin.

The exchange has advised users to withdraw NGN, swap their NGN assets, or convert NGN into cryptocurrency before these services are discontinued.

The exchange has advised users to withdraw NGN, swap their NGN assets, or convert NGN into cryptocurrency before these services are discontinued.

"Please note that the conversion rate is calculated based on the average closing price of the USDT/NGN trading pair on Binance Spot in the last seven days," according to the press release.

Binance will also immediately suspend NGN deposits, as these transactions will no longer be supported after 2:00 p.m. UTC on March 5.

All trading pairings containing NGN will be deleted from Binance on March 7, according to the notice. On March 6, Binance Pay will delete NGN from its list of approved payment choices.

Binance also stated that all NGN trading pairs were delisted from its peer-to-peer platform in late February.

The announcement of the complete removal of the Nigerian naira from Binance comes as the business is under intense regulatory investigation in Nigeria.

On February 27, the governor of Nigeria's Central Bank stated that crypto exchanges in the country were suspected of handling unlawful transactions, citing "suspicious flows" of funds at Binance.

The passports of two Binance executives were reportedly confiscated by Nigeria's National Security Adviser in Abuja, the country's capital. The authorities also allegedly confiscated the executives' passports, which are citizens of the United States and the United Kingdom.

As suspicions about Binance's suspected unlawful operations in Nigeria grew, the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes summoned Binance CEO Richard Teng to testify before the committee. According to local reports, the committee chair gave an ultimatum to Binance's management to appear before the committee by March 4.

Nigeria has emerged as one of the world's fastest-growing cryptocurrency economies in recent years.

In September 2023, Chainalysis, a leading crypto intelligence organization, ranked Nigeria second in the world for cryptocurrency usage. In August 2022, Nigeria became the most crypto-obsessed country in the world, according to the number of Google searches for "cryptocurrency" or "buy crypto."

The officials appear to be less receptive of Nigeria's rapid cryptocurrency usage. In February 2024, a presidential adviser in Nigeria proposed for a ban on Binance, KuCoin, and other cryptocurrency trading platforms in the country. Two years ago, Nigeria's central bank prohibited authorized financial institutions from providing services to cryptocurrency exchanges in the country.