Binance Removes Naira From Its Peer-To-Peer Market Amid Clampdown By Nigerian Government

On Wednesday, the widely used cryptocurrency trading platform Binance excluded the Nigerian currency, Naira, from its peer-to-peer feature.

The feature, known as the P2P market, allows users, buyers, and sellers to transact without the intervention of a third party.

It became widely known among Nigerians in 2021 after former president Muhammadu Buhari’s administration banned crypto trading in the country.

SaharaReporters learned that many Nigerian users can no longer enjoy the feature because of the removal of their currency.

The removal of Naira by Binance from its P2P market came amid claims by Nigerian authorities that the platform contributed to the devaluation of Naira.

A Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga on Wednesday said if not stopped, Binance would destroy the Nigerian economy because of the way it arbitrarily fixes foreign exchange rates.

Financial Times reported on Wednesday that two employees of Binance were detained by the office of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu in Abuja as part of an investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange's operations in Nigeria.

Their detention in Nigeria was in an attempt to curb naira speculation and steady its free fall by clamping down on cryptocurrency exchanges.