Nigeria’s local currency, Naira, witnessed a significant surge on the cryptocurrency platform Binance, coinciding with reports of potential access restrictions in cyberspace.
Although there has been no official confirmation of Nigeria imposing access restrictions on Binance and other cryptocurrency platforms, concerns arose following a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information & Strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission to take action against cryptocurrencies.
Several Nigerian Binance users voiced their inability to access the platform on Wednesday, prompting attention. As a result, the value of Naira strengthened against the US Dollar on Binance’s peer-to-peer (P2P) market, climbing to N1,608 per US dollar from N1,936 the day before – reflecting a remarkable 17.2% increase.
Binance P2P Daily Exchange Rate
Responding to the volatility in the FX market, Binance issued a statement reaffirming its dedication to combating market manipulation in collaboration with the Nigerian Government. As part of this commitment, the platform restricted certain functionalities for its Nigerian users, including disabling the sell option for fiat currency USDT, capping the buy option at $1802, and halting the purchase of cryptocurrencies via P2P transactions.
The platform stated, “To protect users and prevent any abuse, our system automatically pauses in the event of significant currency movement. We have stringent measures to protect users in the market, including real-time monitoring, immediate removal of non-compliant advertisements, and permanent removal of bad actors from using our P2P product.”
Meanwhile, independent sources reported a second surge in the Naira’s value to N1542.58 per US dollar on Wednesday, according to FMDQ data.
The developments on Binance amidst concerns over access restrictions in Nigeria highlight the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency trading and its impact on local currencies, warranting continued attention and scrutiny.
